22 FRIDAY MARCH 2, 2007 SPORTSCHINA CHINA DAILY Teams to watch this season Shanghai Shenhua CSL kicks off with hopes and fears Stadium: Hongkou Stadium Capacity: 35,000 Head coach: Os- As Chinese valdo Gimenez (Uruguay) Assistant Coaches: Xi Zhikang, soccer season Ou Chuliang, Hao Haitao Honors: opens, league China Super League Runners-up 2005 struggles to get First Division (Equivalent to China Super League) Champions 1995, back on track 2003 First Division Runners-up 1996, By Chen Xiangfeng 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001 Chinese Super Cup Winners 1996, 1999, 2002 A new season of the China China FA Cup Winners 1998 Super League (CSL) kicks off tomorrow, but problems off Dalian Shide the fi eld are casting a lengthy Stadium: Dalian shadow over what could be the Jinzhou Stadium most exciting competition in Capacity: 60,000 recent years. Head Coach: Jo League authorities hope 2007 Bonfrere (Neth- can be the year the CSL fi nally erlands) moves beyond the trauma of Assistant coach: Liu Zhongchang, ‘black whistles’ and fi nancial Han Wenhai uncertainty, but many fear the Honors: CSL is a competition stuck in an China FA Cup Winners 2005 unbreakable spiral of decline. China Super League Champions Preparations for the season, 2005 already shortened to allow First Division Champions: 1994, preparation time for the 2008 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, Olympic Games, were thrown 2002 into chaos just three weeks Chinese Super Cup Winners 1997, before kick off when a merger 2001, 2003 between Shanghai United and China FA Cup Winners 2001 Shanghai Shenhua was an- Asian Cup Winners’ Cup Run- nounced, cutting the league ners-up 2001 from 16 to 15 teams. Asian Club Championship Run- Zhu Jun, head of China’s ners-up 1997 largest online game operator The9.com and owner of Shang- The 2007 China Super League season begins on Saturday in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province. The season has been shortened in a bid to give the Olympic Shangdong Luneng hai United, paid an estimated team more time to prepare for the 2008 Beijing Games. The league runs until mid November, with a two month summer break. Zhong Ti Stadium: Shandong 150 million yuan ($19.7 mil- Stadium, Jinan lion) for a 51 percent stake in However, the average attend- annual meeting, offi cials once to improve organization inside Xiang to Dutch side PSV Eind- been little improvement - last Capacity: 45,000 Shanghai Shenhua, last year’s ance figure does not tell the again vowed to crack down and outside the stadium, and hoven is a setback. season the team finished a General Manager: runners-up. whole story. While champions on soccer-related crime and employ more security staff to Defending champions lowly fi fth. Kang Mengjun The size of the investment, Shandong Luneng averaged violence. protect the away teams.” Shandong Luneng are in no This season there is opti- Head Coach: Ljubisa Tumbakovic the exact amount of which has over 30,000 fans in soccer-cra- “This year’s league is serv- mood to see their crown go to mism, as the team contains (Serbia) not been revealed, underscores zy Jinan and Tianjin attracted ing as preparation for the 2008 Climbing the ladder the new Shanghai rivals, but a nucleus of talented young Honors: the commercial potential of Chi- over 18,000 each game, many Beijing Olympics. It is impor- On the fi eld, newly merged the loss of captain and star players from China’s Olympic China Super League Champions nese soccer and will make the clubs struggled to get more than tant for us to keep the league Shanghai Shenhua will be player Zheng Zhi to English team and respected Dutchman 2006 league extremely competitive. 5,000 through the gates. moving smoothly. Also we have favorites to challenge reigning Premier League side Charlton Jo Bonfrere has been hired as China FA Cup Runners-up 2005 But major problems remain The behaviour of some play- to make sure there are no big champions Shandong Luneng. could be problematic. coach. CSL Cup Winners 2004 behind the scenes, the most ers has done little to increase problems,” said Ma Chengquan, “I am confi dent we will win “Zheng is the best and also “I cannot say in which posi- Chinese Super League Runners- pressing of which is the fi nan- the appeal of the game. Last secretary of the CFA’s Discipli- the domestic league and Asian the most creative player in the tion we will fi nish at the end up 2004 cial vacuum created by the lack October Dalian Shide defender nary Committee. Champions League this year. I team. It is a blow to the team,” of the season. Now, we have to First Division Champions 1999 of a title sponsor. Quan Lei was attacked and Ma singled out four main am a man who always wants the head