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More money, more problems: Free-spending Chinese clubs crash out

Guangzhou, Jiangsu suffer AFC Champions League agony

Afp May 06, 2016

Guangzhou Evergrande head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari gestures during their Club World Cup football semi-final match against Barcelona in Yokohama on December 17, 2015. PHOTO: AFP

HONG KONG: China’s world-leading transfer splurge has left two teams with red faces after holders Guangzhou Evergrande and Jiangsu Suning crashed out of the AFC Champions League group stage.

Just months after they repeatedly smashed Asia’s transfer record to hire top players, the two sides flopped in the regional competition, a route to a coveted FIFA Club World Cup spot.

Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Evergrande were particularly poor as they were eliminated with a game to spare. Both Chinese clubs exited with just two wins from their six group games.

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Evergrande’s injury-hit striker Jackson Martinez has been unable to fill the shoes of the prolific Elkeson — now with Shanghai SIPG — since arriving from Atletico Madrid.

And on Wednesday, a Jiangsu line-up featuring Asia’s record signing Alex Teixeira, ex-Chelsea midfielder Ramires and Jo, who has played for Manchester City and Brazil, was held 2-2 by Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to join Evergrande on the sidelines.

The big-spending clubs’ failure has particular resonance this week after little Leicester City stunned the glamour sides of English football to claim an incredible Premier League title.

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In January and February, Chinese teams broke the Asian transfer record four times in a sudden spending spree which outstripped even the mega-rich English Premier League.

Recriminations are likely to be fierce, especially at Chinese champions Evergrande who installed a new president in a shake-up last month, reportedly because of their struggles in Asia.

Footballing fortunes are now closely watched after President Xi Jinping launched a drive to turn the sleeping giant into a world football power.

Evergrande have won the Champions League twice in the past three years, plus five consecutive Chinese league titles, but defeats to Sydney FC and Urawa Red Diamonds sealed their fate.

“When you look at individuals, obviously they [Evergrande] have the better side,” said Urawa coach Mihailo Petrovic last month. “But I think we gained confidence by beating this Chinese giant because it proves that money isn’t everything.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2016.

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