Now that we're 6 games into the season, I decided it was time to take a look at how attendance is going so far this year. The figures in Shaanxi and Beijing are very encouraging, and Jiangsu is very impressive for a newly promoted team. One wonders what is going on in Shanghai, however its mainly due to their weak attendance at their first game. Changsha is a joke and it was always expected to be that way, but hopefully Qingdao will improve after a few more home matches. Here's the list:
Shaanxi Zhongxin : Average = 37,196
Round 1 - 38,000
Round 4 - 35,000
Round 6 - 38,588
Beijing Guoan : Average = 35,000
Round 1 - 40,000
Round 3 - 30,000
Jiangsu Sainty : Average = 22,772
Round 2 - 21,000
Round 4 - 21,000
Round 6 - 26,315
Shandong Luneng : Average = 20,952
Round 1 - 18,000
Round 2 - 20,457
Round 4 - 21,735
Round 5 - 24,523
Round 6 - 20,044
Guangzhou Baiyunshan : Average = 19,000
Round 3 - 20,000
Round 5 - 18,000
Henan Construction : Average = 17,661
Round 1 - 23,000
Round 3 - 13,396
Round 5 - 16,588
Chengdu Blades : Average = 17,333
Round 3 - 18,000
Round 4 - 22,000
Round 6 - 12,000
Tianjin Teda : Average = 15,552
Round 1 - 15,000
Round 3 - 20,030
Round 5 - 11,626
Hangzhou Greentown : Average = 15,297
Round 1 - 15,000
Round 2 - 16,235
Round 4 - 14,656
Shanghai Shenhua : Average = 14,667
Round 1 - 11,000
Round 3 - 17,400
Round 5 - 15,600
Chongqing Lifan : Average = 13,867
Round 2 - 12,000
Round 4 - 14,000
Round 6 - 15,600
Dalian Shide : Average = 13,500
Round 2 - 12,000
Round 5 - 15,000
Shenzhen : Average = 12,750
Round 2 - 16,000
Round 3 - 11,000
Round 4 - 16,500
Round 6 - 7,500
Changchun Yatai : Average = 11,872
Round 3 - 12,000
Round 5 - 11,317
Round 6 - 12,300
Changsha Jinde : Average = 6,892
Round 1 - 8,000
Round 2 - 8,230
Round 3 - 4,200
Round 4 - 6,500
Round 6 - 7,532
Qingdao Zhongneng : Average = 6,500
Round 5 - 6,500
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Top 5 Reasons Why Beijing Guoan is Better than Shanghai Shenhua
5. Shanghai's won the league more times since professionalism was implemented in Chinese soccer, but we've won the cup more AND won more throughout history.
4. Fan Zhiyi, Shen Si, Xie Hui, Mao Jianqing vs. Gao Hongbo, Shao Jiayi, Yang Chen, Xu Yunlong, Huang Bowen? Guoan's made a far greater contribution to the national team.
3. Hongkou Stadium vs. Gongti (Worker's Stadium)? Gongti's the winner, plain and simple, Sanlitun nearby, on two subway lines, bigger size, and held far more important events, plus more character.
2. Mao Jianqing can't hold his alcohol and needed 2 other guys to help him beat up 1 guy and 2 girls. Plus, he's a total national team failure.
1. "Flowers of Shanghai" vs. "Green Lions/Imperial Guard"? Again, hands down, Guoan takes it, those "flowers" are a perfect representation of Shanghai's men.
Oh yeah, one bonus reason: 9-1!
4. Fan Zhiyi, Shen Si, Xie Hui, Mao Jianqing vs. Gao Hongbo, Shao Jiayi, Yang Chen, Xu Yunlong, Huang Bowen? Guoan's made a far greater contribution to the national team.
3. Hongkou Stadium vs. Gongti (Worker's Stadium)? Gongti's the winner, plain and simple, Sanlitun nearby, on two subway lines, bigger size, and held far more important events, plus more character.
2. Mao Jianqing can't hold his alcohol and needed 2 other guys to help him beat up 1 guy and 2 girls. Plus, he's a total national team failure.
