Bizarre year for Chinese football: Guangzhou Evergrande rules, Marcello Lippi leaves national team twice and naturalisation sees fans and footballers suffer
- From fans being arrested to players not being paid, there are many who would like to forget the season
- Bizarre midseason policy changes, red card reactions and goalkeepers up front among oddest instances
“There’s no doubt that this has been a particularly difficult year and I am relieved that this annus horribilis is coming to an end.”
It’s 15 years since UN secretary general Kofi Annan said that about 2004, coincidentally the same year the current iteration of the Chinese Super League was installed.
Much like Queen Elizabeth did before him in 1992 and others have since, there are many in Chinese football that would find Annan’s choice of words fitting for their own 12 months.
That goes for players, fans, managers, media and even those running the game. It’s been quite the year.
Another player, Wuhan Zall’s Rafael Silva, wrote a handwritten apology after seeing red.
It also did not prevent the national team dropping points to the Philippines and Syria, the latter a loss that saw Lippi walk away from the job after the game.
The CFA changed the rules midseason again, allowing four foreigners for each match-day squad, three starting and one on the bench. They also changed the rules regarding domestic under-23 players.
That change came in response to coaches gaming the initial rule where three under-23s had to feature in a game, with one in the starting line-up.
The first half of the 2019 season had seen substitute goalkeepers sent on as strikers, one player subbed off after just 55 seconds, and in another game a player was brought on, scored the match winner and then substituted off, all within two minutes.
Meanwhile, Guus Hiddink, who was in charge of the national under-21 side ahead of their attempts to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the AFC Asian Under-23 Cup next January, also left his role.
The Dutchman failed at the Toulon Tournament, where China finished eighth, and in a three-team tournament against North Korea and Vietnam. They have not appeared at the Olympics since 2008 in Beijing.
The managerial merry go-round was not much better. Beijing Guoan got rid of Roger Schmidt with the club in second place, which was also where they finished. He was not the only one to get his marching orders. At least they got a pay-off.
Plenty of players in the lower leagues went unpaid, while several clubs folded entirely. There may be worse to come, given the expansion of the lower leagues that is set for coming seasons.
There are also reports that all domestic players, including those who have naturalised as Chinese, will have to sign new contracts as the CFA introduces new salary restrictions ahead of next season. Anyone who refuses or tries to sue will be banned from being registered.
It’s been quite the season and there is the feeling the grass is always greener elsewhere. Not at Wuhan Zall, though, where they painted the pitch green to make it look playable.
The worry for Chinese football is that, as Annan and the queen found, there is worse yet to come.