The dust is finally settling on the 2017 Chinese Super League Season, with newly-promoted Tianjin Quanjian sealing third place and AFC Champions League qualification after two rounds filled with drama and goals. Coach Fabio Cannavaro has already left his post, although perhaps not Chinese football – the pod reflects on his achievements in Tianjin, and run the rule over each of the contenders for this year’s ACL race: Quanjian, Hebei China Fortune, surprise package Guangzhou R&F, and Felix Magath’s Shandong Luneng.
The experts also share their views on just why these new-money clubs seem to be dominating the CSL, and take in some listeners’ questions to further discuss the prospects of more Chinese players plying their trade abroad, along with if this season’s enhanced competition marks the 2017 title as Guangzhou Evergrande’s finest, or whether previous iterations of Jiangsu, Beijing Guoan or even Shanghai International Port Group have pushed the perennial champions closer.
Wild East Football’s Steve Crooks is the host, joined by our regular experts Brandon Chemers in Beijing and Cameron Wilson in Shanghai.
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Don’t miss the chance to get involved in the discussion on Twitter at #chinafootypod – we do your best to field and answer your questions, every week.
Jeff Beresford-Howe
10/11/2017 at 10:33
A huge missed marketing opportunity: Korea, Japan, China and, say, Vietnam and Thailand, should all agree to allow two extra-national East Asian players on their league rosters. Really move some people around, spread interest in all of the Asian football leagues.