bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Jonathan White

A weekend without the Chinese Super League showed the duality of Chinese football and the stark difference between the men’s game and the women’s.
Fresh from starring for the women at the Asian Games in Indonesia, Wang Shuang made her debut for Paris Saint-Germain Femenines and scored in a win over city rivals Paris FC.
That came on the same weekend the men’s national team lost to Qatar as they begin preparations for the Asian Cup in January.
In fairness there were a few new faces in an experimental side picked by Marcello Lippi, but fairness is not what Chinese social media specialises in and questions are being asked.

Qatar national team beats China 1 - 0 in the preparations for the both teams for AFC Asian Cup 2019, scored the only goal for our team, Al-Moez Ali.#Qatar #AsianCup2019 pic.twitter.com/nKnhdbHx4y
— عاصمه الرياضه (@Qatarsport5) 7 September 2018

The headlines on Sina Sport were all of a similarly desperate nature and did not pull any punches.
China’s veterans were captained by 38-year-old Zheng Zhi, with Beijing Guoan’s Wei Shihao the only 23-year-old in the 23-man squad.
This was in stark contrast to the Qatar side, which is much younger and saw eight of the starters picked from AFC Champions League quarter-finalists.
China’s 23-man squad had only four players from Tianjin Quanjian, the Chinese Super League’s sole remaining representative in the competition. None of them started.
Tianjin Quanjian forced to move AFC Champions League home game 2,000km away to Macau
Lippi’s line-up was rightly ridiculed and left many asking how China can qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.

Premiers moments de joie avec les supporters pour notre nouvelle joueuse @wang_shuang7 pic.twitter.com/R9IwXswAMh
— PSG Féminines (@PSG_Feminines) 9 September 2018

The Italian’s staggering wages of US$28 million a year have also been called into question and the likelihood of his contract being renewed thrown into doubt.
Then again, “seriously broken” was another headline’s view of Chinese football that stated it’s “useless to change the coach”.
Why young stars Zhang Yuning and Wang Shuang could spearhead China’s dreams of soccer domination
The hand wringing seems more pronounced than usual.
An aged coach that has an overreliance on Evergrande’s ageing stars, the foreign players in the league being too strong or too few Chinese children out playing football, a failing of the Chinese FA’s under-23 rule – whatever the argument, the comments have one thing in common: why are China’s men so much worse than the women?

Un petit bonjour de notre nouvelle joueuse Wang Shuang pic.twitter.com/eMM5cYWx6Q
— PSG Féminines (@PSG_Feminines) 5 September 2018

Wang signed for PSG last month and made her debut on Sunday in the French women’s league.
Where the likes of Zhang Yuning moving to Chinese-owned West Bromwich Albion last summer are seen only with cynicism, Wang’s move is the opposite.
Chinese Football Association confirms Guus Hiddink to lead nation to Olympic glory at Tokyo 2020 as veteran replaces Sun Jihai
Scoring a goal and winning a penalty, Shuang provided an immediate impact and gave proof that she belongs at this level.
The 30-yard strike put them 2-0 up and the penalty secured a 5-0 lead before Wang went off after 68 minutes with the job done.

⚽
Les premiers pas de nos nouvelles recrues à Bougival#ICICESTPARIS pic.twitter.com/vOOLaCYzwh
— PSG Féminines (@PSG_Feminines) 5 September 2018

Not a bad statement of intent, especially since she only arrived in Paris last week after playing in the Asian Games for the Chinese national team that finished runners-up to Japan after a last-minute goal decided the final.
Wang has carried her Asian Games form into her new club.
Is Chinese player Zhang Yuning’s move to English Premier League side West Brom more about property development than football
She hit a hat-trick against Thailand in the quarter-final, scored in the win over North Korea in the last group game, grabbed another in the 16-0 win over Tajikistan and opened the scoring in the 7-0 win over Hong Kong.
And she can expect to continue in the same vein in France.
Much like China are expected to dominate most of the AFC nations, PSG are expected to dominate most of the league.

Wang Shuang scores on debut for PSG. pic.twitter.com/EYH1EPXMSg
— Wild East Football (@wildeastfootbal) 10 September 2018

The exception – the Japan to PSG’s China – are Olympique Lyonnais Feminin, the European champions for the third time in a row last season, a record fifth title. They won the league last season too, and have topped that a record 16 times.
Unlike the men’s equivalent, PSG are not a shoo-in for the title and they finished eight points behind Lyon last season.
With nothing to play for China’s Zhang Yuning still can’t get a game at Werder Bremen
In contrast, Zhang could not get a game on loan at Wolfsburg last season and has gone back to the Eredivisie, where he was previously with Vitesse Arnhem, on loan to ADO Den Haag.
He’s yet to play for his new club having missed preseason on Asian Games duty and then not making the squad for the opening game of the league season before the international break.
It’s a step backwards but undoubtedly the right move for his career if he’s to fulfil his potential. It’s also indicative of the comparative levels of China’s men’s and women’s team.

FT: QAT 1 - 0 CHN
A slim win for Qatar as they edge China in an international friendly in Doha ahead of the #AsianCup2019! pic.twitter.com/5dy7w4twwM
— #AsianCup2019 (@afcasiancup) 7 September 2018

While Wang has slotted seamlessly into one of the strongest women’s teams in club football, Zhang – the only Chinese footballer in a foreign league of note – is nowhere near.
More of Wang’s teammates could follow her to Europe, but the same is not true for Zhang.
Of the China team that lost to Qatar on Friday night, Zhang Linpeng and Wu Lei have been linked with moves to the English Premier League and Zheng Zhi has played there, but you can’t help but feel that they have mostly missed the boat.
Premier League move for China’s Wu Lei will give Wolves off-field edge but he must prove he’s more than a ‘shirt seller’
There was no place for Jiangsu Suning’s Huang Zichang in this squad, presumably on account of his Asian Games exploits, but he is one of a handful of younger players in and around the full national team that might be good enough of the current generation.
Whatever is to blame for that – and the debate will rage on – that’s something that needs to change before China’s men get anywhere near its women, or a World Cup.


Hong Kong striker Orr linked with Shanghai Port, city teammate Yue signs for Beijing Guoan

Team bus of CSL leaders Beijing Guoan seized over debt issues, players forced to hire bikes

Fans in China voice anger as club play hours after striker Boupendza’s death

Footballer dead in China after fall from building, Gabon FA says

Chinese Super League

Wang Shuang’s PSG debut goal shows China’s women are leaving Marcello Lippi’s overpaid failures in footballing shade

Wang Shuang of China battles with Japan players in the 2018 Asian Games women’s football final. Photo: Reuters

Sport

China

China boss Marcello Lippi sees his staggering salary questioned as latest hand wringing takes aim at an ageing men’s team after loss to Qatar, while women’s national team goes from strength to strength


Chinese Football Association (CFA)

Asian Games 2018

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column