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Drogba, Anelka Put Chinese Football On The Map

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If you ever have reason to seek out a video clip of the moment Didier Drogba arrived in China, make sure you turn down the volume.

In scenes reminiscent of Beatlemania, the former Chelsea striker emerges through the sliding doors at Shanghai airport to be greeted by ear-splitting screams. He is ushered through a vast swathe of Shanghai Shenhua fans, who chant his name, wave the team’s flag and compete for a vantage point from which to snap a photo of their new hero.

Drogba is clearly a little taken aback as the crowd swells to an even greater number outside the terminal building before an increasingly flustered-looking troop of security guards bundle him into a car and away.

China’s 16 Super League teams for the 2013 season are all based in the populous east of the country

The Ivory Coast forward has teamed up with former Chelsea strike partner Nicolas Anelka at Shenhua in a league which,  thanks to the financial power of wealthy club owners , has also tempted ex-Premier League strikers Ayegbeni Yakubu and Fredi Kanoute.

It is also being touted as a possible destination for former England captain David Beckham and Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, while World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi also works there, steering Guangzhou Evergrande to their second straight title in October.

“The Chinese Super League, or at least a handful of clubs, are awash with money from club owners, who are often developers riding the huge property bubble in mainland China,” said a sports reporter at the South China Morning Post, James Porteous.

“Guangzhou Evergrande are owned by Evergrande Real Estate Group, whose chairman Xu Jiayin is mainland China’s richest man.

“Why these men want to spend their money on football is another question. Part of it is no doubt love for football and the wish to be associated with a successful team. But some believe owners are trying to curry favour with the government. Bringing new global prestige to the game may help the owners look good with the powerbrokers.”

Courting politicians comes at a price, Drogba reportedly earns £200,000 per week, with Anelka on about £170,000. In contrast, their team-mate Feng Renliang, a 24-year-old winger who plays for the China national team, was on a salary of £70,000-a-year before he joined champions Guangzhou in December.

And yet, while Drogba and Anelka have helped raise the profile of domestic football in a country obsessed with the Premier League, they have also exposed some of the enduring problems that may cause Lampard and Beckham to think twice before heading east.

During a tumultuous first season, Shenhua coach Jean Tigana turned up to a match only to be told his services were no longer required. With Tigana’s backroom staff having been sacked earlier in the week, the team were forced to play the game in front of a virtually empty home bench.

The famously introverted Anelka then had a disastrous spell as player-coach before former Argentina boss Sergio Batista was handed the reins against the Frenchman’s will.

The club, owned by internet tycoon Zhu Jun, finished a disappointing ninth in the 16-team league amid reports that Anelka and Drogba are in dispute over unpaid wages following a shareholders’ dispute at the club. Anelka has since been linked with a return to the Premier League, while Drogba is reportedly a target for Italian giants AC Milan and Juventus.

According to former Manchester City and Celtic striker Chris Killen, who has been playing in China since July 2010, their experiences are typical of an unstable and chaotic footballing infrastructure.

“A club can change hands, change owners or change names in the middle of the season,” the New Zealand international told Tidesport source.

“That is the situation at the moment with my club Chongqing. They are currently being bought out so it’s a little bit up in the air as to where I will be playing next season. A new sponsor might come in and move them to Beijing.”

Killen, who signed for Super League club Shenhzen Ruby after being released by Middlesbrough and subsequently moved to Chongqing in the division below in February, said the disorder can also affect players’ day-to-day routines.

“In the UK, I was used to getting up at nine for training at 10, but when I arrived here we would only be told the time of training the night before,” he said.

“There was a lot of money but not a lot of organisation and it kind of showed on the football field. It was free-flowing football but there was no structure.

“The majority of players over here have never learnt the basics from day one. You get talented youngsters who can go past four or five players and put it in the top corner, but come a set-piece they don’t know how to mark.”

China’s first professional football league was founded in 1994 and drew average attendances of more than 20,000 for its first few seasons. However, by the time it was replaced by the Super League in 2004, match-fixing and gambling scandals had prompted many fans to turn their backs, with attendances plummeting to about 10,000.

In 2009, Chinese authorities launched a campaign to reform the sport, leading to the arrest of dozens of referees, players, officials and coaches. The country’s most successful referee – Lu Jun – was jailed for five and a half years for match-fixing in February, while two ex-heads of the football league were handed 10-and-a-half-year sentences for corruption in June.

Sheringham writes for BBC sport

 

Sam Sheringham

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Inter Best Juventus To Maintain Serie  A Lead

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Andrea Cambiaso scored at both ends during the first half of Saturday’s Derby d’Italia, before Pierre Kalulu’s red card forced Juventus to play the entire second half a man light.

Substitute Francesco Pio Esposito got Inter back in front with a bullet header, then Manuel Locatelli’s pinpoint finish looked to have salvaged a point for the Bianconeri, before Zielinski struck on the cusp of stoppage time.

Juventus made the brighter start, but they were masters of their own downfall in the 17th minute, when Cambiaso deflected Luis Henrique’s cross beyond Michele Di Gregorio.

