1 ALL ASIAN FOOTBALL MAGAZINE

POST LOCKDOWN FOOTBALL THE FUTURE OF THE CHINESE DREAM

2 INDEX

SECTION 1...... pag. 6

Chinese Investments in European Football (by Dario Focardi)...... pag. 7

The future is a mass of concrete? (by Eduardo Accorroni)...... pag. 13

SECTION 2...... pag. 17

Football stories in the covid era (by Nicholas Gineprini)...... pag. 18

Return to the Football Stadium (by Nicholas Gineprini)...... pag. 23

SEZIONE 3...... pag. 27

Nothing after Wu Lei (by Luigi Gemmi)...... pag. 28

The naturalization: a solution or a problem? (by Servadei)...... pag. 32

Focus on youth Chinese Football: interview to Daniele D’Eustacchio...... pag. 36

SECTION 4...... pag. 39

Foreigner supporters in Chinese Football ...... pag. 40

The most difficult year for (by Mattia Ricotta)...... pag. 46

A dream of summer (by Nicholas Gineprini) ...... pag. 50

3 The Authors of the Magazie (in alphabetical order)

Accorroni Eduardo (@ Zaratus34)

Focardi Dario (@dariofocardi)

Gemmi Luigi (@Luisgemmi)

Gineprini Nicholas (@allafcfootball)

Javadi Saman (@samanjavadi)

Ricotta Mattia (@mattiaricotta)

Servadei Danilo (@daniloservadei)

We’d also like to thanks Guanpeng Wang, Jahanyar Mohebbi, Angelo Rinaldi, Cameron Wilson, Matt Parker, Brandon Chemers, Michael Oldfield, Tobias Zuiser and Daniele D’Eurstacchio for the interviews and the time they’ve conceded to us

SOCIAL MEDIA

You can follow All Asian Football on Facebook and (@allafcfootball), also find us on Youtube where we upload our Podcasts

WEBSITE www.allasianfootball.com

CONTACTS [email protected]

It is forbidden to use the articles here published without any authorization, sharing the magazine file on Social Media or Internet sites is absolutely forbidden.

4 My Chinese friend Xiao Bao writes on his social media channels: 'The Chinese Federation on its website encourages the population to fight for the Chinese football dream, but it would be better to say that it encourages people to promote the dream of football officials. Chinese football and football are two completely different things. '

In 2015, the Chinese government and the football federation unveiled a document in 50 points for the development of football at national level: the plan is developed on several levels and planned for the opening by 2020 of 20,000 football schools (which will become 50,000 in 2025 ) and the construction of 70,000 football fields. The primary objective is to spread the culture of football using the various channels available (schools, private academies, companies, youth associations, etc.) in order to significantly increase the numbers of young footballers enrolled. The final goal is to improve the results of the national team: by 2030 expects to be dominant in Asia and by 2050 to be one of the best performing teams in the world. The number of schools that have adopted football programs and of young players involved have been largely exceeded. So can this first five-year plan be considered a success?

Why does Xiao Bao argue that Chinese football and football in general are two different things? The reason is simple: the first looks at the numbers, tries to please the politics with the Federation which is not at all independent from the government (as it should be in the FIFA statute) by taking measures that have nothing to do with the development of talent. Precisely, in this second issue of All Asian Football Magazine we will analyze the true face of the Chinese football dream, which tends to exclude the ambitions of a young footballer who dreams of becoming the new Wu Lei, or the fan who desires. follow his team and have a more intimate contact with the club. Rather, we talk about the dream of big real estate companies, football agents, private academy owners

We have divided this second issue into four sections: the first and the third concern different aspects of Chinese football development: we will start by analyzing the wave of China's investments in European football to understand what are the economic and political directives that have led further thirty clubs to welcome capital from the Asian Country. China is also preparing to host many international events in the coming years, but the most likely legacy once all the events have been consummated may be an incredible piles of concrete in the middle of nowhere. We will also talk about the development of the national team and youth football (section 3): having observed that there is no new Wu lei on the horizon, and that the youth national teams are unable to obtain the slightest result, the Chinese Federation now rely on the naturalization of foreign athletes. A clumsy attempt to hide the dust under the carpet, given that Daniele D'Eustacchio, a coach with seven years of experience in China, tells us all the problems and contradictions of football at a youth level.

The second section will be dedicated to 2020, with post lockdown football with many testimonies and interviews from those who managed to attend matches on a neutral pitch in the and bubbles, to those who worked in the clubs, and in amateur football. There will also be a story about the fans return to the stadiums and our personal long odyssey from to Suzhou to attend the playoff game between Beihing Guoan and Luneng

The fourth and last section will be dedicated to football and society: we interviewed the foreign fans of the Chinese Super League teams and analyzed the delicate economic and sporting situation in Hong Kong. We close the magazine by suggesting a good Chinese film from 2017, which tells the story of a child and his love for football (and Del Piero) in the Chinese city of Shaoxing during the summer of the 1998 World Cup.

We wish you a good reading.

5 SECTION 1

The Chinese attempt to conquer European Football

China's major investments in European football with acquisitions of clubs and assets like TV rights. The influence of Chinese companies on FIFA and the near future made up of major international events in the Asian Country. But what will be the legacy of these enormous ambitions?

6 Chinese investments in European Football

How and why Chinese companies invested in the purchase of clubs in the Old Continent

The ceremony of purchase of by Suning

The expansion of Chinese companies in the We have to think that since the start of the investments, with the purchase in 2015 of 20% market for the purchase of European soccer of Atletico Madrid by Wang Jianlin, owner of teams has been drastically reduced since the Xi Dalian Wand - construction giant - the Jinping government, in the State Council held on investments have taken on unthinkable August 11, 2017, ruled that investment in foreign proportions. Europe was about to turn into a soccer was "irrational". So it imposed great gigantic map of Monopolies, in which the bureaucratic brakes on the exit of Chinese capital companies of the Middle-Kingdom were doing from the country for reasons related to sport, as and undoing as they pleased. Why did the well as cinema or real estate. The concrete government decide to make this tightening of reason for this reversal of the trend is the fact investment after having stimulated them for so that many of these investments did not guarantee long? Can a mediocre return on image be a good image return for the establishment, enough? because they resulted in bad management and The reasons for the investments were these: easy bad sports results. An unflattering image return, enrichment, desire to have a minimum of fun and, which did not please Xi and his senior officials.

7 above all, to acquire bonuses in the eyes of the football hubs that live in a continuous Chinese Prime Minister, who is a passionate relationship with each other. Places to sort soccer fan. In fact, Xi Jinping has been defined players as if they were retail goods, with tax by the Chinese state agency Xinhua as "the controls obviously more limited given the soccer fan with a collection of jerseys that could common starting property. Which are the most make even the most ardent of fans green with popular ones? envy". And, you know, when passion goes hand in hand with capital, unthinkable madness can We start from Italy. Since 2016 the International arise, such as investing about 2 and a half billion F.C. has entered the orbit of Suning Holding euros over 3 years in soccer Europe. When these Groups, led by Jindong. The Chinese figures emerged, someone within the Chinese giant is the third largest industry in the country, government was alarmed because this huge with an annual turnover of 72.29 billion euros mountain of money, put into the markets in such (2019 data from chinadaily.com), and is mainly a short time, risked looking like a money involved in the retail sale of technological laundering attempt. This was the main reason for equipment and household tools. Inter is not new the stop. As Mark Dreyer of China Sports Insider to ties with China. Already in 1978, the team at says, this modus operandi often returns to the the time led by Eugenio Bersellini, became the Chinese economy: "Initially there is a green first Italian club to cross the Great Wall to play a light and everyone is there and they say to each friendly match. The story of Suning Sports' other "now, now, now". Then a red light comes sports director, Gong Lei, is well known. When on and everything freezes". Wang himself, as he he was 12 years old, he would have tried in was the first to invest, was also the first to let go. every way he could to be a ball player at the In February 2018 he sold his shares in Atletico match to see the Italian champions play. Out of Madrid for close to 50 million dollars, with a the romanticism, which is unsuitable for final profit of 5 million. A laughable gain contemporary football, the acquisition of a team compared to the initial investment, but at least he in difficulty but with a glorious past like Inter, did not lose out. represented a calculated risk for Zhang. First of all, the initial amount spent to take possession of Where are we today? The teams still owned by the majority package - 68.5% - equal to 750 China, or where there are important shares, are million euros, would not have been enough to over 30 in the world. A decidedly considerable buy any of the current top European clubs, then number and that, in spite of the brakes imposed the came into possession by the top, continues to increase, although with a of one of the historic brands of world soccer in decidedly more tranquil trend. You can see the need of a refreshment after the Morattian glories teams in the picture on the next page. Analyzing and the subsequent lean Tohir. This year's this list better, some recurring characteristics that second place in and final result Europa lead to purchase emerge, among which the most League certify the constant improvement of the significant are timeshare, the purchase of clubs team, which is also guaranteed by the numbers that allow other types of local infrastructure of the balance sheet and new partnership and investments and the creation of reservoir teams sponsorship contracts ready for 2021, when to grow Chinese youth. some of the old business relationships will expire, Pirelli first and foremost. The Football Hubs is already there at the window with a 100 million euro agreement ready to be signed. In China? The timeshare scheme is practically the same as Suning Holding Groups is the owner of that of the big Arab players. The creation of Suning FC, to which two former Inter level

8 players such as Brazilian defender Miranda and companies and President Ye Jianming was Italian-Brazilian striker Eder have been sent. arrested and the corporation was put under Guanghzou Evergrande seems unbeatable but commission. It is a good slice of the European Jiangsu tries to break this monopoly. At least in state's economy that is shaking because the the field because outside the lives of the two CEFC had investments on the carpet: in tourism, giants are traveling more and more parallel and, industry and media for a total of about 1.5 billion given the possible new joint ventures, even more euros. The entire nation, which had tied itself to closely. the colossus with the feet of clay, risked to be annihilated. The lifeline was launched directly Another important timeshare is the one involving by the Beijing government, through CITIC Slavia Prague and Beijing Guoan, both owned Group, which took over 49% of CEFC. Then, a by Sinobo Group, a real estate fund, and Citic few months later, Sinobo Group, which had Group, an investment and investment bank that already acquired the Beijing Guoan, also joined since 2019 is the most important public-private the board of the company. After about 2 years conglomerate in China. Slavia was already the waters seem to have calmed down and the owned by China. In September 2015 the collaboration between the two soccer clubs is majority stake in the company - 60% - had within the development of some academies that passed to CEFC Energy Group, a private live in constant relationship with each other, company active in the energy sector. The sharing coaches and players. company's debts had been covered and after many years the victory in the championship had Investments ended badly returned. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until in 2018 the Chinese government There have been investments gone wrong, some decided to speed up its anti-corruption policies. because in the hands of adventurers without a The CEFC was among the most affected euro in their pockets others jumped for

9 Team Chinese Investor Sector Shares Transaction Value Date of acquisition Phoenix Rising Plateno Hotels Grp Hotel Chain 30% ? February 2018 Espanyol Rastar Gaming 56% 17.8M November 2015 Granada Desports Sports Marketing 98.9% 45M June 2016 FC Jumilla Shareholders / ? ? May 2015 Inter Suning Commerce Group Retails, e-commerce 68,55% 240M July 2016 WBA Yunyi Guokai Sports Real Estate 100% 295M August 2016 City Football Grp China Media Capital Media and Finance 13% 354M December 2015 Birmingham City Trillion Trophy Asia Finance 50.6% 15.1M October 2016 Wolverhampton Fosun International Conglomerate 100% 45M July 2016 Reading FC Renhe Commercial Real Estate 75% 60M May 2017 Southampton Lander Sports Real Estate 80% 240 M August 2017 Pacific Media Group Entertainment 90% 30 M December 2017 (USA-China) Newcastle Jets Ledman LED Technology 100% 5.5M May 2016 ADO Den Haag Utd Vansen Sports Sport&Marketing 98% 8M January 2015 Lyonnas IDG Capital Partners Investment Fund 20% 100M August 2016 Sochaux Ledus Lighting Led Technology 100% 7M July 2015 Auxerre ORG Packing Packaging F&B 60% 7M August 2016 Uniao Sintrense Iberia Universal LDA Culture&Tourism 70% ? May 2016 Oriental Dragons WSport Seven Sport&Marketing 100% ? 2015 CD Pinhalnovense WSport Seven Sport&Marketing ? ? 2016 Desportivo Aves Wei Zhao (linked to ? 75% ? 2015 Shenhua) Cova de Piedade Kuong Chun Long Businessman 90% 2016 SCU Torrense ? ? ? ? ? Slavia Praga Sinobo and Citic Group Real Estate / Banking 99.9% 15M September 2015 (under CEFC Energy Group) KSV Roeselare Renhe Commercial Real Estate ? ? February 2017 KV Oostende Pacific Media Group Entertainment ? ? May 2020 (USA-China) Thun Pacific Media Group Entertainment ? ? December 2019 (USA-China) Grasshopper FC Champion Union HK Conglomerate 90% ? April 2020 Holding (Fosun) Vejle Lucas Chan Jie Football Agent ? ? ? Helsinki IFK Lucas Chan Jie Football Agent 51% 2M May 2019 Desportivo Brasil Shandong Luneng Group Energy 100% 45M 2014 inexplicable reasons. One of these is Tony Xia, AC Milan in April 2017. The patrimony of the the former owner of Aston Villa FC. With his self-styled entrepreneur would have turned out to Recon Group he acquired the majority of the be non-existent and still today there are big dark shares of the Birmingham team from the spots on the whole operation. In this case, the American Lerner for a figure of around 75 salvation for the fans and the Rossoneri society million pounds. Over the course of two years he came thanks to the Elliot fund, which has ousted managed to produce a net debt of around £50 Li from all positions, after pledging his shares in million, which led to sanctions for violation of exchange for the loans he had given him. the FFP by both the UEFA and the FA. Also in the peninsula, the operation involving Fortunately for the Villains fans, the Jiang Lizhang who bought 60% of Parma did not American-Egyptian duo Edens and Sawiris came go very well either. In 2018 the minority on the scene and saved the team. shareholders also took possession of his shares after serious economic defaults. This situation is In Italy we met Yonghong Li, owner of the difficult to read since Lizhang is also the owner phantom Guizhou Fuquan Group, who bought of the Granada, which is doing very well in the