1. "Flowers of Shanghai" vs. "Green Lions/Imperial Guard"? Again, hands down, Guoan takes it, those "flowers" are a perfect representation of Shanghai's men.
Oh yeah, one bonus reason: 9-1!
The History of a Rivalry : 9-1
It was a hot summer's night in 1997 and a huge crowd showed up at Gongti to watch their beloved Beijing Guoan take on the hated Shanghai Shenhua. You see, Beijinger's don't like Shanghainese and vice versa and back in those days, just like it is today, both teams were made up with mainly local players who knew the rivalry between the cities and the teams that represent those cities.
What those fans didn't know is that they'd be treated to one of the greatest footballing feats in Guoan history. Over the course of two hours, those fans witnessed a total shellacking of a hated rival, as Andres Olivas Rubio and Casiano each scored 3 goals, Campos added 2, and Cao Xiandong finished off the scoring. Shenhua's only response came from Wu Chengying and couldn't serve as consolation for Shanghai fans who watched the match.
While most Beijing fans won't admit it, we are more than a little jealous of Shanghai's titles in 1995 and 2003. We've yet to win the league, though we are the "Kings of the Cup" having won it 4 times in our history. The lore of the 9-1 match is something Guoan fans have held on to tightly over the years. It is still possible to see "9-1" signs show up in the stand in Beijing and sometimes when road fans make the trip to Shanghai as well.
To those fans involved in this rivalry, its like Arsenal-Tottenham or Yankees-Red Sox, it is a true hatred and the only thing that can comfort me when Guoan loses is seeing Shanghai lose as well.
The rivalry has everything to do with the hatred between the two cities and of all the "China Derby" matches that receive that title, this one is truly the one that takes the cake. These two teams and their fans don't like each other and these matches always live up to it. During the CSL years, Beijing has won 3 times, lost 4, and came up with 3 draws. I'm not expecting Friday to be 9-1, but I hope the history of that game is remembered and when the final whistle is blown, Beijing secures 3 points.
What those fans didn't know is that they'd be treated to one of the greatest footballing feats in Guoan history. Over the course of two hours, those fans witnessed a total shellacking of a hated rival, as Andres Olivas Rubio and Casiano each scored 3 goals, Campos added 2, and Cao Xiandong finished off the scoring. Shenhua's only response came from Wu Chengying and couldn't serve as consolation for Shanghai fans who watched the match.
While most Beijing fans won't admit it, we are more than a little jealous of Shanghai's titles in 1995 and 2003. We've yet to win the league, though we are the "Kings of the Cup" having won it 4 times in our history. The lore of the 9-1 match is something Guoan fans have held on to tightly over the years. It is still possible to see "9-1" signs show up in the stand in Beijing and sometimes when road fans make the trip to Shanghai as well.
To those fans involved in this rivalry, its like Arsenal-Tottenham or Yankees-Red Sox, it is a true hatred and the only thing that can comfort me when Guoan loses is seeing Shanghai lose as well.
The rivalry has everything to do with the hatred between the two cities and of all the "China Derby" matches that receive that title, this one is truly the one that takes the cake. These two teams and their fans don't like each other and these matches always live up to it. During the CSL years, Beijing has won 3 times, lost 4, and came up with 3 draws. I'm not expecting Friday to be 9-1, but I hope the history of that game is remembered and when the final whistle is blown, Beijing secures 3 points.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
CSL Matchday 6 Recap
What a rough week! I go 2-6 and only 6 goals scored in 8 matches made for some pretty piss poor football. Nothing more needs to be said, let's go to the games:
Changsha Jinde 0 - 0 Guangzhou Baiyunshan : WRONG
What a way to start! This crappy snorefest shows that Changsha got their mojo back and are once again playing their anti-football as the masters of the nil-nil draw. Some decent chances for both teams, but not much to talk about. Original Prediction: Changsha 0 - 1 Guangzhou.
Jiangsu Sainty 0 - 0 Henan Construction : WRONG
Saturday was all about the nil-nil as upstarts Jiangsu faced off against top of the table Henan. The home side outshot the visitors, but it was Netto's header just wide that was the best scoring chance in the 1st half. Jiangsu dominated the 2nd half chances, but still came up short as both teams walk away with a point and Henan stays on top. Original Prediction: Jiangsu 2 - 3 Henan.
