Wu Lei’s Winner, Zhang Li’s Suspension and Olympic Memories: The Chinese Football Podcast

The CSL is keeping up its frantic post-break pace, giving the panel plenty to reflect on this week. We start with the Shanghai derby – Wu Lei’s quality strike gets the plaudits, although the overall on-field spectacle and off-field shenanigans have us worrying for the future of this rivalry. Guangzhou Evergrande’s shock late collapse in Changchun is the other standout on-pitch story – although should we be surprised, given the difficulty of the long trip north?

The CFA’s handling of the Zhang Li & Demba Ba racism accusation is another topic up for discussion. Along with Ba reporting abuse, Anthony Modeste and Alan are having some more mundane football-related disputes with their clubs too. With Axel Witsel’s move to Dortmund confirmed, might we start seeing more big-name players leaving China than arriving – or is this all a construct of the European transfer window?

We wrap up with our contribution to the ten-year anniversary discussions of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The pod share their favourite stories and trivia surrounding some of the players (and coaches) involved ten years ago, and start to wonder about the legacy of the current investment in Chinese football – where might we be in ten years from now?

The Chinese Football Podcast is hosted by Wild East Football’s Steve Crooks, joined by Chinese football experts Brandon Chemers from the Qingdao Beer Festival and Cameron Wilson back safely in Shanghai.

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