China’s football season kicks off this week with hopes of a resurgence for the beautiful game after former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson and rookie coach Fabio Cannavaro put the league among the world’s biggest spenders.
Chinese Super League (CSL) clubs spent $US165 million ($A211m) during the recently closed winter transfer window, almost double last year’s figure, second only to the English Premier League and ahead of Italy’s Serie A, according to statistics from German website transfermarkt.
Socceroo Tim Cahill, once of Everton, is the star name among the 47 foreign imports — including many Brazilians — who will double the number of overseas players in the competition.
An invigorated national team who reached the quarter-finals of January’s Asian Cup and top level political support are also giving fans hope the game has bounced back after years of turmoil.
Chinese President Xi Jinping — who state media describe as an “avid” fan — backed a “football reform plan” last week.
The positive atmosphere around Asia’s most watched football league stands in contrast to previous years when Chinese football was riddled with corruption and the national team regularly humiliated on the pitch.
The English Premier League still dominates global football transfers, with its clubs responsible for $US1.2 billion ($A1.53 billion) of the $US4.1 billion ($A5.24 billion) spent world-wide in 2014, according to figures from the sport’s governing body FIFA.
Claims that expensive foreign talent has damaged prospects of the national side reached a climax after England’s dismal showing at last year’s World Cup, crashing out early after losing their opening two group games.
But pundits in China are confident its top tier will not follow a similar pattern, given that only four foreigners, including one Asian, are allowed in starting line-ups across the continent.
“I believe Chinese clubs paying top prices for top international players will be a positive thing,” television commentator Yan Qiang told AFP.
“Unlike in England, China — and all Asian leagues — have to obey the ‘three plus one’ policy. Therefore there will always be enough room for domestic talent in the top teams.”
Much of the recent transfer activity has focused on just two clubs: current champions Guangzhou Evergrande, led by Cannavaro, and Eriksson’s Shanghai SIPG. Both coaches were appointed in November, shortly after the end of the 2014 season.
Evergrande will be seeking their fifth consecutive CSL title in 2015, but will miss the recently departed Marcello Lippi, architect of the club’s recent success, which climaxed with an AFC Champions League title in 2013.
Cannavaro, the captain of Lippi’s 2006 World Cup winning Italy side, smashed the Chinese transfer record in January with a $US17 million swoop for Brazilian Ricardo Goulart.
Goulart appears to have hit the ground running, scoring all of Guangzhou’s goals in their opening two AFC Champions League matches, a 1-0 win over FC Seoul last month and a 3-2 victory over Western Sydney Wanderers in Australia on Wednesday.
Eriksson, meanwhile, lured Argentine attacking midfielder Dario Conca back to the CSL on a deal reportedly worth $US11 million a year.
R&F recorded a moral-boosting 2-0 victory at Japanese treble-winners Gamba Osaka in their AFC Champions League debut last month, but then lost to Thailand’s Buriram United 2-1 earlier this week.
Cahill, Australia’s leading goalscorer, last month joined Shanghai Shenhua, the former club of Chelsea stars Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, following a spell with New York Red Bulls.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Manchester City have chalked up another big win in their hunt for an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title, with Phil Foden continuing his…
Here is the way the Roar expert panel sees all the action unfolding across the final weekend of play prior to the semi-finals.
Despite the short nature of his tenure as a professional manager, Arne Slot has established himself as arguably the most impressive manager outside of…
Everton won the Merseyside derby 2-0, with Toffees supporters taunting Liverpool after the game at their home ground Goodison Park.
Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have blasted a hole in Liverpool's Premier League title challenge as Everton powered their way to a priceless derby…
The real concern comes down to football's growing trend of big corporations taking up slices of the world game at the expense of smaller teams.