Shenzhen 0 - 1 Hangzhou Greentown : WRONG
Okay, so I have a soft spot for Shenzhen that has been exposed week in, week out. If I go with my heart instead of my brain again this year, I deserve to be punched. Shenzhen is a bad football team, they just escaped going down last year and it would be no surprise if they fall this year. In the rainy conditions in Shenzhen, they failed to convert on a 1st half penalty kick, and then were beaten by an Otto goal minutes into the 2nd half. Original Prediction: Shenzhen 1 - 1 Hangzhou.
Chongqing Lifan 1 - 0 Dalian Shide : WRONG
I thought Dalian's performance last week was a turning point in their season, it seemed like some of their squad were finally starting to come together, however a road defeat in Chongqing is a massive disappointment. Chongqing isn't a very good team, but Guinee is a damn good forward and his bulk and power make him extremely difficult to stop. Good chances fell to him as well as Dalian's Ahn in the 1st half, but it was Guinee's early 2nd half goal that made the difference. The goal was on a penalty kick, coming off a good scoring chance where he was pushed in the back. Dalian tried to get back into it, but didn't have enough to equalize. Original Prediction: Chongqing 0 - 2 Dalian.
Chengdu Blades 0 - 1 Tianjin Teda : RIGHT
Tianjin needed to regroup and facing Chengdu would be a fairly easy way to do that, however they didn't make things easy for themselves. Much of the 1st half was controlled by Chengdu, though Tianjin had a decent counterattack. In the 2nd half, Hao Junmin was able to make some moves on a defender and knock in a goal midway through the half that was enough to secure them 3 points and move them into 2nd place. Original Prediction: Chengdu 1 - 2 Tianjin.
Changchun Yatai 1 - 0 Shanghai Shenhua : WRONG
Yes, I was wrong, but this is one I love to be wrong about. Cao Tianbao's header off a 1st half corner was enough in what was a fairly rough game, as has been Shanghai's trend this year, Changchun received 4 yellow cards and Shanghai received 6, Yu Tao personally received 2 of the cards and so was shown red in the 51st minute. Actually going down a man helped Shanghai briefly as they quickly came up with 2 solid chances, but neither made it past the keeper. Changchun regrouped and made some substitutions and was able to claim a nice victory over Shenhua. Original Prediction: Changchun 1 - 1 Shanghai.
Shaanxi Zhongxin 1 - 0 Beijing Guoan : WRONG
See the full, miserable write-up on this here. Sad...Original Prediction: Shaanxi 0 - 1 Beijing.
Shandong Luneng 1 - 0 Qingdao Zhongneng : RIGHT
The Shandong derby should have been full of fireworks, though as expected Qingdao was a little more pumped up to play in this one. Qingdao went on the attack early and probably should have been given a penalty kick, though Shandong quickly responded with some chances of its own. The lone goal came early in the first half off a beautifully delivered Wang Yongpo free kick from just outside the box. Shandong continued to press, but was unable to get another goal, while Qingdao came up with a few counter attacking opportunities, game ends, Shandong wins, end of story. Original Prediction: Shandong 3 - 1 Qingdao.
2-6 for the week, but maintaining my 21-19 winning record for the season...
Changsha Jinde 0 - 0 Guangzhou Baiyunshan : WRONG
What a way to start! This crappy snorefest shows that Changsha got their mojo back and are once again playing their anti-football as the masters of the nil-nil draw. Some decent chances for both teams, but not much to talk about. Original Prediction: Changsha 0 - 1 Guangzhou.
Jiangsu Sainty 0 - 0 Henan Construction : WRONG
Saturday was all about the nil-nil as upstarts Jiangsu faced off against top of the table Henan. The home side outshot the visitors, but it was Netto's header just wide that was the best scoring chance in the 1st half. Jiangsu dominated the 2nd half chances, but still came up short as both teams walk away with a point and Henan stays on top. Original Prediction: Jiangsu 2 - 3 Henan.