10 Liga and has no economic problems. Another Portugal. If for the nation of the Beatles, the team that has seen the abandonment of the pudding and the Queen it is easy to understand Chinese property is the OGC Nice in Ligue 1. In the reason of so much interest, for the Lusitanian this case it is a deal made by the two Chinese nation lying gently on the Atlantic, it is owners Chien Lee and Alex Zheng who bought interesting to go and study what happened. the team for 20 million to resell it for 100 Perhaps some of you may have thought that million. Not a bad gain. Chinese entrepreneurs were attracted by the wines of the Algarve, the golden beaches of the The Player Trading Azores or the azulejos of Lisbon. Beauty has little or nothing to do with it. Money is what this One of the mechanisms that Chinese investors whole adventure of the eastern dragon in Europe are "having fun" with is player trading, a revolves around and investments in Portugal, mechanism that treats gambling as well as favored by a small ploy studied by the trading commodities. Lucas Jing Chiang ended Portuguese government to attract foreign capital, up in the spotlight of the Football Leaks do not fail. We are talking about the Golden Visa, investigation for this very reason. Graduated a residence permit established in 2012, which from the University of and agent at allows entry and allocation in Portuguese World in Motion, an agency that has in its territory for investment purposes. The GV is portfolio English and Chinese players, including aimed at those who are not citizens of the Wu Lei, over time he was the owner of Vejle in European Union or the Schengen area. A Denmark and today of IFK Helsinki in Finland. godsend for potential Asian investors because it He acts as both agent and owner. A conflict of allows them to settle in an EU country, taking interests that immediately catches the eye but advantage of pre-existing economic relations or which did not immediately alert the international to create new ones. It is valid for 5 years soccer bodies in charge of control. Only when in renewable and can become permanent. It is also 2019 his name came back among those reported very easy to obtain because its requirements are by the site managed by Rui Pinto. The indicted only four: 1- Transfer of capital of at least 1 document that involves him is from 2017 and million euros. 2- Creation and maintenance of a concerns a purchase and sale of a player, the total number of jobs established before arrival in Chinese defender Hui Ruibao. Chiang has signed Portugal.3- Acquisition of a property with a a pre-agreement with the management of minimum value of 500,000 euros. 4- Returning Manchester City from 250,000 pounds, in which to the country for at least 2 weeks every 2 years. the British club guarantees the employment of the player. His price would go up and City could The first results were seen in 2014, when the sell him back to China for a considerable profit. Oriental Dragon Football club was born. The This is only one of the cases that have emerged project, wanted by Chinese entrepreneur Qi in recent years, but, in the underground, there are Chen, head of Wsports Eleven, has an annual many. Among the names that emerged in the budget of 500,000 euros. A group of 40 young Football Leaks documents there would also be Chinese players between 16 and 20 is those of Jorge Mendes and Fosun. accompanied in all aspects of sporting life, from accommodation to study and training. The team Focus: Portugal and plays on the field of Pinhalnovense, in Setubal, the Portuguese third division team owned by Qi The two European nations in which Chinese Chen himself. After taking part in some youth companies and the Chinese government decided championships and foraging the development of to invest more decisively were England and Portuguese semi-professional soccer with

11 incentives to the teams that played young mechanism created by the two members the Chinese players, today Oriental plays in the Jumila, Spanish third division team that failed Campeonato de Portugal, the third division of last year. This is today's soccer. Shallowly Portuguese soccer. One of the first substantial managed timeshares, in which players are investments took place in 2017, thanks to the exchanged as parcels where needed and in which sponsorship agreement between Segunda Liga teams are left to fail after replacing them. and Ledman Group, manufacturer of neon lamps and owner of the Newcastle Jets in the Let's go back to the land of Albion, to take a Australian Hyundai A-League. 4.1 million euros closer look at Chinese investments starting with that have entered to replenish the loud this question from the blog offthepitch.com: loudspeakers of the second Portuguese division. "When someone listens to the history of Chinese This money was not done obviously without investments in soccer, it is always important to asking for something in return. The final of the ask this question: what are the other goals? On League Cup was played in Macao - former April 16, 2019 in Beijing, important Portuguese colony near China - and the presence representatives of the Chinese government, of 10 Chinese players and 3 assistant coaches together with the top management of the state among the teams registered in the league. railway company, met with Mark Thurston, CEO of HS2-high speed rail network. Why? One of Over the years the connection between the main hubs of HS2's network development are Portuguese soccer and Chinese soccer has the West Midlands, where Wolverhampton is expanded to England. In the summer of 2016 located, and two of the six English clubs that are Wolverhampton, one of the historical clubs of Chinese-owned, Birmingham and West English soccer, is in financial crisis after being Bromwich Albion, are in the same area. The relegated to League One and risks bankruptcy. English expert on Chinese investment in The sales figure is tempting, 45 million euros. European soccer, Professor Simon Chadwick of The most powerful agent of the moment, the Salford University, said, "For Chinese Portuguese Jorge Mendes, asks for more detailed entrepreneurs and the Chinese government, information promising to return with a proposal soccer often acts as a catalyst for much more that cannot be waived. He contacts Guo important projects. They create a friendly front Guanchang, CEO of the Fosun fund and and involve potential investors within local proposes the deal. The two of them agree and communities. Once in this position, they can take over the English team together. The then start lobbying in a subtle and delicate way, sporting success is immediate and the club with the goal of winning the contracts for the quickly returns to the , also most important projects. Fosun owns 51% of qualifying for the Europa League 2019/2020, -Shaoxing-Ningbo High Speed from which it comes out only in the Railway, the first private railway to be built in quarter-finals. Life makes strange turns and the China. Soccer for China will never be the end of Mendes-Guochang duo doesn't stop here and an investment but the means to achieve also buys the Grasshoper Club of Zurich, a something even bigger. And if soccer teams are decadent nobleman of Swiss soccer who plays in no longer the horizon to look at, where will the the Challenge Ligue, the second red-cross focus of the investment move to? After all, the division. The acquisition is not direct because Chinese Dream is about the big rich and the huge formally the company that proceeds to take 90% cement pouring that is going to hit the whole of the club's shares is the Champion Union HK country. holdings of Janny Wang, wife of Guangchang himself. The Grasshoper will replace in the Focardi Dario

12 The future will be a mass of concrete? China is preparing to host multiple international events of great importance, but what will be the legacy?

The new Evergrande Stadium project - andreacarioli.com

In recent years, thanks to huge investments, will host the Winter Olympics. Undeniable that strategic fund placements and ambitious political China has become a Hub of great international planning, the macrocosm of China has managed sporting events: but at what cost? Let's go for to achieve a major role in the world sports order. order. A series of examples, as concrete and tangible as ever, can simplify, as little else, the China's influence in sports institutions understanding of an arduous and often uncertain The assignment of the new World Cup for Clubs, issue. In China will be played the long-awaited, where a Chinese society will return to participate as discussed, Asian Cup 2023, presumably in the after the appearances dating back to 2013 and summer of 2021 the Celestial Empire will be the 2015 of Guangzhou Evergrande is closely home of the new World Cup for Clubs, related to the political weight of China within Hangzhou the capital of Zhejiang province will FIFA, chaired by Gianni Infantino who voted also be the absolute protagonist of the next Asian unanimously to assign the first edition to the Games scheduled for 2022, from August 31 to Asian giant. To date, in fact, there are four main September 15, 2019 between Shanghai, Chinese sponsors of the International Football and played the 18th World Men's Federation: Dalian Wanda (until 2030), a Championship, while in 2022 Beijing conglomerate active in various sectors including

13 cinema and real estate, former minority China, is the owner of Infront, the company that shareholder of Atletico Madrid; the home controls the TV rights of the major international appliance manufacturer Hisense; the smartphone championships and competitions. MediaPro, the manufacturer Vivo; and finally the Mengniu company that recently acquired the TV rights of Dairy, one of the major players in the production the Serie A, has sold 54% of its shares to Orient of milk in China. In addition to these, there is Hontai Capital for about 900 million euros. also the electric car detachment of Alibaba, a Orient Hontai Capital was founded in 2014 in leading group in Chinese e-commerce, which Beijing with a capitalization, according to the acts as the main sponsor of the current Fifa website Calcio e Finanza, of over 10 billion. Club's 7-team World Cup. Justified to believe Fundamental in this regard is also the agreement and affirm that after the terrible Fifa Gate and signed between the joint venture DDMC the decline of Blatter the International Football (founded in Wuhan, listed on the Shanghai Stock Federation is almost totally dependent on funds Exchange), in collaboration with the Swiss Fortis, from the Celestial Empire. It's difficult to find signed with the Asian Football Federation (AFC) credible alternatives of the same political and for the exclusive marketing rights of the economic nature. activities and competitions for eight years. Acquisition that has to do, as stated by the President of the company Yi Rentao, with the New Silk Road (一带一路 ) strategic initiative of the People's Republic of China for the improvement of its commercial, political and economic links with the countries in Eurasia. The agreement was signed in the presence of the President of the Football Federation Sheick Salman, with the payment of four billion dollars. Also on this chessboard will therefore share the ambitions and moves of China to pilot the new era of World Cup soccer, which will see Asia finally emerge not only from the point of view of marketing and event organization, but also for The same Gianni Infantino, from February 26, the attractiveness of its continental club 2016 President of FIFA, in June 2017 met the competitions, which need a radical change to Leader Maximo of the Chinese Communist Party make a quantum leap from the media and Xi Jinping. Colloquium that in addition to economic point of view. confirming the good relations of political/economic nature between the two The risk of great waste super-powers, has laid the foundations for the agreement signed last April by the Italian/Swiss The prestigious Asian Cup will return, in June executive with the Chinese Vice Minister of 2023, to China after the 2004 edition, where the Sport Du Zhaocai. The partnership, unique of its National Dragon Team, coached by Dutchman kind, provides FIFA technical support for the Arie Hann, lost the final against 3-1 at the development of young players, technicians, Workers' Stadium. In the first draft of the official referees and managers. The longed-for and document delivered by the Chinese Football feared dream, of the Chinese Communist Party's Association (CFA), there are twelve cities that top management, of organizing a World Cup in will host the 24-team event, but it is not Middle-earth by 2034 seems, given China's excluded that a skimming can be done in the political weight, more feasible and realistic than coming months. ever before. The inaugural match will be played in the The long-standing and notorious issue of TV famous Olympic Stadium in Beijing (nicknamed rights deserves special attention and care: China "Bird's Nest" for its curious structure), an through the Dalian , controlled by architectural masterpiece created for the 2008 Wang Jianlin, until last year the richest man in Olympics, unused for the vast majority of the

14 year. Heavy inheritance, especially from an the opening of the works that will lead to the economic point of view, but it seems not to have construction of the new stadium of the "Tigers of learned much: despite the important, to put it Canton", present for the occasion several mildly, mass of sports facilities already present members of the first team, the Italian Manager in China, the CFA has presented an ambitious and the first fan Jiayin. The plan for the construction of new stadiums new home of the Guangzhou Evergrande, which specific for football without athletic track. according to the upper floors of the Party will be Possible new cathedrals in the desert that the completed by December 2022, will have 100 Chinese macrocosm seems to be unable to do thousand seats that will make it, surpassing the without. Camp Nou "the largest football specific stadium", yet another demonstration of socio-political strength of the People's Republic of China that, more than ever, seems to have spared no expense. The mammoth project, in fact, will have a total cost of 12 billion yuan ($1.7 billion), a considerable amount of money also for the magnate of Evergrande, construction giant, Xu Jiayin became in 2017 according to the magazine Hurun, the Chinese equivalent of the much more famous Forbes, the richest man in China with a total assets exceeding 44 billion.

