After the 19th round of the league, Lu Wenbin did not return to China immediately.
The tradition of the Premier League is that they try their best to play when others are resting and arrange more exciting games for the fans on vacation.
Therefore, there were Premier League matches on New Year's Day in 2015, and eight matches started at the same time. Only two games were staggered in time, but the staggered time was not much. Anyway, all the games had to be played on New Year's Day as a New Year's gift to British fans.
The Australian Asian Cup starts on January 9. According to the communication between Leicester City and the Chinese Football Association, Lu Wenbin decided to go back after playing the 20th round of the league on New Year's Day.
But by then, he will not have to return to China to go with the national team, but will fly directly to Australia to join the national team.
The Premier League schedule is not symmetrical. The opponents in the first round of the first half of the season and the opponents in the first round of the second half of the season do not swap home and away games, but are staggered.
Coincidentally, Leicester City's opponent on the first day of the new year in 2015 is Liverpool, the only team Leicester City has lost to in the first half of the season. Lu Wenbin can lead the team to get revenge.
After 90 minutes of fierce battle, despite the absence of two main players due to injuries, Leicester City, led by Lu Wenbin, defeated Liverpool 3-2 away and captured the famous Anfield Stadium.
When Lu Wenbin used the last free kick opportunity to score the winning goal for the Reds in the 92nd minute, the whole Anfield fell silent and the loyal fans of the Reds in the KOP stands couldn't believe their eyes.
The entire stadium was filled with the cheers of only a few thousand Foxes fans.
But these few Foxes fans witnessed the team's revenge on Liverpool.
After this game, Lu Wenbin had to say goodbye to his teammates and coaches and fly to Australia to participate in the 2015 Asian Cup.
On January 4, 2015, Lu Wenbin arrived in Canberra, Australia, to join the Chinese men's national team and prepare for the first group match.
The Chinese team is the champion of the last Asian Cup, and also won the third place in the Confederations Cup and the fourth place in the World Cup. Naturally, it is the top seeded team in Asia and is grouped in the first tier.
Finally, Lu Wenbin was grouped with Uzbekistan in the second tier, Saudi Arabia in the third tier, and North Korea in the fourth tier.
No matter how you look at it, the Chinese team with Lu Wenbin is the favorite to qualify.
On January 10, the first round of Group B match between Uzbekistan and North Korea was held, and Uzbekistan defeated North Korea 1-0.
Next, it was the second match of the first round of Group B, China vs. Saudi Arabia, and the venue was Canberra Stadium.
Just 45 minutes later, Lu Wenbin had scored two goals and made one assist to help the Chinese team lead 3-0.
In the second half, Lu Wenbin scored another goal in the 61st minute, completing a hat trick and leading the Chinese team to a 4-0 lead over Saudi Arabia.
Gao Hongbo then replaced Lu Wenbin to save Lu Wenbin's energy.
While ensuring victory, Gao Hongbo will give Lu Wenbin more rest time, making it easier for Lu Wenbin to catch up with the points he lost during the Asian Cup after returning to Leicester City.
After Lu Wenbin left the field, the Chinese team focused its main energy on defense. Although Saudi Arabia tried its best to attack and score a face-saving goal, it ultimately failed.
After the Confederations Cup and the World Cup, even without Lu Wenbin, the Chinese team's strength has improved a lot compared to before, and they successfully shut out their opponents with full defense.
The Chinese team won the first game with a 4-0 victory.
On January 14, in the second group match, the Chinese team defeated Uzbekistan 3-0, winning both games and accumulating 6 points to advance to the next round.
After the second group match, Lu Wenbin flew back to Europe and received the 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or in Switzerland, becoming the first football player to win five Ballon d'Or awards, or even five consecutive awards.
On January 18, in the third group match, the Chinese team did not even send Lu Wenbin, but instead rotated many substitute players.
Even so, the Chinese team defeated North Korea 2-0, won all three games, accumulated 9 points, scored 9 goals and conceded 0 goals, and entered the quarterfinals. Uzbekistan advanced as the second in the group.
On January 22, in the first quarter-final, South Korea, first in Group A, defeated Uzbekistan, second in Group B, 2-0 and advanced to the semi-finals.
Later on the same day, the second quarter-final was held, with host Australia, second in Group A, facing China, first in Group B.
Although Australia, playing at home, scored two goals with the cheers of home fans, breaking China's record of zero goals conceded in the group stage.
But the Chinese team, led by Lu Wenbin, went all out and scored 4 goals against Australia.
In the end, the Chinese team defeated Australia 4-2 and entered the semi-finals.
The last two quarter-finals were both played as penalty shootouts. The final results were Iraq defeating Iran on penalties and the UAE defeating Japan on penalties, and they entered the semi-finals.
On January 26, the first semi-final was held, and South Korea defeated Iraq 2-0 to advance to the final.
The next day, January 27, in the second semi-final, the Chinese team faced the United Arab Emirates.
After 90 minutes, the score on the big screen was 4-1. The Chinese team defeated the UAE and entered the final to compete with South Korea for the championship.
On January 31, the 2015 Asian Cup final between China and South Korea was held as scheduled at the Australian Stadium in Sydney.
Before Lu Wenbin emerged, the Chinese team had not defeated South Korea for 30 years, and Koreaphobia was considered a great shame by the Chinese.
In addition, Koreans have been stealing the Dragon Boat Festival, Confucius, Qu Yuan, the birthplace of traditional Chinese medicine, etc., making Chinese people hate Korea no less than Japan.
Therefore, Lu Wenbin did not hold back at all in this game. Even though they were leading by a large margin, Gao Hongbo did not replace Lu Wenbin.
Lu Wenbin played the entire game.
As a result, the final score on the big screen was a dazzling 6-0. Lu Wenbin scored four goals and assisted Wu Lei to score a goal. Deng Zhuoxiang, who came on as a substitute, scored the last goal.
The Chinese team beat South Korea by 6 goals, which was a huge blow to the hearts of South Korean players and fans. At the end of the game, many South Korean players collapsed on the ground.
The Chinese team’s former fear of Korea is now turning into the Koreans’ fear of China.
The Chinese team successfully defended the Asian Cup title, becoming the fifth team to defend the Asian Cup title after South Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Japan.
The next goal is to win the Asian Cup three times in a row.
Historically, only the Iranian team has won three consecutive Asian Cup titles. Lu Wenbin will lead the Chinese team to tie this record and then surpass it.
Given Lu Wenbin's age, he can definitely play in two more Asian Cups, and this goal is not impossible to achieve.