Cambiaso atoned within nine minutes, catching Henrique on his heels when Weston McKennie’s cross squirmed through to the back post and applying a side-footed finish.

But after Bremer cleared Zielinski’s dinked effort off the line, Juve’s hopes were damaged when Kalulu received his second yellow card for a 42nd-minute pull on Alessandro Bastoni, though the Inter centre-back appeared to go down theatrically.

Di Gregorio made a remarkable stop to thwart Hakan Calhanoglu, but as Juventus dropped ever deeper, they were punished when substitute Esposito guided Federico Dimarco’s searching cross into the far corner with 76 minutes on the clock.

It looked like Inter would have to settle for a point when Locatelli whipped a wonderful finish into the bottom-left corner in the 83rd minute, but Zielinski had the final say as his 20-yard drive fizzed through Locatelli’s legs and beat Di Gregorio.

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Szoboszlai’s Real Madrid Dream Sparks Concern At Liverpool 

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A cloud of uncertainty has settled over Liverpool after comments from Hungary head coach Marco Rossi reignited speculation about Dominik Szoboszlai and Real Madrid.

Rossi, who has worked closely with Szoboszlai since his teenage years, revealed that the midfielder’s lifelong ambition is to play for the Spanish giants.

“Because of the very close and direct relationship I’ve had with Dominik since he was a child, Real Madrid has always been his dream,” Rossi said.

For a Liverpool side building around Szoboszlai as a centerpiece of Arne Slot’s project, those words landed hard.

Within hours of Rossi’s remarks, Szoboszlai interacted on social media with two Real Madrid players, applauding posts from Vinicius Junior and Trent Alexander-Arnold following Madrid’s win over Real Sociedad.

His reaction to Vinicius’ post drew particular attention. The exchange with Alexander-Arnold, his former Liverpool teammate, was seen as less surprising.

Still, in the hyper-connected world of elite soccer, even a digital thumbs-up can carry weight. On Merseyside, fans and pundits quickly began dissecting the meaning behind the interactions.

Szoboszlai, Hungary’s captain, has become one of Liverpool’s most influential players. That status is precisely why Rossi’s comments triggered such an intense reaction in England.

The midfielder had just delivered on the field as well, scoring in Liverpool’s 3-0 FA Cup fourth-round victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield.

After the match, Mohamed Salah heaped praise on his teammate, calling Szoboszlai “the best player in the world.” Slot struck a slightly more measured tone but echoed the sentiment.

“I think there are many elite players in the world, but I definitely agree with Mo that he is one of them,” Slot said. “He is very important for us.”

Szoboszlai is under contract at Liverpool through 2028. However, the club is reportedly eager to open extension talks in the coming months to secure his long-term future.

The player himself addressed the situation recently with notable candor.

“There’s nothing yet, to be honest. Nothing from now on. It’s not in my hands. That’s how it works,” he said. “There’s no progress, but if the right offer comes, we’ll see.”

He was equally clear about his affection for Liverpool.

“We’ll see what happens. Hopefully everyone will be happy in the end. Of course I want to stay. I like the city, I like the club, I like playing with these guys. I love Anfield, I love the fans. Let’s see what the future brings. It’s not my fault. I’d love to stay. We’ll see.”

 

Inter’s dramatic victory boosted their lead over rivals AC Milan to eight points, ahead of the Rossoneri hosting Como on Wednesday. Juventus, meanwhile, could drop out of the top four as Roma visited Napoli last night.

The last four Serie A matches between Inter and Juventus have produced a total of 21 goals (an average of 5.25 per game), compared to just nine in the previous six (1.5 per game).

Cambiaso became the first player in Derby d’Italia history to score and put through his own net in the same match between these old rivals, but it was Zielinski’s fifth Serie A goal of the season that proved decisive.

Inter will argue they were deserved victors after amassing 21 shots and 1.88 expected goals (xG), while Luciano Spalletti’s visitors mustered 10 shots and 0.92 xG – though the Bianconeri actually attempted six of their shots while down a man in the second half.

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Wolves Beat Man Utd Conquerors

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Premier League strugglers Wolves overcame resolute Grimsby Town in challenging conditions at Blundell Park to reach the FA Cup fifth round at the expense of the side that eliminated Manchester United in the last round.

Santiago Bueno scored from Wolves’ only shot on target with an hour played, diverting Joao Gomes’ cross past goalkeeper Jackson Smith with his thigh to end the League Two club’s resistance.

Unrelenting rainfall caused heavy ground underfoot and one penalty area in particular- that of Grimsby’s Smith in the first half – was already a quagmire before kick-off.

Charles Vernam shot narrowly wide from the edge of the box with just 43 seconds on the clock as Grimsby sought to catch their top-flight visitors cold.

Wolves had to wait until the 17th minute for their first opportunity of note, forward Tolu Arokodare firing over with a first-time attempt.

The white paint of the pitch markings soon blended and blurred with the mud as the surface rapidly deteriorated, and both sides struggled to stitch together cohesive attacks as passes travelled unpredictably across the sodden ground.

 

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