Give us time, and we will shine

After the florescent flame of Chinese superstars Yao Ming and Liu Xiang, here comes the third Shanghainese who stunned the world with his unbelievable feat. His historical success might shape the fate of future Chinese overseas footballers, bestowing them more time to show their talent.

"This is incredible! I can hardly believe my eyes. Sun Xiang's capability totally exceeded our imaginations," PSV spokesman Pedro Salazar-Hewitt announced with excitement.

What happened? What made Sun become such a sensation overnight?

Well, to answer these questions, let's look back and I'll lead you to the inside world of Sun for his excellence and incomparable achievements.

On January 15, 1982, two twin boys were born into a middle-class family in Shanghai. One named Sun Ji, and another named Sun Xiang. No one knew at that time that one of the two babies would write his name into the history books.

Sun Xiang started playing football at the age of 7, the same age as Ronaldinho. Then he finished his primary and secondary school years in sports schools and entered a Shanghai football club following graduation.

After winning numerous awards in various domestic football matches, Sun Xiang secured a firm position in China national football team as well as in Shanghai Shenhua club. In the meantime, he frequently appeared on the international stage on behalf of his nation as the top left-back. The experience and expertise he garnered from this stage laid a solid foundation for his future takeoff.

Due to his brilliant performances both on the club and national stage, Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven which has won the title of the Netherland's top division for the past two seasons filed a buyout bid for Sun Xiang but was rejected by Shanghai Shenhua club. Anyway, Sun Xiang managed to play as an on-loan footballer to PSV Eindhoven this January where he had begun his journey to the blossom.

It was on March 8, 2007, though it was only Sun Xiang's third appearance with PSV Eindhoven, this one was memorable as it saw him, as the first Chinese ever, start and complete an entire 90 minutes on the UEFA Champions League stage, the most prestigious football event worldwide. And what's more, he helped Eindhoven oust Premiership powerhouse Arsenal with a free kick that was converted into a goal by his teammate at the near end of the football match. PSV Eindhoven broke through to the quarterfinals at the UEFA Champions League on the shoulders of Sun Xiang. He is set to earn this historical fame by becoming the first player from China to compete in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.

"Sun Xiang's capability totally exceeded our imaginations. We should do all we could to keep such a talent in our team," Pedro Salazar-Hewitt expressed passionately.

In comparison with other international Chinese football players, not just letting the game do the talking as the others usually did, Sun Xiang worked hard on English. Reciting English words is an everyday must for him.

Granted that sending our prospects overseas and exposing them on the international stage could enhance the general ability of individual players, but one thing we need to be clear about: our players need minutes! Sun Jihai, our first ray shine on England, has spent most of his time struggling for even a single minute on the pitch. Li Tie, the first CDM in China, has been on the bench for the past few years. Yet Sun Xiang made it. He completed an entire 90 minutes with glare in the UEFA Champions League match. What does it prove? It demonstrates that our players completely have the quality to compete with other international superstars on the top event. Give us time, and we will reward you with shininess!

By Zhenyu Li, sports writer for PD online. The article represents the writer's views only