https://www.scmp.com/rss/323122/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Liu Chaoyang and his friends dodging flag poles in the sleepy outskirts of the small Brazilian town of Porto Feliz on this windy mid-winter afternoon are not training for the Olympics. The dozen or so Chinese boys breaking sweat in dribble drills are, in fact, not even interested in the world’s greatest sporting event, unfolding in Rio de Janeiro this summer. Read more from This Week in Asia About 120km from Brazil’s bustling commercial capital of Sao Paulo, the 17-year-old striker from Shandong... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/business/article/1999663/boys-brazil-how-china-became-soccers-new-el-dorado?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/business/article/1999663/boys-brazil-how-china-became-soccers-new-el-dorado?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Aug 2016 06:00:00 +0000 Luiz Felipe Scolari, who won the 2002 World Cup with Brazil, has had a dream run since arriving in China a year ago to coach Guangzhou Evergrande. Under “Felipão”, the club has won the Chinese Super League, the Asian Champions League and the Chinese Football Super Cup. Read more from This Week in Asia Scolari, 67, who has also coached Portugal and the English Premier League club Chelsea, spoke to Lourival Sant’Anna for This Week in Asia. What strikes you most about Chinese players? Their work... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/1999665/world-beater-who-conquered-china-guangzhou-evergrande-coach-luiz?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/1999665/world-beater-who-conquered-china-guangzhou-evergrande-coach-luiz?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Aug 2016 05:00:00 +0000 Chinese and Brazilian football go back a long way. All the way to 1997, when famed Brazilian coach Edson Tavares moved to the country to coach Guangzhou Matsunichi. Tavares, who played a major role in modernising football in China, went on to coach Shenzhen Ping An, Guangzhou Apollo, Chongqing Lifan and Shenzhen Ruby. Read more from This Week in Asia In 2000, the Chinese Football Association asked him to draft a plan to make the sport more professional. Tavares responded with a 78-page dossier... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/business/article/1999666/how-man-kicked-chinas-love-affair-brazilian-football?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/business/article/1999666/how-man-kicked-chinas-love-affair-brazilian-football?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Aug 2016 00:01:38 +0000