No exception to the above mentioned Hangzhou, - the third Chinese city to host the Asian Games after Beijing (1990) and Guangzhou (2010) -, where the new Hangzhou Olympic Stadium will be built, which will host several competitions of the Group Stage and the 16th Final, a stadium with a capacity of 60,000 seats. Massive structure without a Chinese Super League team able to use it continuously. Fundamental in the growth of the city, as an economic/social hotspot The Bird’s Nest of Beijing - pintarest.com in southern China, the investments of Ma Yun (马云), known by the western public as Jack Ma, The architectural structure should, as far as who here on February 21, 1999 gave the possible, remember the delicate shape of the founding speech of Alibaba. The eclectic Jack lotus flower, one of the many symbols of the Ma, political and economic symbol of the city megalopolis of Guangzhou. It is no coincidence but also social: the image of the perfect Chinese that the famous Lotus Pagoda, which stands Self Made Man always attentive to the Party's majestically on the Pearl River, is only a few directives, has been one of the main sponsors of kilometers away. the Asian Olympic Committee and the The criticisms addressed to the project are of a International Olympic Committee for years. different nature: those who dispute the amount of Obviously, not a simple coincidence, nothing is money used for a construction not strictly left to chance in the complex political necessary (the , the current macrocosm of the PRC. "home" of the Evergrande, can accommodate up to 60 thousand spectators and is in a more It follows, without a shadow of a doubt, the "strategic" position from a purely commercial ranks of the World Dream the construction of the point of view), those who find no use for it, not new stadium of Guangzhou Evergrande. Last even for political purposes (the World Cup of April 16, in fact, was inaugurated in grand style 2034 is still a long way off) and above all those

15 who see it once again as a mirror of the Chinese football movement; the funds available continue to be spent without any kind of logical criteria. Just look, for example, at the coastal city of Qingdao, where new stadiums are being built without a sustainable plan: in 2018 a plant with 60,000 seats was inaugurated in the Qingdao National High-tech Industrial Development Zone (extremely peripheral to the city center) used to host the Shandong Provincial Games that year (the Olympics of the region, therefore an extremely marginal event) and from there never used again. Yet in the city of Qingdao there were already the Conson Stadium and Tiantai Stadium, with 20,500 and 45,000 seats respectively, used by the two professional clubs, Jonoon (third series) and Huanghai (in the Chinese Super League). As if that weren't enough, last August 1, the city authorities unveiled the development plan for the Qingdao Youth Football Stadium, a new mega stadium that will accommodate 52,000 spectators and will be used for the 2023 Asian Cup, which in fact decrees the total futility of the new stadium used for the Provincial Games. It is difficult to imagine a future for these facilities, if not total abandonment.

But if Qingdao at least has professional clubs, in China we find many cities without any football tradition with stadiums with over 30,000 seats. The most striking example is the phantasmagorical 35,000-seat Ordos Stadium, located in the ghost town of Inner Mongolia, which hosted the Chinese Ethnic Minority Games in 2015 and is no longer used, standing out like an empty structure in the middle of nowhere. The advantages of these mega-projects in the short (very short) term are clear: on the one hand to show the world its power, especially at such a difficult time, on the other hand to maintain the high employment rate at the local level and adjust the GDP for the year-end accounts. But the disadvantages outweigh by far the benefits of these concrete castings on football: once the above mentioned sports events are over, these stadiums will be the emblem of futility, because China, from a sports point of view, contrary to what we are used to observe for other issues, only thinks in the short term.

Accorroni Eduardo

16 SECTION 2 Post Lockdown Football

Stories of fans and coaches, from the Super League bubble to amateur football, till the return of fans to the stands of the Chinese Super League

17 Football stories in the covid era Three different stories in China during this 2020, from the lockdown till the begin of the football

Wuhan fans are back to the stadium - trtworld.com

This 2020 was a very unique year, where the The role of supporters during the pandemic - Guanpeng Wang entire world had to stop himself to face the coronavirus crisis. We collected three stories of On January, during the Chinese new year this year, all related to football to give an insight holidays, the coronavirus started to spread all on what happened in Chinese Football from over the country for the epicenter of Wuhan. The different point of views. Guanpeng Wang told us situation at that time was critical and a lot of how football supporters played a role in the hospitals didn’t had enough eqipment to work in donation of medical equipments in the hospitals a safe environment. It was only thanks to the of Wuhan; Jahanyar Mohebbi, the match analyst donation of many people in China and from all of the Chinese Super League club, Shijiazhuang, over the world that doctors were able at the end told us his odyssey in the 2020, from the long to contain the virus and fortunately, the situation pre season in Dubai till the start of the season in came back to normal. the bubble of Suzhou. Finally, we chatted with Angelo Rinaldi, coach of the fourth division In the donation process also the supporters group amateur team in the remote Qinghai Province, of football teams played a key role. We talked offering us an interesting point of view on the with Guanpeng Wang, a supporter of minor leagues. Teda, who is working in England for Copa90 (on youtube you can find his documentary about football culture in China: ‘The rise of Ultras

18 Culture in China: Mi San Dao and Beijing’s but also Shandong and Yanbian supporters Royal Army) who told us his story during the helped us and that really was really appreciated. lockdown and how they managed to make some The order of medical equipment arrived in donations, buying medical equpment from Korea Tianjin in a medical glass company that we and Japan, and send it to a hospital in Wuhan know and we mailed everything to Wuhan avoiding the corrupt channel of the Red Cross. avoiding the official channel of the Red Cross. The package arrived to our friend and he drove “When the coronavirus started to spread in his car to his mother hospital. In this way we China i was back in my hometown of my father gave the equipment to the people who really in province. The city was not so far from needed. They asked who made this big donations Wuhan and we had huge restrictions. The and we told them that we ere a bunch of football members of Tianjin Teda decided to make fans from Tianjin. For my work at Copa90 i live donations to give something back to the people in England and when the virus started to spread who helped us in the past. Some years ago there in Europe i personally made a donation of 200 was a huge explosion in the port of Tianjin and surgical mask and medical glassed to a hospital destroyed also a part of the stadium. That day in Crawley, a city in the south of , we also had to host a match against because i support their team. We were also Shijiazhuang, but fortunately the incident helping our frineds from Bergamo, but when we happened in the morning, or a lot of people kept in touch with them the pandemic in Italy could be dead. It was terrible, and also some our was decreasing.” fire fighter friends died in that occasion. A lot of supporters group helped us in that occasion, they came to Tianjin to help the community. For this reason, as long as we realized there was a huge shortage of medical equipment to fight the coronavirus in the hospitals, we decided to make some donations. At that moment there was a huge scandal going around about the Red Cross in Wuhan, something that you could read in a lot of articles at that time. The Red Cross in China is so corrupted and they controlled all the money of the donations and kept for them all the medical equipments. We didn’t trusted them. Fortunately i have a friend in Wuhan and her mother was working in a hospital in the south part of the city. He told me that the Hospital didn’t had any equipment to protect the doctors, and that they had to cover their bodies with plastic bags. That was horrible.” Wuhan Zall fans at the stadium in 2020 - @samuelitowang, twitter “Recently I’ve been in Wuhan to shoot a “We started to buy mask and other equipments documentary for Copa90 about Wuhan Zall in Japan, because we had a contact there. But at supporters. I went to the hospital where we made that time the EMS office was terminated between the donations and some of the doctor knew about Japan and China. As long as we found this me, we took pictures together and we had a problem we kept in touch with another friend in lunch. They were telling me their stories when Korea, but then i found another way in Japan. they were fighting the virus in the critical weeks, But our first order from Japan was cancelled, and during the pandemic, among the doctors, no since they realized that the problem was serious, one was infected and I’m glad that our donations they wanted to increase the price of everything. helped them to stay safe. I’m glad about this At the end we managed to place different orders because they are the really heroes this year.” from pharmacies in Korea and Japan and at the same time we were collecting money for donations, not only from Tianjin Teda supporters,

19 Inside the bubble - the 2020 of Jahanyar had to spend two weeks in the hotel for the Mohebbi quarantine. Fortunately, everyone in our team tested negative. It was difficult in Dubai, many The Chinese football season this year was at risk players missed the families, they didn’t set up for for a lot of months. At the beginning of the year, the climate and the food. For them the situation while the coronavirus was spreading in China, was difficult, they were home sick. We had to most of the teams stuck in Europe or Middle keep the players motivated all of this time and it East with a 2 months long pre season. Then was not easy because we could not plan without everyone had to come back to China since the know when we would’ve be able to come back to borders closed at the end of march, and for some China or start the season. I think we did a very months, everyone was waiting for the official good work, we were one of the few teams that scheduled that was released only in July. The 16 never stopped to training and always managed teams of the Chinese Super League were splitted to organize training sessions, and test games, in 2 groups, in Dalian and Suzhou, living in a then when we came back to China we had all the bubble, in the hotel for 2 months where they had staff and the foreign players with us, no one was no contact with the outside world. blocked outside after they shut down the borders, We talked with Jahanyar Mohebbi, the match something that happened to many teams”. analyst at Shijiazhuang Everbright, that told us his experience in this 2020, from the pre season “In Shijiazhuang when we came back there was in Dubai till the bubble where he lived with his an unique atmosphere, something that is difficult team in Suzhou. This interview was recorded at to explain. Also if you look now at the situation the beginning of September 2020, while the of the world, borders are close and there is a season was going on. certain grade of uncertainty. We trained without know when the season would have began. We “Last season (2019) with Shijiazhuang ended in started to train focusing on game situations, November, we got 6 weeks off and then we giving the players also some breaks and also we started the pre season in Haikou on mid organized some team building activities like december for a camp, Some of the foreigners having lunch or dinner together. We did didn’t join us immediatly because we gave them everything to keep them motivated and then more days of rest for the new year and China allowed teams to play test matches and we Christmas. For the Chinese new year around 20 were very exited about this. Then we were of January we had 6 days off and i came back to waiting about the future, but at some points there Austria, where i live, and then we travelled to were rumors that the season was going to be Dubai for a second training camp. It supposed to cancelled. We had to motivate the players be an activity of 2 weeks but we stayed there for through all of the situations that we were not 2 months because the coronavirus started to able to control and that was not easy.” spread everywhere in the world”

“No one of the team expected this situation, we belived that this was just a simple virus and that the situation could back to normal in few weeks, but it became bigger and bigger. We had to stay to Emirates for two months with no news about when we could back to China. We played some games with some local teams, at that time there were also some other Chinese teams in UAE, including the Chinese National team. One day, the Chinese Football Association officials informed all the teams that they had to come back to China quickly, because the borders would have closed soon and that’s what happened at the end of march. We managed to come back in time and once in Shijiazhuang, we Shijiazhuang supporters cheers the club while is leaving for Suzhou - Twitter

