Evergrande's Italian head coach Cannavaro leads praise and urges rest of world to learn lessons

After traveling across the globe to find safe places to train for the past few months, Chinese Super League clubs now realize returning home is their next best move.

It has been an unusual offseason to say the least for CSL clubs due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The start of the 2020 season has been delayed indefinitely and teams have encountered unprecedented difficulties in organizing training sessions.

Most clubs chose to train abroad after Spring Festival, but as the virus outbreak has become a global pandemic, several teams have made their way back to China where the situation is now under control.

Defending CSL champion Guangzhou Evergrande returned home from Dubai last week. PP Sports reported that all Evergrande's players were retested for the virus and, as per government regulations for overseas arrivals, have begun a two-week quarantine.

Evergrande head coach Fabio Cannavaro discussed the coronavirus crisis in his native Italy and China in an interview with Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport on Monday.

"Here in China they are succeeding. We are going towards normality," said the former Juventus and Italy defender.

"And this is the message that must reach the whole world. Because the coronavirus spares no one in every corner of the planet, but it can be beaten by joining forces. By acting as a community."

The 46-year-old's own experiences have left him impressed by China's thorough approach to the crisis.

"As soon as I arrived they swabbed me－for me it was the third one－and measured my temperature," Cannavaro said. "Then I had to sign a form stating where I'd been for the last month and whether I'd been in contact with infected people.

"At that point, as happens to everyone who enters the country from abroad, at least those who come from places already affected by the virus, you are quarantined for two weeks. If you have a place to stay, otherwise they will put you up in hotels equipped to guarantee isolation."

Cannavaro believes China's virus-prevention policies are "a clear lesson to the world".

"This must be the positive message for us Italians and the rest of the world. We can eradicate this evil but we need severity and a great organization," he said. "The Chinese are a great people we must admire. A billion and a half people understood what they had to do to save themselves."

At the time of writing, Italy counted 24,747 total infections with 1,809 deaths. The outbreak has resulted in the postponement of Serie A, with Europe's other major soccer leagues quickly following suit.