coach Lijbisa Tumbakovic start from the beginning.” the China FA Cup Winners 1995, Last season UK-based stabbed by thugs, and rumors focus areas. best,” new Shanghai Shenhua told Titan Sports. former South Korea coach told 1999, 2004 communications firm iPhox quickly circulated on the In- “First, we must make extra boss Zhu Jun told Titan Sports. “Shanghai, Dalian and Titan Sports. stepped in at the last minute ternet that he was involved in efforts to develop the league’s The coach who must make Beijing will be strong contend- Dark horses to upset one of Beijing Guo’an with an eight-year sponsorship gambling and was having an af- level and improve the perform- this happen is Uruguayan Os- ers after taking chances and the big three are Beijing Guo’an, Stadium: Beijing deal. Financial terms were not fair with a local businessman’s ances of players. valdo Gimenez, who coached buying players. I think there who made signifi cant off-season Workers’ Stadium disclosed, but the whole deal girlfriend. “Second, clubs should find the Uruguayan national and will be some surprises in the moves to improve an already- Capacity: 60,000 was thought to be worth ap- Positive news has come with ways to attract more fans into Olympic team for seven years. new season.” consistent team. President: Li proximately $80 million. a new television agreement the stadiums. “We have to beat Dalian and Shandong’s key players Beijing paid a Chinese record Jianyi However, after the company that will see games broadcast “Third, we will crack down Shandong. Now it is like we include China national team 4 million yuan ($516,000) General Manager: Li Xiaoming failed to win approval to enter live nationwide on CCTV. Two on match-fixing, gambling are climbing a ladder. There goalkeeper Li Leilei and last to Liaoning for international Team manager: Hong Yuanshuo the Chinese market they cut the years ago a fi nancial dispute and black whistles (corrupt is no shortcut, we must walk season’s top scorer Li Jinyu. defender Zhang Yonghai, and Head coach: Lee Jang-Soo (South deal to just one year, and there saw CCTV pull the plug on cov- referees). We will try to clean firmly step by step,” he told One of the most interesting they also snapped up Liaoning’s Korea) has been speculation that the erage, with Shanghai Media up the matches by imposing Titan Sports. storylines in the league will experienced striker Guo Hui. Assistant coach: Li Chunman, Chinese Football Association Group screening games instead. harsher punishments.” Shanghai Shenhua’s top play- be the performances of Dalian The fi rst half of the season Hong Yuanshuo, Zhao Xudong, (CFA) has not received any This season both broadcasters The fourth concern was over ers include Chinese captain and Shide. runs from Saturday’s curtain Dusko Tomic (Serbia) money. will have live matches, which security, following a series of in- central defensive stalwart Li Winners of seven titles be- raiser between Wuhan and Honors: According to CFA statistics, should help improve sagging cidents involving fans attacking Weifeng and teenage goalkeep- tween 1994 and 2002, Dalian Tianjin until June 23, with the China FA Cup Winners 1996, the average attendance last year TV audiences. team buses. ing prospect Wang Dalei, who have since been a giant in majority of games played on 1997, 2003 was 10,000. There has been a “There were disgusting last year earned a trial with decline. Despite millionaire Sunday afternoons. The sec- Chinese Super Cup Winners steady drop since 2003, when Four focus areas clashes last year. In the new Italian giants Inter Milan, but owner Xu Ming pumping a ond half begins August 12th 1998, 2003 the fi gure was over 15,000. Last weekend at the CSL’s season, we will take measures the departure of fullback Sun fortune into the club there has and ends November 11th. SCOREBOARD CBA Final May 26 Motherwell 1 (McCormack 85) St Johnstone Orlando 28 31 .475 4 1/2 Detroit 40 16 8 199 156 88 x5) bt Florent Serra (FRA) 7-6 (7/5), 6-3; BEIJING: Results of the Chinese Basketball Italian league 2 (MacDonald 21, Scotland 72) Charlotte 22 36 .379 10 St Louis 27 27 9 164 191 63 Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) bt Tomas Berdych Association (CBA) Playoffs quarterfi nals on ROME: Italian league results on Wednes- Sunday Atlanta 22 36 .379 10 Columbus 24 33 7 158 200 55 (CZE x6) 7-6 (8/6), 6-3; Novak Djokovic Wednesday: day: Inverness CT 1 (Bayne 18) Celtic 2 (Press- Western Conference Chicago 23 31 9 155 190 55 (SCG x7) bt Rainer Schuttler (GER) 7-6 Jiangsu 118 Shandong 105 Lazio 3 (Pandev 60, Siviglia 88, Rocchi ley 88, Miller 90+1) Northwest Division Northwest Division (7/5), 6-3; Fabrice Santoro (FRA) bt Gilles Bayi 106 Zhejiang 93 90+5) Catania 1 (G.