Shenzhen 0 - 1 Hangzhou Greentown : WRONG
Okay, so I have a soft spot for Shenzhen that has been exposed week in, week out. If I go with my heart instead of my brain again this year, I deserve to be punched. Shenzhen is a bad football team, they just escaped going down last year and it would be no surprise if they fall this year. In the rainy conditions in Shenzhen, they failed to convert on a 1st half penalty kick, and then were beaten by an Otto goal minutes into the 2nd half. Original Prediction: Shenzhen 1 - 1 Hangzhou.
Chongqing Lifan 1 - 0 Dalian Shide : WRONG
I thought Dalian's performance last week was a turning point in their season, it seemed like some of their squad were finally starting to come together, however a road defeat in Chongqing is a massive disappointment. Chongqing isn't a very good team, but Guinee is a damn good forward and his bulk and power make him extremely difficult to stop. Good chances fell to him as well as Dalian's Ahn in the 1st half, but it was Guinee's early 2nd half goal that made the difference. The goal was on a penalty kick, coming off a good scoring chance where he was pushed in the back. Dalian tried to get back into it, but didn't have enough to equalize. Original Prediction: Chongqing 0 - 2 Dalian.
Chengdu Blades 0 - 1 Tianjin Teda : RIGHT
Tianjin needed to regroup and facing Chengdu would be a fairly easy way to do that, however they didn't make things easy for themselves. Much of the 1st half was controlled by Chengdu, though Tianjin had a decent counterattack. In the 2nd half, Hao Junmin was able to make some moves on a defender and knock in a goal midway through the half that was enough to secure them 3 points and move them into 2nd place. Original Prediction: Chengdu 1 - 2 Tianjin.
Changchun Yatai 1 - 0 Shanghai Shenhua : WRONG
Yes, I was wrong, but this is one I love to be wrong about. Cao Tianbao's header off a 1st half corner was enough in what was a fairly rough game, as has been Shanghai's trend this year, Changchun received 4 yellow cards and Shanghai received 6, Yu Tao personally received 2 of the cards and so was shown red in the 51st minute. Actually going down a man helped Shanghai briefly as they quickly came up with 2 solid chances, but neither made it past the keeper. Changchun regrouped and made some substitutions and was able to claim a nice victory over Shenhua. Original Prediction: Changchun 1 - 1 Shanghai.
Shaanxi Zhongxin 1 - 0 Beijing Guoan : WRONG
See the full, miserable write-up on this here. Sad...Original Prediction: Shaanxi 0 - 1 Beijing.
Shandong Luneng 1 - 0 Qingdao Zhongneng : RIGHT
The Shandong derby should have been full of fireworks, though as expected Qingdao was a little more pumped up to play in this one. Qingdao went on the attack early and probably should have been given a penalty kick, though Shandong quickly responded with some chances of its own. The lone goal came early in the first half off a beautifully delivered Wang Yongpo free kick from just outside the box. Shandong continued to press, but was unable to get another goal, while Qingdao came up with a few counter attacking opportunities, game ends, Shandong wins, end of story. Original Prediction: Shandong 3 - 1 Qingdao.
2-6 for the week, but maintaining my 21-19 winning record for the season...
Matchday 6 Review : Shaanxi Zhongxin Early in the
Poor Lee! With all the pressure on his team, this is just about the time fans will take a serious look at him and start questioning his managerial prowess. In reality, we aren't that bad off through our 6 league matches and 4 Champions League ones, however expectations were a lot higher at the start of the year and inconsistent play has been killing us.
Lee can only seriously be blamed for his coaching errors, like not putting a taller defender on the pitch against Ulsan during Matchday 3. This week, Lee had to deal with a highly depleted lineup, having Huang Bowen out for 3 months is bad, but Tao Wei missed the match with an injury as well and Yang Hao was out with a fever. Guoan's lineup looked far different from what we've seen most of the season, with Sui Dongliang and Wang Hao both featuring in the lineup for the first time this year. Further, missing Tao or Huang is okay, but missing both is extremely tough as there is a lack of creativity in the midfield.
