Opinion | Why young stars Zhang Yuning and Wang Shuang could spearhead China’s dreams of soccer domination

The pair, 19 and 20, starred for the men’s and women’s national teams this week

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Published: 3:16pm, 6 Jun 2016Updated: 3:16pm, 6 Jun 2016

There was no Chinese Super League action this weekend but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t another big week for the beautiful game in the Middle Kingdom.

Jiangsu Suning coach Dan Petrescu was deemed surplus to requirements at the Nanjing side: the Romanian leaves the big spenders in third place in the CSL table and as the current holders of the Chinese FA Cup.

The former Chelsea defender will be replaced by reserve team coach Tang Jing or the recently recruited VP, Gong Lei, who was caretaker coach for Guizhou Renhe for a whole season back in 2013.

That was not the only major move for Suning, though. The retail giant which owns the CSL side and its affiliated sports group today announced that they had completed a deal to take a majority stake in Italian side Inter Milan in a move that is sure to please those pushing for Chinese football’s rapid improvement on and off the pitch.

Zhang Yuning is congratulated by teammates.

Such improvement was on show in Qinhuangdao on Friday night when the Chinese men’s football team took on Trinidad & Tobago in an international friendly,romping to a 4-2 win. China’s teenage debutant Zhang Yuning scored twice to follow in the recent footsteps of England’s Marcus Rashford and Brazil’s Gabigol in introducing themselves to international football with a goal.