20 “Then finally everything was announced and the Beijing have a lot of choices for every position. Chinese Super League started. We moved to It is a challenge for the medical staff to keep all Suzhou to live inside the bubble on the 25th of the players in good shape since also the July. The first thing we did was to take a nucleic conditions of the pitches is not great because we acid test. In the hotel there were different play often and sometimes the rain during this buildings, one for each team that participated in season is really heavy. So, to got injured is very the group stage. We had a swimming pool gym, easy in these conditions.” 8 training fields, and every team had his own restaurant. The organization i have to say is “This experience and this whole year was very really great, they took care of everything. Is a challenging for everyone, but finally we very unique experience and organization maneged to begin the season and play our games. because you need to take care of players, staff, I’m really satisfied for the results we achieved, referee, Federation officials. It’s very difficult not only on the field, but as a team, as a group and i don’t think that other countries would be that was able to go through all of the difficult able to do something like so efficient, I’m really situations we’ve faced this year” amazed. Outside we have an area to have a walk and some supermarkets. Then we received a Amateur football - Angelo Rinaldi communication that if possible, but not mandatory, we should avoid contacts with If the Chinese Super League has restarted with member of other teams because is not good for an impeccable organization in the bubble, the the image, if we meet outside should be just a minor leagues have remained in limbo for a very smart talk, like ‘how are you’, not sit together long time. League One () began outside for long time. On the game day both in September, while League Two at the end of teams leave the hotel together with the stock of October, but as regards the galaxy of amateur the police, we play the game and then we come leagues, once the various regional back to the hotel, so, there is no contact with the championships have been concluded between outside world. If a player got injured and have to May and June, the final stages have not yet been go to the hospital, when he comes back to the formalized. We therefore spoke to Angelo hotel they need to make again the test and Rinaldi, coach of Qinghai Oulu International FC, quarantine for one night in the room, waiting for a team from the Western Province of Qinghai the result. Many people thinks that is difficult to qualified for the national finals. stay here for all of this time with no chance to go outside, but i think is the only way this situation “This is my second year in China. I started my can work, for the safety of everyone. There are career in Beijing working in the youth sector of some collective activities, like at the end of the Beijing BSU, second division team. After a august there was a biliards tournament between few months and very satisfying results, I had a the players that was also broadcasted on PPTV. meeting with a representative of the province of There are a lot of this kind of activities, for Qinghai: the idea was to bring a professional, example coaches and staff often organize little high-level team back to the territory and my way football matches between them in the football of working convinced them to choose me. The pitch in the common area. Is necessary because team is very ambitious and the project is to you have to go through the day for two months reach the second division within four seasons. and is not easy to kill the time. For me it was We are in Xining, in the capital of Qinghai, it is different, because i am a match analyst and since a very quiet city compared to the metropolis of we play every 4 days i didn’t had a lot of free Beijing. Here the winters are very cold, it time during this period.” reaches -20 degrees and we are at 2500 meters above sea level, but I have adapted to this new “When we started to make the team ready we challenge. Precisely, since we have great didn’t expect to play one game every 4 days. We ambitions, ours is a good team, made up of were really concerned about the injuries of interesting young players and some veterans players because our team is not big and if we who have various experiences in professionalism. lose a key player maybe we don’t have an We have a lot of players from League One, but alternative, while for example Guangzhou or also some from the Super League on loan. "

21 “Like so many other people, in mid-January for were supposed to be 60 but now it seems there the Chinese New Year I returned to Italy. Seen will be around 40. The starting date should be from my country, the situation in China seemed November but there are no certainties on this to be very critical due to the spread of covid, but front either. In the meantime, we are leaving to I was very confident that they would come out get used to the climate and the new environment very well. After various vicissitudes I managed in the hope that this season can be concluded in to return to China in early February and I had to the best possible way ". quarantine in Xining. Mind you, quarantine in China is not like in Italy where there were Gineprini Nicholas people who went around running or walking the dog. There was no way that I could leave the apartment, but the club didn't make me miss anything in those two weeks. "

“We resumed training at the end of March without knowing when the season would start. It was very difficult to keep the players motivated since in these situations are likely to get bored very easily. Our regional championship then took place in May with only 7 teams. We were clearly the strongest: the victory with the smallest gap was 5 goals and we even won a match by 29-0! "

“In June we went between and to play some friendlies and we achieved excellent results against superior teams. We needed these games to keep everyone motivated, as, after the mini tournament in May, there was absolutely no news regarding a second phase with the winners of the various championships. "

"After so many months we are finally preparing to leave for Province where 'it seems' that this final phase will take place, but we don't know what the format will be and how many teams will participate. I believe that many teams have withdrawn, at the beginning they

22 Return to the Football Stadium My trip from Beijing to Suzhou to attend the playoff game of the Chinese Super League

In 2018 I made one of the toughest decisions of I finally bought my first season ticket and followed the team both at home and away, living my life, to drop everything and move to China to first with enthusiasm, and then with try to find a new way. Football helped me to discouragement, a season ended in second place integrate into Pekinese life thanks to the fans, which we had dominated by a large margin both Chinese and foreign, whom I already knew during the first phase. The memory of that away before embarking on this journey. Following and match in Guangzhou at the beginning of May is cheering on Beijing Guoan at Worker's Stadium still vivid: in the early afternoon my wife and I did not only mean going to the stadium to see the watched the final league, but also to get into a new sub-culture won by Tai Po over the Chinese of the R&F HK, with the guys from the Royal Army (one of and immediately afterwards, we headed towards Guoan's main ultras groups) who introduced me Tianhe Stadium, the home of Evergrande, where to the link between football and punk music in under an incessant downpour we saw a great the Beijing city. In 2018 I had arrived too late in Beijing Guoan victory. At that moment we China to make the season ticket, but last season,

23 seemed invincible, but the season ended without placements ... without knowing which format. titles. Yes, because when the season was announced, with the end of the regular season on 28 September, it was realised that from October to the end of November, between breaks for the Nationals and the resumption of the AFC Champions League, there was no room to play the second phase. Only once the World Cup qualifying matches had been postponed to 2021 and the Champions moved to the end of November, the Chinese Super League declared that the second phase would be a knockout, still on neutral ground. By that time we were already in the second leg of the first phase.

The spectator experience was quite strange. It was the first time ever that I interfaced directly I looked at this 2020 with great confidence. In with a league divided into two phases and the January, as every year, I had returned to Italy for uncertainty of the format of the second phase the Chinese New Year holidays and in those turned the joy of victory into bewilderment: was days the novel coronavirus had thrown China it enough just to place in the top four for the into panic. Against all logic and common sense, playoffs, or would there be a second group stage my wife and I decided to return to Beijing in in which the points won in the first 14 games mid-February when the situation seemed to be counted? When the playoffs were confirmed I partially under control. I never imagined that had totally lost interest in the regular season: the China would soon be back to normal in small Beijing Guoan already had a wide margin of steps, while Europe was preparing to experience advantage over the fifth place and was 4 lengths its first lockdown. from the Shanghai Sipg leader. Sometimes I used to watch the game at a friend's house, but After my return to Beijing a long wait started, my level of attention was really low. I can say both to return to work (with the schools that that this experiment of mine (I hope it's the only were the last to reopen) and for the start of the one considering the global circumstances) of 2020 football season. At the end of March, in league + playoff was very discouraging, and fact, China decided to close its borders to there were also other factors to consider in my foreigners with not even a week's notice. So, judgement: the impossibility to watch a live because of the few flights available, many match was aggravated by the fact that the foreign Chinese Super League players and authorities demolished the Beijing Workers' coaches were stranded in their home country. Stadium to completely rebuild it from scratch for The football season, since there were no new the Asian Cup in 2023. In this umpteenth mega internal contagions in the country, could start real estate project, the entire area around the very well at the beginning of May as in South Stadium will be renovated and many activities Korea, but we had to wait until July, with the have been forced to close, including the Lantern, partial reopening of the borders for diplomatic my favourite Techno music venue, of which I and other 'special' work categories to finally see keep happy and unpolished memories of the season restart. evenings that ended the following afternoon. So Beijing Guoan for the next two years will play at As explained in the previous article, the Fengtai Stadium, which is an hour and a half by championship has taken on an alternative format, underground from the city centre. Without irony, with the 16 teams divided (based on last year's I think a trip to Tianjin against Teda might be ranking) into two bubbles, in Dalian and Suzhou. closer. So 14 days of the championship with the regular season, with the first 4 of each grouping that But let's get to the playoffs: from the sicth round would then fight for title and Championships the Chinese Super League has opened its doors

24 to the public with 1000 supporters per team. The the opportunity to admire the beauty of Suzhou, sixth round match between Guoan and Sipg took which is called the 'Venice of China'. A city that place on Saturday, which was perfect since I at first glance seems to me to have managed to didn't need to take any time off... but I had a preserve all its beauty and identity, and which I language exam that weekend. The first playoff promise to visit one day. game of the Beijing Guoan against Shandong luneng was also played on Saturday and this Together with the other Guoan fans we gather at time I couldn't miss the chance to see my team the check point, where they check our for any reason in the world. So on Friday 16th Health-Code, a code that reveals our movements October, together with my friend Brandon in the country in the last 14 days, in order to Chemers (who, as you will read in the interview make sure no one has been to Qingdao, a city with the foreign fans of the Chinese teams, has where a few days earlier three new cases of been following Guoan for over a decade) we set covid-19 were recorded. Once we arrived at the off for Suzhou, with a rather extreme route: Stadium we were let in after a normal check-in, 13-hour night train from Beijing to Suzhou, without body temperature measurement (as was arriving at nine in the morning; match at 3:30 pm the case for previous games). and then on Saturday night the other night train back to the capital.

The outward journey was as memorable as ever, spent in the company of many other Beijing Guoan fans. We were about 10/12 fans gathered a bunk to drink beer, Korean liquor and eat Chinese snacks such as duck breast, duck neck and other duck parts. Also joining this party was a non-fan who actually had to sleep in that bunk, a gentleman in his fifties on a business trip to the city of Wuxi, he was already out like a balcony when we met him and he happily joined in and enlivened the whole evening. I don't know how, but at a certain point in the bunk there was only me and him left while the others went for a Finally there it is, the green of the playing field smoke, and after giving me a speech a bit in in the huge Olympic Stadium in Suzhou, a Chinese, a bit in English, on Lake Wuxi and the structure with over 50,000 seats. In the sector power of the man said to me: 'The Chinese below mine, the Royal Army had already started Revolution was five kilometres ago'. I dare not to cheer the team, which had just returned to the imagine that we got lost. The next morning while locker rooms after warming up. On the opposite we fans were as white as sheets, that gentleman side of the side stand there was a large orange in the jacket and shirt seemed to be perfectly crowd, with fans of Shandong Luneng. Inside the shiny instead. stadium it was required to keep a safe distance, with the fans spaced one seat apart from the So we landed in Suzhou at nine o'clock in the other. A bit of a contradiction considering that morning and after several coffees we headed to a the night before on the train and even a few restaurant for lunch to try some local cuisine. minutes earlier on the bus, safety distances were The food is definitely different from Beijing and not required at all. North China in general where the taste is much stronger and spicier. In the south of China The weather is perfect for a football match and instead the food is lighter and sometimes even under the warm Suzhou sun the two teams sweet. According to the guidelines given to us, it finally make their entrance on the pitch. The last is not possible to go to the stadium alone, but we time I saw the Beijing Guoan live was on had to gather at a check point and then be October 26th of the previous year, on the escorted by bus to the Suzhou Olympics. On the twenty-seventh round of the championship, way from the restaurant to the check point I have when we won 3-1 against Tianjin Teda. I never

25 imagined I would have to wait almost a whole control in China and that Italy and Europe can year to see those green jerseys on a playing field also return to normal. But unfortunately the signs again. And yet happiness immediately turned of recent weeks do not seem to indicate this. into despondency: Shandong Luneng closed the first half on a 2-0 score with a penalty shot On the journey the residual energy is really at the transformed by Graziano Pellè and a goal by Jin limit: no beer of Korean liquor, this time we Jingdao. But never give for dead the Beijing collapse like boulders in our bunks waiting to Guoan, who at the beginning of the second half return home. It has been a really extreme journey, shortens immediately with Bakambu from the but this and more for my Beijing Guoan! penalty kick and it is always the Congolese who signs the draw that postpones the verdict of the Gineprini Nicholas quarter finals to the second leg match.

At the end of the match we boarded the bus again to be transported back to the check point. Too tired from the day we went to the nearest restaurant to have a bite to eat and then we boarded a taxi to the train station in Suzhou, ready for another long night trip. On the way to the station I admire the lights of the city at night and I think back to the day just gone by, aware that unfortunately there will be no more trips like this in 2020 as there are no more matches scheduled on Saturday. However, it was a unique and liberating experience to watch a football match in such a special historical period where stadiums are still closed to the public in many countries. Although we won't be at the Worker’s Stadium, but in Fengtai, I hope that the next season can take place in a completely regular way with the doors open to the public. We are living through a historical period of deep uncertainty: China has been able to cure itself and start again stronger than ever after the critical period between January and February, but after several weeks without new cases, new infected people have recently been found in the cities of Qingdao and Guangzhou. The greatest hope is that the situation will be kept under

26 SECTION 3

The future of the Chinese Dream

The foreigners and Yennaris with the Chinese NT Jersey - chinadaily.hk

From the historic qualification of the 2002 World Cup to the total lack of results, both at the senior national level and at the youth level. The only international talent is Wu Lei, but given the absence of an heir on the horizon the naturalization of foreign athletes is used to hide the great flaws of a system that never looks at the development of talent, but only that of business.

27 Nothing after Wu Lei

The ’s Phoenix, now at Espanyol, is a superior player, but there are no heirs on the horizon.