That, and the nearly 40,000 screaming fans that showed up in Xian made for a very tough environment for Guoan. Shaanxi was in control of the game early and was able to put together a number of great chances, getting unlucky a few times, before finally putting the ball past the keeper in the 17th minute on an unusual play. The ball was swung in from the left, Paul and a Shaanxi player went up for a header and both missed it when the ball bounced off Zhang Yonghai and fell to a Shaanxi player whose shot on net was headed wide before Wang Erzhuo was left all alone on the back post and knocked the ball in.
At the half Guoan was lucky to only be down by one and after the game Lee commented about how horrible the first half play was. A major part of the problem had to be how unfamiliar the midfield was with each other and how they weren't up to match fitness. Lee took off Wang Changqing at the start of the 2nd half and put Guo Hui on, then took off Sui shortly after that, giving Yan Xiangchuang a chance to work his magic again (unfortunately he wasn't able to). Guoan had a few chances throughout the game, but nothing that was good enough to equalize.
Where do we go from here? The first thing, obviously, is to hope that our players get healthy and come back soon, though we should be able to get by without him (them). In 10 matches in all competitions, we have 3 wins, 4 draws, and 3 losses. It is still early days in the league and no team has clearly jumped ahead and up to now no team has impressed, it still appears there is not a squad head and shoulders above the rest and that it's not time to seriously freak out, YET.
The China derby is coming up on Friday and Guoan has a few days to recover and prepare. A packed house at Gongti, a holiday Friday, and best of all, Shanghai coming to town should be enough to motivate the squad. The quicker we can forget this result the better in an overall crazy CSL weekend.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
CSL Matchday 6 Preview Part 2
Due to some personal obligations, I sort of took a few days off, but I'm back and (almost) better than ever. Like a lot of Guoan fans, I'm looking forward to May 1, not for the holiday, but for our match against 9-1. Yes, it's about that time, the team formerly known as Shanghai Shenhua will now go by 9-1. My predictions were shit yesterday, so was the football, but there are some pretty tasty matchups to look forward to today, here goes:
4.26 15:30 Chongqing Lifan - Dalian Shide
4.26 15:30 Chongqing Lifan - Dalian Shide
However you want to slice or dice it, Chongqing's a crap football team. Dalian is not, they've been mediocre for much of the season, but it seems like Ahn Junghwan is finally adjusting to the CSL and getting more opportunities. While it's not always easy to play in Chongqing, this one should be pretty cut and dry. Prediction: Chongqing 0-2 Dalian.
4.26 15:30 Chengdu Blades - Tianjin Teda
There was a time a few weeks back that Tianjin coming to town would be something to fear, now its nothing special. This Tianjin side has been totally exposed as a solid attacking team with absolutely no defense. Fortunately for them, Chengdu's attack isn't very strong and so Tianjin should have no problem outscoring them. It's going to be a fight, but Tianjin should win in the end. Prediction: Chengdu 1 - 2 Tianjin.
4.26 15:30 Changchun Yatai - 9-1
Changchun delivered an excellent fixture when they went head to head against Shandong, can they do the same against 9-1? 9-1 is coming off a midweek loss in Korea and will hope to regroup, their inconsistency over the season makes it hard to predict which 9-1 side will come out. This being in Changchun, I have a feeling its going to be a pretty tight match. Prediction: Changchun 1 - 1 Shanghai.
4.26 16:00 Shaanxi Zhongxin - Beijing Guoan
Our guys in green take on the northwest wolves on the road (full preview here), they're up for it, but this has been a pretty screwy weekend so far, I could definitely see this ending in a draw, but I'm confident in Guoan. Prediction: Shaanxi 1 - 2 Guoan.
4.26 19:30 Shandong Luneng - Qingdao Zhongneng
We have derby day in Jinan as Shandong and Qingdao do battle in prime time. Shandong only managed a midweek draw in Seoul, while Qingdao has struggled all season. There's always talk about throwing the records out for a derby, and you gotta expect a lot of effort from Qingdao, but it takes more than effort to win a football match. Shandong should cruise to a win, with Antar putting in one of the goals. Prediction: Shandong 3 - 1 Qingdao.
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