China rope in foreign stars
Chansa is one to take up the challenge
CHAOTIC Chinese football has cleaned up its act significantly thanks to a match-fixing clampdown in the last two years, but Didier Drogba and former Orlando Pirates midfielder Isaac Chansa can still expect a rollocking journey when they begin their new careers in the Super League.
Ivorian Drogba has signed to play for Shanghai Shenhua, where he will join former Chelsea striking partner Nicolas Anelka, who has been in China since the end of last year. Both will earn in excess of £200 000 (R2.5-million) a week.
Africa Cup of Nations winner Chansa will join Zambian teammate Chris Katongo at Henan Jianye, a club based in Zhengzhou in the Henan province.
They continue the recent trend of Chinese clubs bringing in foreign expertise to bolster what has been a corruption-plagued league, where the football has been of a low standard and poorly supported.
China, the world’s most populous country (1.3 billion), has historically been suspicious of foreign influences and was slow on the uptake when the Asian football boom swept the east in the 1990s. Match-fixing became endemic to the game in the gambling-mad country, though in the last two years a government crackdown against corruption has seen dozens of officials arrested and handed lengthy jail terms, including three FA vicepresidents. As in other leagues in the world the signings of players such as Drogba and Anelka, and former Fluminense star Dario Conca to Guangzhou Evergrande, have been as the result of investment by billionaires in football clubs.
Owners such as Henan’s flamboyant web gaming magnate Zhu Jun and Guangzhou’s property giant Xu Jaiyin have achieved personal fame and exposure for their businesses through football, and curried political favour with incoming Chinese president Xi Jingpin, an avid fan of the game.
Guangzhou have brought in 2006 Italy World Cup winner Marcelo Lippi as their coach. Henan this year replaced former Fulham manager Jean Tigana with Sergio Batista, the man who succeeded Diego Maradona as Argentina coach before resigning in 2011 after a disappointing Copa America.
Despite improved stability in a league that used to see clubs withdraw during a season because of lack of funds, or, as with the Wuhan club in 2008, over a disputed penalty decision, Anelka will already have stories to tell Drogba of the eccentricity in the Chinese game.
These will include having partnered Zhu upfront in a friendly against Liverpool, after the Shanghai owner forced his manager to field him in the starting line-up. Zhu was substituted at halftime after missing a few sitters.
The eccentric Zhu will be pinning his hopes on his star attractions to be more potent in front of goal and help his team win a first championship since the businessman merged Shenhua with Shanghai United in 2007, and to bolster attendances that have average in the region of 10 000.