David Beckham arrived in Beijing yesterday, kicking off his second tour of China as soccer ambassador. (His first trip, in March, saw him hilariously whiff on a free kick.) The positive publicity couldn't have come soon enough, considering the Chinese national team's humiliating 5-1 thrashing at the hands and feet of Thailand's youth team on Saturday. What was one of the first things Becks did? Join Sina We ...

It's difficult -- it really is -- to say Chinese soccer has reached a "new" low, considering its history of match-fixing and utter, abysmal, unmitigated failure on the international stage (its only World Cup appearance coming in the year when two other Asian countries had automatic bids into the tourney). But after losing 5-1 to a mostly junior Thailand team on home turf on Saturday, more than a few fans ar ...

The Netherlands were in Beijing yesterday for an international friendly in Workers' Stadium. Less than 10 minutes in, Arjen Robben drew a penalty kick -- a pretty clear foul in which the defender slid into his heel -- and Robin van Persie connected for the game's first goal. It's the second goal, however, that deserves your attention. ...

If you attempt to kick a ball while wearing loafers on perfectly trimmed grass, this is liable to happen -- even if you're the best 37-year-old free-kick-taker in the world. Look at that elderly Chinese man reaching out to help. Look at the dude with his foot on the ball, too cool for even bemusement. We hope the old white man in the suit whipped out his point-and-click in time. This was in Wuhan, Hubei pro ...

David Beckham, China's first ambassador for soccer, arrived in Beijing on Wednesday morning to a, well, David Beckham welcome. Fans waited for hours for him to arrive to Shijia Hutong Primary School, where he played soccer in dress shoes and a butoned up shirt. He also kicked the ball around at the FC Guo'an practice facility. The above video is him arriving at the scene. ...

Good news sports fans: some of the planet's top athletes are planning preseason tours to Beijing and Shanghai. Let's start with basketball, the most popular sport this country by some metrics*. For the first time ever, the Los Angeles Lakers are coming to China. They're slated to play the Golden State Warriors on October 15 at the MasterCard Center in Beijing, then October 18 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in S ...

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 next year One team docked 3 points Three teams fined 1 million yuan Four te ...

Manchester United recently announced sponsorship deals with two Chinese companies, Wahaha and China Construction Bank (CCB), the latter of which will produce Man U-branded credit cards. Considering China is one of the largest growth markets for any business, it’s no a surprise that the 134-year-old club is looking to strengthen its presence here. There are reportedly 108 million Man U fans in China -- nearl ...

Mario Balotelli, the mercurial 22-year-old Manchester City striker, celebrated his first English Premier League goal of the season on Wednesday by getting a tattoo. (Note: tattoo may not be connected in any way with said goal.) And of course he went the half-Asian route, getting a tattoo of a (highly apocryphal but widely attributed) Genghis Khan quote, in English, on his chest: I am the punishment of God / ...

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. ...

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 one of the most popular teams in this country, and Wednesday's friend ...

By RFH There's a new Paul the Octupus in town. In China. And he's a llama – no, not that kind. For some reason, and despite having fuck-all to do with Euro 2012, Tianjin Zoo is attempting to lure thrill-seekers to its no-doubt already white-knuckle zoological experience with a llama that can predict the actual results, thus saving many the effort of actually watching the game.  ...

56.com video for those in China after the jump. Li Ming, a 12-year-old who plays on Qingdao's Chengyang Experimental No. 2 Primary School, captured Chinese soccer fans' attention recently with his ball-handling, passing, set-piece kicks, and lob shots over goalies' heads. All the above can be seen the in embedded video, a game vs. Qingdao Quartet Experimental Primary School in the finals of the "Mayor's Cup ...

The black spume of incendiary waste. The drifting snowflake relics of plaster and concrete. The mangled spine of a charred Eiffel Tower, and eviscerated high-rises, and a manmade earthquake rocking our cradle of rubble upon which humanity slinks toward a final reckoning. And that's only the first 10 seconds of Hong Kong-based NOW TV's advertisement for this summer's UEFA European Football Championships. Did ...

Via BadCanto, i.e. Dictionary of Politically Incorrect Hong Kong Chinese; Youku video for those in China after the jump The team in white is Kitchee, and they're good. They beat the team in purple, ESF, 16-0 earlier in the year, according to the Youtube video above. But apparently ESF lied about the score, saying they won 3-2 -- a 17-goal swing vis-a-vis reality. In the rematch, Kitchee went up 4-0 at half ...