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Shanghai clubs at home for CSL openers
Print Edition
THE two Shanghai derbies in the 2017 Chinese Super League have been scheduled for May 20 and September 16, according to the latest match schedule unveiled by domestic media yesterday.
This year’s CSL kicks off on March 3, with the opening ceremony scheduled for March 4 at Shandong Luneng’s home ground in Jinan Province, ahead of its first match against Tianjin Teda.
According to the schedule, both Shanghai teams will start the season with home fixtures.
Shanghai Greenland Shenhua takes on Jiangsu Suning and CSL newcomer Tianjin Quanjian on March 5 and 11, respectively. Quanjian was promoted to the CSL after finishing first in the second-tier league last year. Coached by Italian Fabio Cannavaro, the club completed the purchase of Brazilian international Alexandre Pato from La Liga side Villarreal.
Andre Villas-Boas’ SIPG has two AFC Champions League matches to play before its first CSL clash with Changchun Yatai on March 3. Reaching the group stage in its second year in the elite Asian tournament, SIPG will challenge FC Seoul in South Korea on February 21 before taking on Western Sydney Wanderers in Shanghai on February 28.
After a second CSL league match against Yanbian Funde on March 10, SIPG will meet its third Asian opponent Urawa Red Diamonds at Shanghai Stadium on March 15. It will then take on Guangzhou Evergrande and Shandong in the following two rounds of CSL matches.
All matches of the last two rounds of CSL will kick off at the same time on October 29 and November 4, respectively.
The Chinese Football Association is yet to post the schedule on its official website.
It took the CFA a long time to prepare the itinerary, as it had to take into account the ACL schedule. The association used to follow a snake-shape principle for schedules — to make top-ranked teams take on weaker sides at the beginning of the season. This year, the principle has been changed to ensure that the morale of the weaker teams is not hurt by continuous early defeats.
Also, with the promotion of Quanjian, there are three cities with more than one CSL team — Shanghai, Guangzhou and Tianjin. The CFA wanted to make sure no more than one derby is scheduled for one weekend.
The pitches of some northern city teams are not yet suitable for hosting matches at the beginning of March due to the cold. The teams would therefore play more away games coming into the new season.
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