Chinese send well-wishes to Schumacher

BEIJING - Chinese supporters of Michael Schumacher breathed a sigh of relief when they were told on Monday that the seven-time Formula One champion is out of coma.

They text-messaged each other their blessings to the legendary racer and were excited on their social media accounts.

"Schumacher is back," said Kang Guoping on Weibo, a Chinese equivalent to Twitter. "That's the best news to the world."

Schumacher was transferred from a French hospital to a facility in Switzerland on Monday after emerging from a coma following his devastating ski accident in December.

China's popular news portal Sina splashed Schumacher news on its front page as the ongoing World Cup finals took a back seat for a day.

Soccer fans are very imaginative as they link the news to the World Cup. They quipped that the F1 champion couldn't wait to see Monday's game between Germany and Portugal.

Schumacher once registered himself as a professional soccer player in a Swiss club which he eventually purchased in 2000. He also showed his skills as a soccer player in charity games.

Lukas Podolski, a German forward and a good friend of Schumacher, sent blessings to the champion racer last Saturday.

"The German soccer team stands with Schumacher," said Podolski. "I want to win the World Cup trophy, as a gift for him."

Germany's World Cup opener starts at 0:00 on Tuesday, Beijing time. Quite a few Chinese fans believed Schumacher's wake-up was a good sign for Germany.

"The World Cup would be magic medicine for the racer," a netizen said on Weibo. "Schumacher's wake-up is a good omen for the German team."