Big-spenders kick off season
Print Edition
CHINA’S football season kicks off this week with hopes of a resurgence for the beautiful game after former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson and rookie coach Fabio Cannavaro put the league among the world’s biggest spenders.
Chinese Super League clubs spent 122.2 million euros (US$165 million) during the transfer window, almost double last year's figure, second only to the English Premier League (186.8 million euros) and ahead of Italy’s Serie A, according to German website transfermarkt.
Socceroo Tim Cahill, once of Everton, is the star name among the 47 foreign imports, including many Brazilians, who will double the number of overseas players in the competition.
Much of the recent transfer activity has focused on two clubs: current champion Guangzhou Evergrande, led by Cannavaro, and Eriksson’s Shanghai SIPG. Both coaches were appointed in November, shortly after the end of the 2014 season.
Evergrande will be seeking its fifth consecutive CSL title in 2015, but will miss Marcello Lippi, architect of the club’s recent success, who went back to Italy citing family reasons.
Cannavaro, the captain of Lippi’s 2006 World Cup winning Italy side, smashed the Chinese transfer record in January with a US$17 million swoop for Brazilian Ricardo Goulart. He also signed compatriot Alan for a reported US$12.3m.
Goulart appears to have hit the ground running, scoring all of Guangzhou’s goals in its opening two AFC Champions League matches, a 1-0 win over FC Seoul and a 3-2 victory over Western Sydney Wanderers.
Eriksson, meanwhile, lured Argentine attacking midfielder Dario Conca back to the CSL on a deal reportedly worth US$11 million a year. The former Evergrande star spent only a year at Brazilian club Fluminense before returning to China. Eriksson also signed Brazilian Davi from Guangzhou Evergrande and South Korean international Kim Ju-young from FC Seoul. The Swedish coach is in his second full season in China after helping Guangzhou R&F to third place last year.
Cahill, Australia’s leading goalscorer, joined Shanghai Shenhua, the former club of Chelsea stars Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, following a spell with New York Red Bulls.
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