Three 17-year-old Chinese soccer players - Li Jiawei, Huang Zihao, and Wen Jialong - were recommended to Italy for training by Marcello Lippi, manager of Chinese national team, as the first batch of a project to cultivate more Chinese soccer rising stars, on May 7.

The training project will have a professional assessment system to record the growth of the players, Lippi said. He said that the three players will gain valuable experience of Italian soccer by this opportunity, and discover a brand-new self.

"I am very happy to be one of the three who were selected. This is a special opportunity. I will try my best to improve my skills," said Li, from Jiangsu Suning U19 youth team, who won the national championship twice with his team and has been selected to the national youth team many times.