Wu Lei with the Espanyol Jersey - .com

In 2002 China under the leadership of Bora January 2015 his transfer to Wolfsburg took place for an amount of around 2 million euros. Milutinovic participated for the first time in a Despite this, the Wuhan playmaker collected 0 World Cup, while in 2004 the Dragon team in appearances in 6 months, resulting in a return to the Asian Cup played at home obtained second Beijing, for the same amount spent a short time place by losing the final against Japan. In those before. The reasons behind this maneuver, which years it seemed that Chinese football was already presents ambiguities in itself, are destined to grow considerably also considering naturally linked to the sponsor since Volskwagen, the number of players who moved from Middle the group that controls the German club with the Earth to Europe to become symbols in the clubs annexed town (recognized abroad only for the in which they played: we're talking about Sun automotive industry) is very active in China: Jihai at Manchester City, at Everton, Fan despite an estimate that in recent years would Zhiyi at Crystal Palace, Yang Cheng at Eintracht have predicted a drop in sales, Herbert Diess's Frankfurt, at 1860 Munich and many company is increasing its turnover month by more ... but that generation was unrepeatable and month, alternating fairly negative periods with over the years, the number of Chinese talents in very profitable ones (such as the month of April, European football has diminished for leave space where compared to February there was a only for clumsy marketing attempts. quadrupling of the gain) that it recently entered the Chinese “green” market with a heavy The 1991 born Zhang Xizhe, attacking investment of two billion euros. from Beijing Guoan (a team in which he also currently plays) is one of these: in

28 For each question, there is therefore an answer, getting a good performance from a Chinese like in the case of , one of the player would be a turning point from a media Chinese globe trotters among the academies in point of view.Despite this, the transfers went to Portugal, the experience in Germany at freeze after several rumors that associated the Braunschweig and then, in 2015, too, at Rayo greatest exponents of the generation just passed Vallecano. Zhang was at that time one of the such as and to teams most promising Chinese players and was also like Sevilla and Chelsea; especially the second part of the National team under , who over the years has earned the nickname of but his transfer was also realized by another Zhangmos due to the characteristics that made sponsor, Qbao who was in charge of respecting him the Chinese , was very close the agreement according to which the Spanish to England, only to fade away. club should expand its profile abroad. So, with only one presence to his credit, after 6 months, But why did the transfers then stop? Various the Chinese player was sent back. causes correspond to this question, the first on all the salaries that are too high, especially for the Under 23s who are also protected by the various rules of recent years (now there must be one on the pitch for the whole game) and the Chinese Super League teams that have an average age of more than 30 years do not have many young players in the squad, so a place in the Starting XI is ensured by the regulation and not by talent. Furthermore, to add fuel to the fire was the lack of the recent salary cup introduced in recent months: young players with a minimum of talent were covered in gold and did not have the ambition to go and show off in Europe. Zhang Chengdong with Rayo - marca.com

Zhang Yuning was also involved in this list, in Wu Lei is the only real fact the current striker of Guoan after a screaming debut at Hangzhou Greentown, This is where the only footballer who historically excelled in the U17 national team and could make a difference for China comes into subsequently after his transfer to Vitesse he still play: In November 1991, Wu Lei was born, and showed some good plays by a 20 year old. in the last decade, in a mediocre context was the However, at Werder Bremen he will only collect only truly exceptional Chinese player. The debut benches and at ADO Den Haag (Chinese-owned) at only 15 yaers old, already hinted that the where after a cruciate ligament rupture he will conditions for seeing a potential champion were end his loan with 0 goals. The operation was not all there: very fast, touch of the ball considerably linked to sponsors initially, but the Yuning case above the average and a sense of goal as a true nevertheless remarked that the ecosystem of raptor, characteristics that will accompany him Chinese football is sinking below mediocrity. In for his entire career until reaching the peak in fact, in one of the leagues that leave more space 2017-2018. to young people like the Eredivise, failure is nothing positive. In 2017 he scored 20 league goals and dragged the SIPG to the AFC Champions League Why does nobody go to Europe anymore? semifinal and then concluded the work in 2018 with the conquest of the Chinese Super League As said at the beginning, the gap between China with his team, saturated with champions like and any European championship is still too big , Oscar and Elkeson, but he made the and therefore to shine, even if for years in the difference and interrupting the domination of the Chinese Super League does not give guarantees. Guangzhou Evergrande, which for 7 years had The clubs insist on this type of player because been confirmed as champion. Top scorer and undisputed MVP of the season with 27 goals in

29 the league and absolute protagonist (he played had 40 million tuned users. Wu Lei's first six despite the shoulder injury) of the Chinese NT’s months, in his very first experience in a foreign journey up to the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup reality, were good: 3 goals, 1 assist and 1 penalty 2019, the Nanjing’s Phoenix after 14 years obtained in 12 games, contributing to the moved from Shanghai in the January winter qualification in the Europa League of the Catalan session in Spain to Espanyol. The Spanish club, team, scoring the decisive goal in the decisive despite being Chinese-owned (Chen Yansheng match against Real Sociedad. Obviously of Rastar Group is the de facto president) statistics that have nothing to do with the “old” managed to find a valid compromise: investing Wu Lei, but considering the non-gradual in a player who has what it takes to not be a low inclusion from the lower end of a championship profile and at the same time involve the market like the Chinese one to one of the top four like Asian. it was not bad at all. The then Periquitos coach, Rubi, was the first to sum up the former Indeed, the brand new Wu Lei jersey has sold SIPG, calling him a splinter, which leaves no 5000 units in the first two weeks and for its reference points to the opponents and therefore debut on 3 February against Villarreal, PPTV very useful to the cause.

Unfortunately, at the end of the season the continuous exemptions on the bench will never Espanyol ecosystem started to melt and beyond find its compactness with Gallego, Machin and the top scorer , departed also the much less with the last Abelardo. talented central back Mario Hermoso, bought from Atletico Madrid for 30 million. The most Despite the enormous problems, the performance important transfer, however, was represented by in the two main competitions (Europa League the exit of the head coach Rubi who, after having and LaLiga) was parallel and inversely conquered the seventh place moved to Betis proportional: in the league it was difficult to win, Sevilla. From here began the involution of while in the Europa League "Los Perriquitos" Espanyol, where the substitutes did not blend as ended the group in first position, for then come well as their predecessors: Facundo Ferreyra out in the round of 16 after meeting despite coming from good seasons at Shakhtar Wolverhampton. Thus ended Wu Lei's first Donetsk, made Borja and the defense regret the experience in a European cup with two goals continuous changes of form, due to the scored (one at Lucerne in the playoff and one at

30 CSKA Moscow in the group stage) and an assist unlike him, he is very discontinuous and is not (against the Ukrainians of Zorya Luhansk in the gifted with discipline, given the frequent playoff). With the midweek commitments bickering inside the locker rooms and the coming to an end, the seasonal goal of avoid the suspensions remedied on the pitch. Zhu Chenjie relegation after a disastrous start was the only for the defense, on the other hand, bodes well thought. The 2-2 draw in the derby with given that he does not lack personality and being Barcelona had given hope, where Wu Lei just born in 2000 he was master of the defense in the came close to the net with a nice header and then, ride that led his Shanghai Shenhua to the a few minutes later, act as an equalizer, inserting conquest of the Cup of China last year. himself lightly behind the Blaugrana defense , putting out Pique, Lenglet and Jordi Alba and But looking at the results of the youth teams, finally piercing Neto, with a decisive diagonal. there is nothing to be positive: the last U23 One month after the goal in the derby he was Asian Cup, China, which was eliminated at the also decisive in the provisional advantage in the group stage, lost all the matches scoring 0 goals battle of Seville, which also ended 2-2 against and in the last 10 years at U16, U19 and U23 in the current holders of the Europa League. At the the Asian Cups the best result was the end of the season, however, the individual data achievement of the quarter-finals by the U19. of the Nanjing’s Phoenix will not be useful for The alternatives to this poor result were the the team: the victories will be only 5 in 38 non-qualification or elimination at the group matches, and Espanyol was relegated into stage that for years accompanied the youth teams Segunda Division, paying for the discontinuity of China. Even in the senior national team the and drops in concentration, which have results are struggling to arrive and the lack of accompanied the Catalans throughout the year, real talents, ready for the great leap in quality is making it a harmful environment: in fact, there the reason why for many years the future has are 7 league matches where Espanyol was in the been increasingly black, and it is precisely for lead and then ended up losing or getting this reason that the practice of naturalization is equalized in the final minutes and this was fatal. finding space.

Apparently, despite the different market rumors Gemmi Luigi that approached him at Wolverhampton, Wu Lei next year will continue at Espanyol to bring the club that is putting him in important football, back into LaLiga. The nearly 29 years for Wu Lei could be the only limit to a final consecration, taking his status from a mysterious object to a top-flight player.

Will there be a new Wu Lei?

At present it would seem that there is no player with the same punch as Wu Lei, but there are some interesting talents. of Guangzhou Evergrande nearly took the big leap years ago after the academies in Portugal and then returned to China with Shanghai SIPG, Beijing Guoan and now at Evergrande it seems to have found some stability, also thanks to the support of his coach Fabio Cannavaro. In terms of characteristics, the 1995 born player is certainly the closest to Wu Lei, as well as having the same role (and also being close to moving to Spain, but at Granada), he has a good shot, discreet sprint and great touch of the ball, but

31 The Naturalization: A solution or a problem?

In recent years, given the poor results and a generation of new Chinese footballers that is slow to blossom, the Federation has decided to focus on foreigners.

Elkesonis training with the National team - straitstimes.com

In recent years, national teams are increasingly In this context, to try to reach a second historic resorting to naturalizations of foreign players to qualification to the World Cup that missing since improve the quality and strength of their 2002, also China has opted for naturalization and squads. The most recent example is the United there are so many foreign players that the Arab Emirates who called up to Sebastian Chinese Football Association (CFA) is planning Tagliabue, who moved to Al Nasr in July, Caio to bring in the national team to strengthen the Canedo of Al Ain and Fabio Lima of Al Wasl squad. This can be a solution in the short term, for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers (later but at the youth level it can be a real postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 problem. By relying on foreign players who can emergency), but not only. Even a top national make a difference, the CFA can achieve its goal team like Japan in the past has resorted to the of qualifying for the World Cup, but by giving naturalizations of some Brazilian players like up on local players. Currently, fewer and fewer Ruy Ramos, Alessandro Santos and Wagner Chinese players look promising and a new Wu Lopes.

32 Lei is really hard to find. In this article we will order to be called up by the Chinese national see how foreign players can obtain the Chinese team. Nico Yennarsi's debut with China took citizenship, who will be the next faces of the place on 7 June 2019 in the match against the national team and what will await China in the Philippines, which his team won 2-0. Yennaris future, which does not seem to want to take a was able to obtain Chinese citizenship thanks to step back from this new policy. his mother who had Chinese blood, while his father was a Greek of Cypriot origin. How to obtain the Chinese citizenship

The rules on naturalization are established by FIFA in Article 7 and the change of nationality can be satisfied in two ways . We talk about naturalization by residence when a certain individual lives for five consecutive years (after reaching the age of 18) in the territory in which citizenship is to be obtained, only if he has never played an official match (continental events, world cup or qualifications) with the previous national team. We talk about naturalization of blood, however, when at least one relative has Chinese blood and the most distant heir that is Nico Yennaris - theguardian.com taken into consideration is a grandfather. Through this process, as we will see Also from Beijing Guoan, 1998-born midfielder shortly, many players have already been John Hou Saeter was naturalized through the naturalized. It should be specified that all people same process. Norwegian by birth, Saeter only who obtain Chinese citizenship cannot keep the played in Norway before moving to China from previous one , but must renounce it before or Stabaek in 2019. He was able to become a during the acquisition of the new passport , as Chinese citizen thanks to his mother who was a established by article 8 of the Chinese woman from Luoyang, Henan province, and his Constitution. is Hou Yongyong. The player has not yet been called up by China, but he should In this regard, it should be remembered what find space very soon. happened to the Brazilian footballer Elkeson who, to play with the Chinese national team, had Another naturalized player according to this to change his name to Ai Kesen. The Guangzhou process was Roberto Siucho, a midfielder of Evergrande player was the first foreign player Peruvian origins who plays in Guangzhou without Chinese relatives to play with the Evergrande. The attacking midfielder born in Dragon Team (in the 5-0 against the Maldives on 1997 arrived in China in 2019, passing first on 10 September 2019 where he scored two loan to Shanghai Shenxin. This year, the player goals.) going to write another important chapter was once again loaned out to Kunshan FC, a in the history of after winning Chinese club that plays in , everything with the jersey, including the second division of Chinese football. Siucho editions of the Asian Championships, scoring in was able to become a Chinese citizen thanks to both finals. his grandfather who was from Dachong Town, in the Guangdong region and his Chinese name is Players naturalized by hereditary Xiao Taotao. He too, like Hou Saeter, should be one of the new faces of the national team. As stated earlier, there were many foreign players who had Chinese citizenship according In addition to Siucho, also Tyias Browning was to the blood naturalization process. The first was naturalized by Guangzhou: defender born in Nico Yennaris, a former Arsenal player who 1994. The player arrived in China from Everton moved to Beijing Guoan in 2019, obtaining a after several loans in the lower divisions in 2019 new passport and changing his name to in

