Big changes in the Chinese team

The second largest real estate groupChinais the sponsor of Guangzhou Evergrande Club. Evergrande's money thrown into the field has helped them rise to become a major force in the Chinese Super League in the past decade, they have won 7 consecutive championships. Once the giant Evergrande goes bankrupt, the Super League runner-up club will be cut off from their source of funding, and a series of Chinese players are preparing to flee.

The rich also cry

Guangzhou Evergrande Club was once known as the "rich guy" of Chinese football. Photo: AFC.

Guangzhou Evergrande Club is known as the “rich guy” of Chinese football, with Italian player Fabio Cannavaro as head coach. On average, each season this giant spends about 500 million USD while the revenue is only about 170 million USD and 70% of the revenue is “gifts” from the parent company: commercial and advertising contracts signed with Evergrande’s subsidiaries. A common thing in Asian clubs, including Vietnam.

Currently, Guangzhou Evergrande Club has 8 national players competing in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. They are Jiang Guangtai, Tyias Browning, Gao Zhunyi, Elkeson, Alan Carvalho, Wei Shihao, Aloisio Goncalves, Liu Dianzuo, 4 of whom are naturalized Chinese players. According to our assessment, center-back Jiang Guangtai, who has 2 English-Chinese bloodlines and is a product of Everton's training academy, is the best player.

Of the four naturalized players, only Alan Carvalho is rumored to have been linked with another Chinese football giant, Beijing Guoan. Brazilian-born striker Aloisio Goncalves, Elkeson and Liverpool-born Jiang Guangtai are still waiting for a solution from their home clubs. Meanwhile, domestic players are also actively contacting Shandong Taishan, Beijing Guoan, Shenzhen or Shanghai Shenhua. Surely no one wants their salary to be reduced while being a national team player.

Although the Chinese Football Association and coach Li Tie are trying to reassure the players before the match against the Vietnamese team, it is difficult for players to feel secure when they do not know where their fate will go. Especially for naturalized players, it is difficult to force them to stick with the team when their economic interests are threatened. Evergrande Group is burdened with a debt of up to 300 billion USD and is facing serious financial problems, so they had to let go of the club.

Will there be a change of "captain"?

Coach Cannavaro, who parted ways with Guangzhou FC for the second time after winning the Chinese Super League championship with his team in 2019. Photo: Dan Tri

But the issue of public concern is coach Cannavaro, who left Guangzhou FC for the second time after winning the 2019 Chinese Super League and FA Super Cup with his team due to salary issues. Chinese media predicted that the former captain of the Italian team would be a strong candidate to replace coach Li Tie right before the match against Vietnam. In the context that the Chinese team is currently at the bottom of Group B with 2 consecutive losses to Australia and Japan in the final qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia. Coach Li Tie is being blamed and pressure is weighing heavily on his shoulders.

Sina newspaper commented: "Cannavaro will not have difficulty integrating into the environment here because in the Chinese team's squad there are up to 8 players who were Cannavaro's students, including Liu Dianzuo, Zhang Linpeng, Gao Zhunyi, Jiang Guangtai, Luo Guofu, Alan, Elkeson and Wei Shihao".

Obviously, if Cannavaro takes charge of the Chinese team, he can reassure his 8 students, along with his understanding of mainland football, which will increase their chances of getting 3 points against Coach Park Hang-seo's team. If this decision is announced in the next few days, the confrontation between Vietnam and China will be even more worth watching.