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.)
Shanghai FC Shenhua has a problem with prima donnas, specifically one Nicolas Anelka, currently the highest paid player in the Chinese Super League. Last month, according to the Telegraph, he threatened to quit the team, whining, “If there is still no one to support me and (they) continue to play little tricks behind my back…... Read more »
Proving that hell hath no fury like a soccer fan whose team just earned an unexpected result, Beijing Guo’an fans poured into the street outside Workers Stadium — a very, very busy street, mind you — after Saturday’s 0-0 draw to Qingdao Zhongneng and acted like riotous hooligans. Although the “near-riot,” as Global Times describes... Read more »
The morning after Beijing Guo’an defeated Guizhou Renhe F.C. Moutai Football Team (thank you, sponsor) 2-1 at Workers Stadium, Guo’an’s B team played a barnburner against Renhe’s B team at an isolated little pitch outside South Fourth Ring Road. I happened to be there, and in the minute that I happened to be recording, Guo’an... Read more »
Youku video for those in China after the jump. In the 82nd minute of last night’s Shanghai Shenxin vs. Qingdao Jonoon Chinese Super League soccer match, which was televised nationally on CCTV-5 (and simulcast on Beijing’s biggest local station, BTV), Brazilian striker Antônio Flávio of Shanghai gratuitously kicked the legs out from under Qingdao’s Zheng Long... Read more »
The most expensive player in Chinese soccer history made his belated Super League debut yesterday in Beijing after sitting out last week's CSL opener with a knee injury. About 51,000 people packed Workers Stadium to see it. Even without Anelka, the 33-year-old striker nicknamed "Le Sulk" during his time at Arsenal, the game probably would have drawn massive interest, considering it was the National Derby, played between hated rivals Beijing Guoan and Shanghai Shenhua, and it was Beijing's home opener. But Anelka's presence, at the very least, piqued the attention of international media.
So... the French. Their language sounds like a bit of old pudding being forced through a keyhole. Their attitude and manners are somewhere between a toaster and mildly mentally-deficient groundhog. And their only useful purpose, as far as I can see, is keeping the Germans away from the Spaniards, who seem really quite nice.
The French are rubbish.
Before you go racing to Workers Stadium though, you should know Anelka — the former Chelsea and French national team star — may not play tonight due to injury (game-time decision). Also, you may not want to chant “French Concession,” considering the last guy who used that phrase publicly got fined 47,500 yuan. And really,... Read more »
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