33 and has obtained Chinese citizenship thanks to the first time, not for matches, but for a training his grandfather and his origins name in session under the orders of the new coach Li Tie mandarin is Jiang Guangtai. At the moment, in the . China is waiting for the response from FIFA to be able to call him into the national team. This is The second player to be naturalized through this because Browning has already played with the process was , also from England youth teams up to under 21 but with the Guangzhou Evergrande, but currently on loan to last updates on the naturalization rules this will Beijing Guoan. Arrived in China in 2015 from not be a problem anymore and the player was Salzburg, the striker born in 1989 obtained called for the National team Camp that was held citizenship in 2019 and his name became simply in October. Alan, being able to represent the Chinese national team. The midfielder Alexander N'Doumbou of Shanghai Shenhua will not be able to play for the The third and last player is Fernandinho, another Chinese national team. He arrived in China in Guangzhou Evergrande player. The right-winger 2019 from Vereya and changed his name to Qian born in 1993 arrived in China from Estoril in Jiegei Alisangte Endubu after obtaining Chinese 2015, passing on loan to Chongqing Lifan who citizenship thanks to his maternal then purchased him the following origins . N'Doumbou cannot play for the national year. Fernandinho obtained the Chinese team as he has already played for Gabon. citizenship last year and his new name is Fei Nanduo, but he still cannot be called up for the Naturalized players by residence and the national team . This is because the player still Delgado’s case has to complete the fifth (current year) year to be eligible under FIFA standards. T o make him more confident with the National team environment, Fei Nanduo was called to the National Team Camp along with Tyas Browning.

Those who, on the other hand, will not be able to obtain Chinese citizenship at least for the moment is of Guangzhou Evergrande, now on loan to Hebei Fortune. The Brazilian striker was close to completing the five years required to obtain citizenship, but the move on loan to Palmeiras in 2019 did not allow Aloisio when was a Hebei Fortune player - chinadaily.com him to finish the 183 days required to validate the year. A serious loss in this process In addition to the aforementioned Elkeson, there considering the fact that Goulart, before knee are three other foreign players naturalized by injuries forced him to a long stop, was elected residency. The first is Aloisio Gonçalves of MVP of the Chinese Super League for two Guangzhou Evergrande, brazilian striker born in consecutive years (2015 and 2016). 1988. Aloisio arrived in China in 2014 from Tombense, moving to Shandong Luneng and Finally, great curiosity aroused the case relating staying there for two years before moving to to the Portuguese Pedro Delgado who also Hebei Fortune. In China, in addition to the two played in Italy in the Inter youth teams. The teams just mentioned, Aloisio also dressed the player born in 1997 under Shandong Luneng, shirt of Guangdong South China Tiger, club of currently on loan to Aves, a team that plays in second division, before moving to the Portuguese league, in 2019 had obtained Guangzhou. After the 5 years required Chinese citizenship thanks to an ancestor who for naturalization , Aloisio became a Chinese seems to be from Macau (not confirmed.), But citizen and changed his name to Luo Guofo. In with no concrete evidence the player should have 2020 he was called up for the national team for completed the five years of residence in China

34 anyway. This was not the case, as Pedro Delgado French national team: "Look at France, it is decided to return to Portugal. composed only of blacks, the Chinese one will bleach or blacken in the future". A Future at risk It must also be said, however, how this process As already mentioned at the beginning of the of naturalization of foreign players on Chinese article and widely discussed before, soil was strongly desired by the former coach naturalizations can also be good in terms of Marcello Lippi who had asked that to the results, but as regards the future of a national Chinese Federation to return to the bench of the team from the point of view of young people it Dragon Team. Now Lippi is no longer in charge, can be a great obstacle. With the continuous (in his place there is Li Tie ed.) and recently, focus on foreigners, the new Chinese generation Chen Yuaxin (former president of Shanghai Sipg) does not seem to have great confidence on the has risen to the top of the CFA, a personality part of the federation, also because there are very who has opposed in the past to the naturalization few interesting Chinese young players. process and which is also trying to reduce foreign staff in the Chinese Youth Nationals. It will be necessary to see whether China will continue to follow the path of naturalization or confirm its nationalist spirit. Probably, given that the road has already been traced, in 2021 we could see a sort of 'compromise' with not all naturalized players who will be used at the same time so as not to make the national team lose its identity. Now as never before, the future of Team Dragon is really at risk.

Servadei Danilo

Will be this the National team in 2021?

Naturalizations represent a real paradox for China, which has always been a nationalist and, sometimes, racist with a strong patriotic spirit. In fact, there have been many comments on the web by Chinese users who have spoken out against naturalization, seen as a threat to the national sentiment of the team since, according to them, foreign players will never understand the meaning of the Chinese flag and what it means or represents. There is no shortage of deeply stereotyped comments, with many users who consider foreigners to be mercenaries, while others, mistakenly, make comparisons with the

35 Focus on youth football : interview with Daniele D'Eustacchio

Who really benefits from the Chinese football dream? The Italian coach tells us all the contradictions of the system

In photo Daniele D'Eustacchio, directs training in Inner Mongolia

In the past articles we have delved into the football and its culture in China. Daniele's voice history of the last 20 years of the Chinese is absolutely authoritative for his path: he took national team, from the historic qualification to his first steps in Shanghai working for some the World Cup in 2002 to then get to the current International Academies, then the call from Inner generation, probably one of the worst, to which Mongolia, in the city of Wuhai, where he was they are trying to put a rag through the put at the helm of the representative U17 men naturalization of foreign players. In 2015 the and U15 women , winning all the competitions Chinese government issued a football reform in which his teams took part. Later Daniele plan that should make the country a power in moved to Beijing where he founded his own Asia. But where we arrived after five years? Are company, Beijing Sports Calcio & Culture ltd, things actually working out? which works at the government level with the Ministry of Education and Foreign Affairs, Daniele D'Eustacchio is an Italian coach who has directly in schools in Beijing and in the worked for 8 years in China and through this Shandong Province. Daniele's horizons do not article, given his rich experience, he tells us stop at China alone as he is ready, as soon as the everything that is wrong with the development of borders reopen, to start a new collaboration in

36 Malaysia. So let's leave the floor to Daniele problem of their superiors who are not interested D'Eustacchio for an overview of everything we in a real development but only in the result. need to know about Chinese youth football. The shortcomings at organizational level are the ability to spend money on useless things and not In my experience, in order to produce high level to focus on the essential things. They prefer the players, we should first of all concentrate the business, therefore the profit that the Academy whole economic and development phase in itself, or the tournament, or the sponsor, or the schools and not in academies. We should bring company, can make. Obviously for them it's all professionals into the school and try to about image and nothing about substance. They collaborate with them, but with the European don't care if we Europeans develop our team mentality and not the Chinese mentality, in order over the years, or if we lay the foundations for a to have a background of European football certain kind of style in following a guideline for culture. What is missing is the willingness of the progress, they are interested in the result at the Chinese to expose themselves to ideas and leave moment. Then later when they replace us they the freedom of learning under the objectivity of want results from another person again, but world football education. without following a design line. Constantly we lose that progress that was achieved with great In my opinion there is a very poor football effort with previous coaches or with the previous culture in China for the simple reason that what style of education. they show on television, what they broadcast, everything they show is always controlled under In youth football you advance very easily if you their style or under their game vision. This pay for it. Many of those who play means that football culture is misrepresented, it professionally have used parental financial favor. is only passed off as a commercial object and not No one advances only on merit, or at least there taken as an object of study, but only as visual is a very small percentage. The organization of entertainment. The programmes are focused on coaches, players and clubs around the youth entertainment, but not on in-depth football. structure is obviously all distorted by a business There are no football programs where experts are factor. All those who work in that field know invited to understand the diversification of teams that without convincing a school, a coach or an and players, so everything makes a boy only agent from an economic point of view, they do watch football for fun but never for learning. not advance, because if nobody gains, it makes no sense to bring a boy to have a job, because for The coaches for me are not adequate from a them at that time there is a not indifferent flow cultural and study point of view. The coaches of income that they would usually earn in many certainly don't know and didn't know anything months, so they can’t miss the opportunity by about football, but they never even studied or giving space to talent. All this is used as an saw it and probably never even played it. excuse to maintain the company, maintain the Moreover, the coaches have their own vision sponsor and maintain the organization of all which is all in line a bit with the social hierarchy, competitions. so they also put it into football education, which should never be mixed. Most of them are just Football is by no means a waste of time at school physical education teachers or someone who has level, because in the school itself there are very done a couple of hours of course to get a strict rules and therefore football can leave a certification, but nobody really has a football certain freedom to the child. Not only on a sports culture or mental flexibility in studying, because level, but also on an educational level, the boy they can't follow the matches, they can't go starts to think with his head, he starts to deeper into the concepts, and so they get cooperate in a team, something that never stubborn with their wrong ideas and many of happens between school desks because they are them refuse to learn, because for them the single forced by strict rules. Football is an excuse for victory of a match is more important than the kids to get out of the harsh reality they have at progress over the years. This is also due to the school, but if football is managed by a Chinese coach it becomes more a torture than a liberation.

37 In reality they don't work badly at school level, by winning at youth level or by bringing players the problem is that those who run this system at to the national level. That is why the whole federal level are not football people, but often football vision is very short-term in China, no politicians put there at random, who then project is taken care of, but the immediate focus highlight all their incompetence. The only way is on the economic distribution between to best develop this scenario would be to have managers, investors and agents. football clubs run it all, using culturally trained instructors, especially linguistic ones, using Europeans and people only from the sector, eliminating all Chinese coaches and physical trainers and educators from 35 years of age and above for a discourse of lack of culture and lack of learning in the past.

As for the European clubs, I can say that from the academies' point of view there are many developments and a lot of openness to the market, but the incompetence of the Italian league, of the people in that role and, above all, the lack of intelligence in exploiting this market gives quite disastrous results. This means that the major brands use the excuse of the Academy only to profit but not to develop their own club methodology. Many Italian and foreign academies present in China do not have any imprint of methodology. In fact, in these academies they recruit foreigners with UEFA licenses at random and make them work in their own academies wearing their shirts and their own brand. For many of them it's just a business matter: associating with a European brand means being able to increase enrolment prices, therefore revenues. Few academies focus on the development and progress of the player in order to produce talent. They start from the wrong assumption that in Asia it is almost impossible to grow a talent. So often clubs leave their brand under management to an unprepared Chinese team.

Obviously the football reform issued by the government in 2015 seems to be a long term to try to make the project look more attractive. But we know that schools and sports institutions are only aiming the state funds that they can obtain

38 SECTION 4

FOOTBALL AND SOCIETY

Interviews with foreign fans of the Chinese Super League club, a focus on the future of , to conclude the analysis of 'End of Summer', the 2017 film by Zhou Quan on the football dream of a Chinese boy in the summer of the 1998 World Cup.

39 Foreigner supporters in Chinese Football What does it mean for fa foreigner to support a chinese football club? We’ve interviewed four supporters from different teams

The development of Chinese football is linked are dealing with this 2020 season in neutral venues. to economic and political interests and is not able to enhance the culture of football supporters Matt Parker - Guangzhou R&F very present in the big cities that also involves foreign communities. Foreigner supporters I think I went to my first Guangzhou FuLi match attending Chinese Football games is something in the 2016 season (as a quasi Evergrande quite normal, and some of them, are really supporter) but by the end of that season I had die-hard fans, following their team also during started really following FuLi and grew to like the away games. We’ve talked with foreigner their game more so than Evergrande. At the end supporters of Guangzhou R&F (Matt Parker), of that 2016 season I also found the Fuligans, the Beijing Guoan (Brandon Chemers), Shanghai official club recognized international supporters’ Sipg (Michael) and Shanghai Shenhua (Cameron crew for FuLi. For the 2017 season I joined them Wilson) to understand better what does it mean and have bought a season ticket every year since. to be a foreigner supporter of a football club in In all honesty I’m not your traditional football fan as I didn’t really grow up watching it being a China. We’ve asked four questions to all of them: stereotypical American. I don’t have a club back what does the club represent for them and what home or in Europe that I really call mine. When impact had in their life, the most memorable you ask foreigners in China what’s their home moment, the meaning of the derby and how they

40 club, usually you get a response of a club they you will always remember. That night grew up watching back home and the Chinese Guangzhou was blue! club they support is their second or third I’ve been fortunate to see quite a few GZ derbies “favorite”. For me, Guangzhou FuLi is my home over the last 4 seasons and they almost always club. They are the first club I really watched with are entertaining. The derby itself is pretty tame that diehard emotion of love and heartbreak. I compared to most derbies between rivals but I always tell people when they ask me why I think within the last year or so it’s become more support FuLi instead of Evergrande that intense on and off the pitch. Local FuLi fans Evergrande is the best, they can only break my have had that taste of success and have decided heart and disappoint me. I expect them to win not to be content with being little brother to but with FuLi I can ride the full roller coaster of Evergrande. Whereas Evergrande fans are emotions that comes with supporting a football getting annoyed with FuLi playing the spoiler team. Having that team to really cheer for while and having to deal with the small but very loyal being in China and connecting to international group of FuLi fans. There is no greater feeling fans through the Fuligans and local fans in for a fan than beating your cross-town rival, and general has made my overall China living for FuLi that means winning against the CSL experience that much better. kings which makes victory even sweeter; well it at least makes the beer taste that more refreshing after!

