HAVING previously qualified for just a solitary World Cup in 2002, one may be forgiven for thinking that China have rarely, if ever, imposed themselves on the global footballing stage.
As a whole, the European elite have historically dominated this lucrative sporting grandstand, demonstrated clearly by the dominance of the Champions League and their universally recognised theme tune. For years, high-class European clubs have hidden behind a subconsciously created veil of superiority, although this previously solid wall may soon be in danger of being breached by a powerful presence from the Far East.
This East Asian footballing deficiency was previously a source of embarrassment for one of the largest economies on the planet, although certain clubs now seem financially intent on surpassing their Western ‘rivals’. During the previous transfer window, the newly-founded Chinese Super League spent more money on players than any other division across the planet. This includes the Premier League, Ligue 1, Serie A, Bundesliga and La Liga, which incorporates the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United and AC Milan, who previously had all flexed their financial muscles to domestically dominate in the past.
However, this financially-inspired command is no longer a unique trait within the ever-changing footballing sphere and this is demonstrated clearly by the sudden financial firepower that has been recently unleashed by the Chinese Super League. During the winter of 2016, the Chinese division ,founded in only 2004, spent nearly £250 million on footballing talent. To give this figure an increased level of context, only £25m was spent by the whole of Ligue 1 in January, whose current reigning champions are the Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain.
China’s insanely expensive spending spree included purchasing the likes of Ezequiel Lavezzi [Hebei China Fortune] from the aforementioned PSG, Jackson Martinez [Guangzhou Evergrande] for £31m from Atletico Madrid, Ramires [Jiangsu Suning] from Chelsea for £20m, as well as an abundance of further signings that left Europe’s untouchables scratching their heads, confused and bewildered.
To make this footballing revolution even more staggering, it is also largely spearheaded by China’s President, Xi Jinping, whose passion for football is widely-known. When elected in 2013, Jinping made it one of his main aims to promote the sport in the country, specifying that he wanted China to qualify, host and eventually win the World Cup.
Previously, this remark could have been easily and understandably mocked, but now even former England and Lazio manager Sven-Göran Eriksson has optimistically claimed that a blossoming China team do have the potential to win football’s most prestigious prize within the next 10 years: “You can always feel how football is growing in China,” said Eriksson to Xinhua, Beijing’s official news agency. “I’ve been in Italy during the 1990s when every player wanted to come because the football was very good, then I was in England during the 2000s and all the players wanted to go to the Premier League because of more money and the good football. Now, in 2016, it seems that every player wants to come to China for the same reasons. Maybe 10 or 15 years ahead, I’m sure China’s national team will compete well [enough] to win the World Cup.”
`It is still yet to be seen if China’s governmental support will provide the nation with a footballing platform to propel themselves, although this uncertainty will surely not deter these dynamic Chinese clubs, who are likely to continue their raids on Europe’s primary leagues and raise their status from their previously second-rate standards.
Luke Barr
Featured image: The Sun