Intrigue as cashed-up CSL’s new season starts today
Print Edition
AFTER splashing out close to US$300 million during the winter transfer window, the Chinese Super League kicks off its new season today with Guangzhou R&F taking on competition newcomer Hebei China Fortune.
The CSL has drawn global attention over the past months, snapping up big-name footballers with the most money in the international transfer market. It is expected that the splurge will help improve the level of the CSL and may change the hierarchy in the new season.
Guangzhou Evergrande, which begins its title defense away to Chongqing Lifan on Sunday, may find it difficult to win a sixth straight CSL title, as many other teams have landed world-class recruits ahead of the new season. The 42-million euro (US$46 million) signing of Jackson Martinez has yet to pay off for Guangzhou as Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side had its worst start in the AFC Champions League with a draw and a loss in its firts two matches.
Jiangsu Suning is tipped as the No. 1 challenger. The Nanjing-based club lavished a record 50 million euros to buy Brazilian star Alex Teixeira, only days after its 28-million euro purchase of Ramires from Chelsea.
Zhang Jindong, president of Suning Commerce Group which owns Jiangsu Suning, said last month bluntly that he hopes his investment can draw more attention from the public.
“We think it is worth spending the money if it can improve Chinese football,” he said. “If we can build the foundation well, I’m sure we can realize our goal to win the CSL in three years, and lift the AFC Champions League trophy in five years.”
The winter transfer window also saw CSL runner-up Shanghai SIPG, coached by Sven Goran-Eriksson, acquire Brazilian striker Elkeson de Oliveira Cardoso for 18.5 million euros in January from Guangzhou while Shandong Luneng and Beijing Guo’an signed Brazil center-back Gil and Turkey international Burak Yilmaz, respectively, .
Some newcomers also joined the big-spending bandwagon. Hebei China Fortune recruited Paris Saint-Germain’s Argentine forward Ezequiel Lavezzi, the world’s fifth most expensive soccer player, on a weekly salary of 400,000 pounds (US$563,000).
However, opinions vary on whether the huge investment and foreign talent are enough to boost the standard of the national team. Some even argue that expensive imports would impede the development of Chinese soccer.
A proof of this is the Chinese men’s team, which is on the verge of elimination from the 2018 World Cup. China, third in its qualifying group behind Qatar and Hong Kong, China, faces the Maldives at home on March 24 and Qatar on March 29. It needs to win both games to keep alive its hopes of qualifying.
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