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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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Tottenham Fight Back To Hold Brighton

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Tottenham fought back from two-goals down to secure a deserved point against Brighton.

The Seagulls were second best for much of the match but found themselves 2-0 up after 31 minutes thanks to Yankuba Minteh’s early strike and Yasin Ayari’s powerful drive.

However, Richarlison halved the deficit just before half-time when he stopped a shot by Mohammed Kudus before slotting in.

Spurs dominated the second half but their finishing let them down as Richarlison and substitute Xavi Simons were both unable to make the most of promising opportunities.

But the equaliser came eight minutes from time when Jan Paul van Hecke turned Kudus’ cross into his own net.

Spurs then pushed for a winner as they looked to continue their impressive start to the season, but Brighton held on for the point.

Bundesliga: Kane Continues Goal Harvest (5)

Harry Kane scored his second hat-trick of the season as Bayern Munich overcame a shaky start to win at Hoffenheim and continue their 100% start.

The England captain, 32, broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time with a clinical first-time finish from a cleverly worked low corner, and doubled Bayern’s lead from the spot after Albian Hajdari was harshly penalised for a handball.

That broke Hoffenheim’s resistance and Kane completed his ninth Bundesliga hat-trick with another penalty, given for a foul on substitute Michael Olise after a video assistant referee (VAR) check.

This time Kane sent home keeper Oliver Baumann the wrong way for his 13th Bayern goal in seven matches across all competitions this season, adding to his Champions League double against Chelsea last Wednesday.

“Hat-trick Harry is what they called me in school,” Kane told Tidesports source after the match. “That one kind of stuck when I was younger.”

“Any ball in the box, whether penalty or not, I back myself to hit the target.”

Hoffenheim had the better of the first 45 minutes, Fisnik Asllani only able to hit the post after goalkeeper Manuel Neuer passed straight to the Kosovan.

They eventually got some reward for their efforts, former West Ham full-back Vladimir Coufal’s deflected free-kick beating Neuer to earn the Czech his first goal for the club.

Ex-Liverpool winger Luis Diaz hit the top of the bar late on as he failed to continue his record of scoring in every Bundesliga game this season, but Serge Gnabry added a fourth for Bayern with the last kick, converting a rebound from a tight angle after Baumann saved from Joshua Kimmich.

Nicolas Jackson made his first start since joining Bayern on an initial loan deal from Chelsea, but the Senegal striker had a very quiet game before being replaced in the 62nd minute.

In Italy, Lorenzo Pellegrini fired Roma into the Serie A top four as Lazio had two players sent off in a fiery derby.

The midfielder found the bottom corner in the 38th minute as Roma extended their unbeaten run to four games against their city rivals.

Lazio have lost three of their opening games of the season and had Reda Belahyane and former Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi dismissed in late drama.

Roma started well and Rome-born Pellegrini claimed the vital goal – his fourth in a Rome derby after being available for transfer in the summer – following good work down the right by Matias Soule.

But the hosts will rue missed opportunities as Boulaye Dia, Mattia Zaccagni and Alessio Romagnoli all had openings.

With four minutes left substitute Belahyane was shown a red card for a late studs-up challenge on Manu Kone.

Danilo Cataldi struck the outside of the post for Lazio in a last-gasp effort to snatch a point, while team-mate Guendouzi was sent off for dissent after the final whistle.

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Zidane’s Son Switches Allegiance To Algeria

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Luca Zidane, the son of France’s World Cup-winning playmaker Zinedine, has switched his international allegiance from France to Algeria.

Born just outside Marseille, the 27-year-old goalkeeper had appeared for France at various youth levels.

The move, which was approved by Fifa, may enable Zidane to follow in his father’s footsteps by appearing at a World Cup, with Algeria expected to secure a place at the 2026 finals in North America in their qualifier against Somalia next month.

Zidane, who is the second of four brothers, all of whom came through the Real Madrid academy, currently plays for Spanish second tier side Granada.

He played two matches for Madrid and has La Liga experience at Rayo Vallecano, but dropped a level in 2022 to play for Eibar before heading to Andalusia in 2024.

Zidane qualifies for the North African country through his father, whose parents hailed from the Kabylie region of Algeria.

Zinedine Zidane, who is regarded as one of the games greatest players scored twice for France in their 1998 World Cup final victory over Brazil, but was famously sent-off in the 2006 final, which was won by Italy after a penalty shootout.

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Man Utd Beat Chelsea To Ease Pressure 

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Manchester United capitalised on Robert Sanchez’s fifth-minute red card to secure a crucial victory over Chelsea in torrential rain at Old Trafford.

The first match in Premier League history to see two or more goals, red cards and substitutions in the first half was settled by goals from United skipper Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, who was the other player sent off before the break.

It was Sanchez’s dismissal that set the course of the game though.

The Spain international raced from his goal to meet Bryan Mbeumo as the striker ran beyond the Chelsea defence.

Sanchez then upended the forward outside his area rather than allow him past to tap the ball into an empty net.

Enzo Maresca’s response to the red card was to take off both Pedro Neto and Estevao Willian and, as Cole Palmer had to be replaced after suffering a recurrence of a groin injury, Chelsea had lost three attacking players in the space of 20 minutes.

Trevor Chalobah pulled one back for Chelsea with a header 10 minutes from time but United kept their nerves at bay to make it to the final whistle with their lead intact.

The victory was United’s second of the season and came in front of minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who gave head coach Ruben Amorim assurances over his future 48 hours earlier.

It also means Chelsea have still not won at Old Trafford since 2013, when Sir Alex Ferguson was United manager.

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