What about this year... any time you can’t be in the stands is a shame but not having a chance at all to see your team play in person for an entire season is frustrating. I’m not a person who says if fans can’t be there then there shouldn’t be any football, but it does take away from the game. We have to adapt because of the situation, and to me, any football is better than no football. So I make do by watching on my phone or at home and will try to go meet up with the other Fuligans to watch it while drinking a pint. Being able to drink decent cold beer is one positive I have a lot of good memories in a short amount about being at the pub watching the game but I of time, from taking a 32 hour train ride and then do look forward to being in the stands once a 7 hour ferry to see FuLi play in Dalian to just again. pre and post match beers with the Fuligans at the local shop outside the home ground in Brandon Chemers - Beijing Guoan Guangzhou. However, I think the best memory was the opening match of the 2018 season. It I went to my first CSL game in 1999, watched was the Guangzhou Derby at Tianhe. So we have Guoan a few times in 2000, but really started our group of 60 Fuligans mixed in with the 500+ going in 2001, but I was still only spending half FuLi fans in the away end of Tianhe Stadium, year here (Beijing) then, so rest of the season and we were treated to an absolute shootout. I had to follow from abroad. I moved here in 2007 think it was within the first two minutes Zahavi and then started going to all the matches. Over hit a one-timer from just outside the penalty area the years it has become a major part of my life, into the upper right corner and that really helped going to all the home games & typically 5-7 set the tone of the match. We were up 2-0 in the away games a year and a portion of my friends first 10 minutes and ended up winning 5-4. are fellow supporters of the club. Zahavi had a hat trick and Alan also had a hat trick for Evergrande. Just an amazing night as an away fan against your biggest rival and a match

41 team has dominated the home fixture in this one so there have been memorable results for both teams. There’s just a natural rivalry between Beijing & Shanghai and having many of my initial China experiences in Shanghai, I quickly realized how much I hated that city and the locals lack of mandarin speaking abilities (I already know what their response will be…). All this to say, I truly hate Shenhua fans and am happy every time we win, maybe not as much as I used to be, but still, it makes for a good celebration, though despite the hatred there is a lot of respect for those who’ve stuck with the side all these years despite often having better There have been a lot of them over the years, football to watch elsewhere in their city. many have been away days spent drinking with the home fans, my first few matches were Last year I’ve travelled a lot to see Beijing obviously memorable, sometimes for the wrong Guoan in away games, also overseas, in Korea reasons as there were often less than 10,000 fans and Japan for the AFC Champions League. This at Gongti, and since starting to take my kids year, except one time for work, I’ve never left there have been plenty of memories….so let me Beijing, so, i was expecting that there was even come up with a few: 5 - Guoan reserves vs. no football season. But when they started to play reserves 2011: my first match was and they announced that there was the chance to Liaoning v Shenhua and Li Tie quickly became see a live game... i had to go immediatly. my favorite player, the first book I read in Me and the other fans had to meet at a Chinese was Li’s autobiography, this was my checkpoint and board buses to be escorted by the chance to meet him & get a shirt from him, also police to the stadium. It wasn’t possible to go to got to see him play one last time before he the stadium alone. They checked our ID cards retired, so it will always stand out. 4 - away at and passports, as well as the nucleic acid results Ulsan 2012: it was a depressing 2-0 defeat, but it and health kid codes. Even once we got to the isn’t due to the match, more so the experience of stadium, the process of getting in was quite long, traveling through Korea with a group of 10 away plus there was a massive security presence, fans & being turned away from a spa in Busan at much more than in a normal match. 1 am… 3 - CFA Cup Final 2018 Leg 2: the Inside the stadium it was strange, the row in match in Shandong where Guoan won its first front of and behind mine were empty and also all trophy in many years, what a night! 2 - away at the fans were separated by three seats. I was Henan in 2011 ： I've written about it on WEF afraid that the situation was similar to Korean before, this was my first group away match & it baseball, where cheering the team was forbidden, was hell, there was a brawl between Henan & but it was not so on that occasion thankfully. We Guoan fans in the stands, we were kept in the didn't even have to wear a mask and we made stadium until 2 am, our buses had broken our voices heard to support our team. It was windows, and yet after that experience I kept great to be at the stadium to watch football again going on the road 1 - home vs Hangzhou 2009: It in person and see friends I haven't seen since had to be this match, though the post match November, when the season ended. I am happy celebrations were somewhat disappointing as to have been one of 1588 people to have seen the Sanlitun was more hopping with Halloween first live match in China in 2020. I was hoping revelers than Guoan fans, but things went down for a better result, but you know… I have seen to the wire in this season and we were all some away defeats over the years. expecting a tense day, however Beijing scored early & often to secure its only CSL title (so far). Michael Oldfield - Shanghai Sipg

About the Chinese Derby against Shenhua...over I first watched Shanghai SIPG in summer 2015 the past 10 years, when these sides meet, each and got a season ticket for the 2016 season in the

42 north stand supporters club. This year would 30 Shanghai SIPG fans made our way to a have been my fifth year as a member. Supporting nearby restaurant where we met up with a fan my local Shanghai team has given me a chance group leader from Guangzhou R&F for a to meet and integrate with local people and celebratory dinner. We sat outside on that warm connects me to the city. I realize that the so November night taking in what had just called original shanghai team is Shenhua but happened. It was an exhausting game to watch, once I have made my commitment to Shanghai never mind to play in. The emotional highs and SIPG and have met similar passionate people, I lows that we witnessed were thrilling but it can feel a sense of loyalty. take all of your energy. It was great to finally relax and enjoy some of the great Guangdong food. We were even approached by a few Evergrande fans who were also eating at the restaurant who congratulated our team and said we had deserved it this year. Finally we had broken their 8 year dominance of Chinese football, perhaps they were pleased to have a good challenge again.

The Shanghai derby is definitely one of the best days of the season. In recent years SIPG have been playing at a much higher level than our rivals Shenhua, so much so that the derby has become a walk in the park for the red half of Shanghai. Off the pitch, there seems to be plenty of hatred shown towards SIPG fans, perhaps born out of jealousy that despite being the new club in Shanghai, we are a better team, a much My best memory as an SIPG fan has to be the better run club, and are now the dominant team away trip towards the end of the 2018 season in the city. When I first went to Hongkou against Guangzhou Evergrande. It felt like a cup Stadium for the derby in 2016 I felt the Shenhua final such was the importance of this game in the fans were really up for it and full of passion. In title race, and so the build up was full of recent visits even the most enthusiastic of excitement and apprehension. I flew down the Shenhua fans know the likely outcome of the day before the game and stayed in a dirty hostel game. Even the anger shown towards SIPG fans in the center of town. On match day I met up has subsided, which really shows the gulf in with a group of Shanghai fans who had taken the class between the two sides. Just how Shenhua overnight sleeper train and joined them for a managed to win the 2017 and 2019 CFA Cup I delicious Cantonese breakfast. The rest of the do not know. The way the authorities control the day was spent relaxing and chatting with fellow segregation of fans during the Shanghai Derby is fans as we saved our energy for the game. Unlike crazy. For our visit to Hongkou, we only got in England where prematch is spent in the pub around 600-800 tickets for away supporters and getting sloshed, we drank Chinese Tea in a hotel all away supporters must arrive via the police overlooking Guangzhou’s Tianhe Stadium. On escort bus convoy. There is zero opportunity for route to the stadium we managed to have a opposing fans to meet, which based on what I couple of beers outside a convenience store, but saw during my first few derby games, is the majority of the drinking was reserved for probably a good thing to be fair. It has been so post match. There was so much excitement and much fun seeing SIPG humiliate Shenhua both anticipation amongst the Shanghai SIPG fans home and away in recent seasons, and long may and the mood was very positive. We won a very it continue. thrilling match with the score of 5-4! I saw a big tough guy who usually bangs the drum with tears This 2020 with behind closed doors football will streaming down his face as he couldn’t control be sad. The importance of games is lost when his happiness. After the game a group of about there are no fans in the stadium. Having said that

43 I’m still pleased there is some football to watch and it still gives us fans a chance to meet up, have a beer and watch the footy. I’m still confident that we will get to enter the stadium later in the season. I quite like how the league has been split into two mini leagues and the champions will later be decided by knockout rounds. It makes it quite exciting and gives anyone a chance at the title if they have a lucky run. So far this season we have been watching each SIPG game in a designated pub in Shanghai. We normally have about 15-20 fans in the pub so it makes for a decent atmosphere.

Cameron Wilson - Shanghai Shenhua

I first went to a Shenhua game in 2001 during I think there's quite a few of memorable my first year in China. I went back to the UK for moments to choose from, but I would say a few of years, when I returned in 2005 I bought winning 3-2 on an away trip to Beijing in 2007 a season ticket soon after. For me watching was probably one of my favourite football football was just a way to try to connect with moments anywhere. Shenhua went 1-0 up, then normal Shangahinese people through a common fell 2-1 behind, then scored twice in the late language and to try to do something local and stages of the game to win 3-2. Not only was it blend in. It didn't really work like that though - great in the stadium, but on the sleeper train although foreigners are by no means unusual at journey to Beijing there were 100 Shenhua fans Chinese football games, if you go as often as I in one carriage. At night many of us moved to do people recognize you and before long they the restaurant car to continue the party, which want to take selfies with you etc. I don't really saw dozens of guys doing the conga dance up mind this but I didn't expect to become a and down the train much to the consternation of mini-celebrity around Hongkou, its not why I did many on board. Then after the match, the it. I did it to try to feel some local passion, and drinking and celebrating in the restaurant after there is a ton of that at Shenhua. The fans was insanely funny. I never saw so many grown devotion to their local style, dialect and a more men throwing up in my life. The looks on the individual way of thinking is something I think wait staffs faces was priceless, especially when Shenhua embodies and I find very attractive. The some of the lads unveiled a massive "Bei fa" flag club really does reflect the city in many ways (invade the north) flag and hung it on the wall. It and that is what the core of football is about and was my first away trip and a really unforgettable is what makes the sport so special. As for the experience. influence on my life, through football I developed an emotional connection with the city As you know derbies are really the heart and to a deeper level than I would have done soul of football and when Beijing or SIPG clash otherwise. Now I have a Shanghainese wife and with Shenhua its really no different on a basic daughter and in-laws, and many of the other level to a derby anywhere else - fans just don't Shenhua fans say they "don't really" see me as a want to lose these games. It's often said that purely a foreigner which is probably one of the Shenhua fans can accept a mediocre season as biggest compliments one can receive from a long as they don’t get beat at home to Guoan and Chinese. SIPG. In recent years though unfortunately Shenhua haven’t managed this and you really see how raging the fans are with their comments online and boo-ing and shouting at the players at full-time - something you never see normally. For me I really feel the passion of these games as, having spent more than 15 years living in

44 Shanghai, this city is part of my identity even if I am not originally from here or even speak the local dialect. So on a fundamental level I'm like any other Shenhua fan we hate to lose against historical rivals Beijing, and all the politics and wider China rivalry that goes with that game, and similarly for SIPG the desire to win is the same but for very different reasons, its more about one team being more authentically Shanghainese than the other and Shenhua will always maintain that only Shenhua rep Shanghai.

I am really conflicted about this season. On the one hand, I think China has done a good job of minimizing the spread of the virus, and I understand the need for there to be no fans in stadiums and putting the players and staff in a bubble as a precaution. Recently they are starting to let a few hundred fans in. But the reality is, that it's just still so far from the normal football experience which we all love and for me I don't want to be in a stadium which holds 40,000 and there's only 500 supporters in there. I've been watching games with friends at the pub and in people's apartments, ironically we end up drinking more watching on TV than in the stadium. But ultimately, I can't get that excited about this season. It's sad and it's no-ones fault, but that's how it is. Bottom line is that it's better than nothing, but not by much.

