What happens when coronavirus stops your football league? For English coach Gary White that has been the reality for his Chinese team Nantong Zhiyun since February. Adam Bate caught up with him to find out the problems that lie ahead for European clubs…
Sunday 15 March 2020 07:14, UK
The escalation of the coronavirus crisis has shocked many with the news cycle moving too quickly for some organisations to react. But over in China they have been living with this reality for some time. The only shock there is that anyone is shocked.
The Chinese season was supposed to start in February but the coronavirus outbreak led to postponement. Three weeks on from the scheduled start date, the delay continues. Plans have been ripped up. Confusion reigns. Football has had to learn to wait.
Gary White is the head coach of China League One team Nantong Zhiyun. The Englishman has long been one of his country's globetrotting ambassadors. He has been the international manager of Guam, Taiwan, Bahamas and Hong Kong as well as coaching in Japan.
Naturally, he has never experienced anything quite like this.
"There is nothing you can do about it," he tells Sky Sports. "The government here are doing the best they can to curb the situation. Everyone is doing the best that they can.
"It did not help when the British government said that everyone should leave China. I don't think that was a positive thing to say because it just spread panic around the expat community here. You cannot just up and leave when you have families, jobs and homes.
"We tried to be a little bit more pragmatic about the whole thing. We have tried to stay sharp and positive and enjoy the extra time that we have together."
White is based in the Shanghai area with his wife and four-year-old son.
"I have just been trying to keep him active," he explains. "We have been for little walks and played some football, just me and him around the grounds where we live. We are not venturing outside of our direct community. He is just happy I am home. He has an idea what is going on, though. He has heard the word coronavirus enough on TV and in conversation."
If the time with his family is welcome regardless of the circumstances, the lack of time with his players is a concern. Speaking to him about the practical problems caused when training is disrupted, it is impossible not to think of the issues now heading Europe's way too.
"We had momentum carried over from last season when we'd been statistically the best team over the last six games," says White. "So we were absolutely flying. We started pre-season really well, battered a Chinese Super League team, and the training was good.
"Then it was just halted.
"We completed the first phase of pre-season at the end of January but we have basically been in a holding pattern since then. Suddenly all the good work you have done has been deleted. If they give us a start date then we can resume but we will have to backtrack the pre-season again to find out where we are.
"There will be a lot of individualised training programmes before we can begin to work on team strategy and things like that. We will have to check on each individual player because they will be at different stages. It all depends on where they are geographically too.
"We have players all over China. Those in lesser affected areas are able to do more in terms of their daily activities. But there are others who are not allowed out of their house at certain periods of time. So there are a lot of things they are trying to do in the house to be able to keep fit but there is no football work and they cannot go out and train as a team.
"I am trying to stay in contact and touch base with the players to see how they are doing but it is difficult until we have a concrete start time. Meanwhile, the foreign players went back to their home countries and that is where they have stayed."
With the wait continuing - "they are talking about starting at the end of April but there is still no clear date yet" - some are beginning to consider their options.
"That's the other thing," acknowledges White. "You hear about some foreign coaches and players who are looking at a different angle now. I suppose all that will do is get rid of the people who should not have been here in the first place."
White is happy where he is but anxious to get back to work. He knows that there are bigger priorities but he also knows that he has a job to do.
For now, he is trying to take the positives from a frustrating situation.
"I am getting time with my son that I would never have got before," he says. "We have been able to do normal family stuff that football managers never really get to do.
"All you can do is make the best of it."
