A goalkeeper makes dozens of decisions over the course of every match, from how to position himself to whether to attack or sit back on incoming crosses, and the slightest miscalculation can sometimes be the difference between a win and something lesser. Never will this point be more obviously illustrated than during Sunday's Chinese Super League match between Chongqing Lifan and Liaoning Hongyun, when Chongqing goalkeeper Sui Weijie's crucial decision to take a sip of water cost his team a victory.
Liaoning Whowin played host to Shangai Shenhua on August 1 (yes, eight days ago; sorry, this is late), which wouldn't be worth mentioning if not for a terrible, terrible tackle that might be called straight-up assault if it didn't happen on a soccer pitch. (And if people in real life, hilariously, also could not use their hands.) You can watch it above, or look at the screenshots below to get an idea of how bad it was.
The latest penalties in China soccer’s match-fixing drama have been a long time coming – several players, officials and referees were already sent to prison last year – but as announced Monday, they were still fairly significant. In summary: Shanghai Shenhua stripped of the 2003 league title Two teams docked 6 points each going into... Read more »
Didier Drogba rode into China with hopes of changing Chinese football. “I think I have a little bit of experience — I come here to share that experience and some knowledge,” he said back in July. Given the chance on a different team, he might have succeeded, and we might be writing a different story.... Read more »
Xu Liang scored a magical goal in the 74th minute of a scoreless match between Guo’an and Dalian Shide in Beijing’s Workers Stadium on Saturday. The ball slipped from a Dalian player’s feet directly to his, and catching a glimpse of goalkeeper Zhang Chong a bit too far off his line, Xu let loose with... Read more »
Eh. Could’ve been worse. Wasn’t exactly a bus wreck. Bayern Munich vs. Beijing Guo’an, 6-0 7′ Zhang Junzhe (own goal) 10′ Arjen Robben 43′ Claudio Pizarro 74′ Thomas Muller 78′ Mario Mandzukic 80′ Mario Gomez Youku video for those in China after the jump.
Unlike Shanghai teammate Nicolas Anelka's rather tepid Chinese Super League debut, Didier Drogba made quite the impact yesterday in his first CSL match. Coming on as a sub after halftime, Drogba's first touch of the ball was a 40-yard free kick that AFP aptly described as "outrageous" (video of this strike appears after the jump). The former Chelsea striker would go on to set up his team's only goal, a beautiful through-ball into the box that teammate Cao Yunding converts in the 68th minute, to help Shenhua earn an away draw vs. Guangzhou R&F.
Manchester United landed in Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport just after midnight today and were greeted by hundreds of enthusiastic fans, according to the team’s website. This marks Man U’s first China trip since 2009, part of a wider effort to reach out to the Asian market. It shouldn’t surprise you to know that the Red Devils are... Read more »
Heavy, heavy rains have again left Beijing’s streets flooded, but that hasn’t stopped tonight’s Chinese Super League match between the hometown Guo’an and Hangzhou Greentown FC. Above, the first goal of the night, putting Hangzhou up 1-0. That remains the score in Workers Stadium as the two teams slog it out in the 77th minute.... Read more »
I should mention that the ubiquity of the "shabi" (or "SB" on the Internets) chant in China probably means the real translation should be "asshole," as "cunt" seems to be on a different tier of offensiveness in American English. But I've chosen to go with the literal translation, just because. (In the interest of fairness, we should point out that if a star player arrived in Beijing, Guo'an fans here would chant "Shenhua SB" as well.)
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