45 The most difficult year for Hong Kong

The fate of football between the worsening socio-political crisis and the continuing health emergency

A fan protests during a representative Hong Kong team's match. (credit: onefootball.com) Since June 2019, the city-state has been complete overview of the situation, trying to experiencing one of the most complex years in combine the football situation with what is its history, probably the worst since 1997, when happening around it. Hong Kong's sovereignty passed from the United Kingdom to China, and which made the The anti-government protests city-state independent from Mainland China until 2047, with the exception of the areas of It all started at the end of January 2019, when National Defense and Foreign Policy. The local Governor Carrie Lam presented a bill to the socio-political unrest that broke out at the Hong Kong Cabinet allowing the transfer of beginning of last year has been accompanied by alleged criminals to mainland China, Taiwan and the health emergency for more than eight months, Macau, as it did not exist (and still is) an and the combined effects of the two crises are extradition agreement between the different legal literally bringing the entire entertainment systems characterizing the four territories. The industry to its knees, particularly the football proposal became necessary following the murder industry, which has already been in recession for of a young girl in Taipei, Taiwan, by her Hong some years. Now let us try to give you a Kong boyfriend, who had in the meantime

46 managed to return to the metropolis, and thus the entire tertiary sector in crisis, the first one in escape the law of the archipelago in the importance, which resulted in a loss of hundreds south-east of China. of millions of US dollars.

The text personally presented by Carrie Lam, a As for football, despite the initial outcry from pro-Beijing politician, was immediately harshly local fans during the friendly between criticized by pro-democracy parliamentarians for Manchester City and Kitchee at HK Stadium in its inaccuracies and vagueness, with the concrete July 2019, the ball continued to roll almost fear that the law could be transformed into a tool smoothly in the following months. The winter with which the China government could limit the matches of the national team were held regularly, freedom of Hongkongers, and therefore breach while the local federation was forced "only" to the "one country two systems" agreement signed postpone the Community Cup (the Super Cup, in 1997 with the United Kingdom. Since March now permanently cancelled), and the fourth and in particular since June 2019, a series of round of the Hong Kong Premier League protests of increasing scale began (on June 16th following the wave of clashes that started on more than two million people took to the streets), October 3rd, when a 14-year-old was injured by and the main theme of the withdrawal of the a gunshot fired by the police. But the damage extradition law (later obtained) has been also came from the indirect consequences of the accompanied by a series of serious problems that protests. The most striking case dates back to last have plagued the population for years: the October, when Daryl Morey (the general request for an electoral reform that allows manager of the NBA Houston Rockets team)'s citizens to directly elect the governor, the pro-protesters tweet led the Chinese government age-old problem of the housing emergency, and to stop broadcasting the American Basketball discontent with growing social inequality. Issues league games on state television, CCTV. After that remain unheard to date. exactly one year and an estimated loss of around 400 million dollars, Chinese state TV resumed broadcasting American basketball on October 10th, broadcasting the fifth gasme of the NBA final. Until then, Chinese fans could only follow their idols on the Tencent streaming platform, except for the Houston Rockets races of course.

Protests continued regularly until last January, when the worsening health situation led the local government to declare a state of emergency. Despite the limitations imposed on the population, the demonstrators still managed to take to the streets, although in smaller numbers, and to make their voices heard thanks Crowds during the protest in October 2019 - wikipedia.org to the web and social networks. The extension of the health emergency (still ongoing) then has led The consequences on sport and the health to the cancellation of numerous further events, emergency such as the HK Rugby Sevens, the main sporting event in the metropolis, the HK Film Festival The context of strong tension that has been and the Hong Kong Book Fair, one of the most created, intensified by a violent fringe of followed book fairs in the world. demonstrators and by a controversial conduct of the police, has upset the calendar of events The football situation hosted by Hong Kong. Numerous sporting events (and not only) have been suspended or After barely continuing the season until cancelled, such as the removal of Hong Kong mid-March, the Hong Kong Football Association from the Formula E 2020 circuits, and the was finally forced to end all football activities in cancellation of the HK Open , thus putting the city, and to suspend the first division,

47 however blocking the relegations. In the fails to attract new investments and sponsorships following two months, four of the ten clubs of (one of the great challenges of Vision 2025, the the HK Premier League have in fact retired, two new HK football development plan), the of which (including the reigning Tai Po professional football in Hong Kong may no champions) don’t take part in the 2020/2021 longer exist within ten years. edition either.

At the end of August the federation and the clubs The new National Security Act finally reached an agreement to end the season. He resumed playing the following September Although the resumption of football now seems 19th, with the clubs' technical staff swabbed at near, the socio-political problems are by no every match and forced to stay in self quarantine means over. Last May the continuing protests in their homes until the end of the championship, and unrest led the Beijing government to October 11th. intervene directly on the issue. In just a month, the National People's Congress bypassed the government of the metropolis by presenting, approving and enforcing (last June 30th) the Hong Kong National Security Law, as severe as it is controversial. The law criminalises secession, subversion of Chinese state power, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, while also making the interpretation of crimes very broad. This act was seen by almost the entire international community as an affront to Hong Kong's independence, which can therefore lead to a real diminution of freedoms for the population.

For the founder of offside.hk the new National Eastern celebrates the FA Cup in fron of an empty stadium - hkfa.com Security Law will have no direct effect on football, especially in the HKPL, whose teams We asked Tobias Zuser, founder of offside.hk and fans have always maintained a neutral (the first English magazine dedicated to football political tone. On the other hand, there will in the metropolis) if the pandemic could have certainly be indirect effects that will affect the serious effects on the Hong Kong football matches of the HK representative team, (i.e. the movement. According to Zuser, the global health national football team). In fact, due to the law, crisis has highlighted all the fragility of the local slogans and chants against the Chinese and local football system. In Hong Kong all sports governments will be prohibited. These facilities are public, and therefore the clubs phenomena have been repeated frequently during themselves remain strongly bound by the white-red matches played in the last year and government decisions, both in terms of training a half. The new law effectively extends what was and safety. Another problem is the current lack already present in the National Anthem of investments and important sponsorship Ordinance, in force since last June. Here the contracts for the football league, which will Hong Kong government prohibits any form of certainly increase in the coming months, thus insult to the national anthem, including the putting the very sustainability of the clubs at recurring "buu" of fans during the March of the risk. In fact, in addition to the revenues from the Volunteers. A further indirect effect could be the league, the clubs are already losing two of their even more pronounced lack of interest of fans in main sources of support: sponsors and match day the matches of the representative team. This will revenues. And Tai Po FC and Yuen Long appear certainly be a severe blow to the HKFA, both to be at serious risk of failure. Tobias Zuser is economically and in terms of visibility. convinced that it will take years before professional football can recover, and that if it

48 Visions 2025 ad the new season amateur tournaments should resume before the end of the year, following a stop of almost a We approach the end of this football trip by year. introducing the new five-year development plan published by the HK Football Association: Vision 2025. The document marks a series of Ricotta Mattia intermediate objectives of growing ambition that conclude with the prospect of qualifying for the 2034 FIFA World Cup, a goal that to date seems rather unthinkable. The key project of the plan involves a major restructuring of the youth sectors, through a later selection of boys and girls and a better quality of training. In fact, the objective is to begin already today the preparation of that generation of players who will compete for the World Cup that will take place in 14 years. Key aspects of the project are the increase of AFC B qualified coaches (the equivalent of the European UEFA B) and the construction of new playing facilities, which at the moment force young players to train only half as long as their European colleagues. We will only have the results of the Vision in the near future, and they will be important to understand whether the series of five-year projects that have been going on since 2010 are really helping the growth of football in the far eastern metropolis.

Finally, we close with a hint of the season that has just begun. In fact, a few days ago, HK Premier League returned to the pitch, and at the moment the conditions for staff and players remain the same as a few weeks ago. Moreover, as already widely anticipated, at least initially the matches will still be played behind closed doors. On the other hand, there is some hope for women's football and the minor leagues: although there is no official date at the moment,

49 The end of Summer

The film directed by Zhou Quan, a story that talks about the love for football of a Chinese boy in the summer of the ‘98 World Cup

We are in the summer of 1998, during the Cheng, a seemingly rude figure, but with a great hearth, who lost his grandson three summers World Cup in France and our story takes place in ago. The two become friends in the courtyard of Shaoxing, a city in the Eastern Province of their community building, and in the first scenes Zhejiang, where Gu Xiaoyang, a kid who is of the film we find them listening to the radio, attending the fifth year of elementary school, with the announcer talking about the 1998 World dreams of becoming part of the his school's Cup that is about to begin. In those years in football team once the year starts again, at the China, Serie A was certainly the most followed end of the summer. He wants to prepare himself league and the love for Italian football can also as best he can to face the selections, but his be found in this film:"The last World Cup ended father, Gu Jinhua, who is also the director of the four years ago with Baggio's mistake from a school, doesn't like the fact that his son wastes penalty kick - they hear on the radio - now Del time playing football, when he could devote his Piero will wear Italy's number ten jersey". energy to study. Pinturicchio is the idol of Xiaoyang: in a The relationship between the two is extremely following scene we find the child in his room difficult, and also, Xiaoyang discovers that his and playing with a robot that maneuvers as if it father is in love with the new English is the striker of the national team: “Here is Del teacher. Xiaoyang, almost a stranger in the piero moving forward, he enters the penalty area, family to both parents, completely absorbed in in his zone! He shoot it's a goal! ”.Xiaoyang their work, finds comfort in his neighbour, old spends the summer with old Cheng, who is a Brazil fan: he improvises himself as a football

50 coach for his young neighbor, but in a comic Over the years, multiple private football scene we see him in the courtyard, wearing the academies have emerged, many of which carry Ronaldo of Brazil shirt, awkwardly groped to the brands of famous football clubs such as joggling the ball in the air. The two spend a lot Juventus, Inter Milan or Bayern Munich. The of time together, Cheng through his son delivers main problem is that these structures are not Del Piero's jersey to Xiaoyang and on the night managed by the clubs, but by private groups that of the final, they leave the house together in acquire the brand, and the coaches hired are not great secret to go to a bar where they can watch provided by the European club, but it can be the match between Brazil and France. The two anyone with a UEFA C license. Other relevant are disappointed with the result and after issue concerns the so-called Sports Schools: Zidane's brace. we find them dozing together in these are not centers in which the main talents of the bar counter. Their adventures will lead them the area converge, but they are a fallback for to Hangzhou, where they will enter the those students who have poor ratings at school, completely empty Olympic Stadium: Xiaoyang and therefore parents decide to enroll them in runs on the pitch and gives vent to his repressed this type of institution, where they hope their son fantasies by imagining a football match with his can at least become a professional athlete. schoolmates. Of course, with the entry of football as a school The film was the winner at the 22nd Busan subject as planned by the 2015 Reform, the International Festival (), and is a situation will only improve, but as long as real pearl of oriental cinema that can be found in parents prefer to spend mountains of money on full on youtube at the papalukass channel private academies rather than letting their (https://www.youtube.com/ watch? v = children play freely in open spaces, and as long HN6kmNmeb4M) in the original language with as they continue to see sport as a fallback, English subtitles. Director Zhou Quan sets the China's football culture, at the grassroots level, story during the 1998 World Cup, but the will fail to develop. problem of parents not letting their children play football is still an issue that is debated despite The Chinese football dream until now is that of the famous state reforms that intend to bring the great European clubs, which see in the football into schools and build tens of thousands country of the Dragon a great economic of fields across the nation. I have now been opportunity, it is the dream of large property living in Beijing for two and a half years and in owners with the construction of large and useless all this time it is very rare, to find in parks or in sports facilities, it is the dream of entrepreneurs the courtyards of apartment buildings, kids and agents of players, but it is not the dream of playing football by between them or with Gu Xiaoyang, who would just like to play parents. football in his school team wearing Del Piero's shirt. On the All Asian Football website I wrote an investigation into this problem, entitled: 'It is not Gineprini Nicholas a country for young players' based on my personal experience in recent years in the Chinese capital. The most surprising issue in my opinion is the fact that children from kindergarten (3-5 years of age) do not have free time, as, in addition to school activity, which lasts until late afternoon, parents enroll their children to numerous extra curricular activities (piano lessons, dance, English strengthening courses, etc ...) both during the week, but especially at the weekend. As we age and enter primary school, we also need to add the tasks that students have to do which practically reduce any form of free time.

51 Allasianfootball.com - your portal for www.asianfootball.com

You can find us on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube

Mail: [email protected]

52