Guangzhou Evergrande clinch sixth straight title
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, October 24, 2016
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Guangzhou Evergrande drew 1-1 with Yanbian Fude to clinch the title. |
Guangzhou Evergrande was crowned the 2016 Chinese Super League champion last night with two rounds still to go in the season.
Following a 1-1 draw with Yanbian Fude in Guangzhou, Evergrande led the CSL standings with 61 points, seven more than second-placed Jiangsu Suning, which cannot overtake the table-topper. It's Evergrande's sixth consecutive league title.
Meanwhile, both Shanghai teams secured AFC Champions League spots for next year, though the competition for a third-place finish remains fierce. Greenland Shenhua is currently third on 47 points — a one-point advantage over fourth-placed SIPG. The CSL's fourth-place finisher will have to go through playoff rounds to qualify for the ACL.
Shenhua has been away from Asian competition for six years. It was held to a goalless draw by Hangzhou Greentown last night, during which key players Giovanni Moreno and Fredy Guarin picked up injuries and were substituted in the first half. Shenhua plays Beijing Guo'an and Changchun Yatai in the last two rounds.
SIPG eased past Shandong Luneng 4-1 in a Saturday match. Brazil striker Elkeson contributed a brace in the first half, while Hulk and Li Haowen each scored in the second half.
In another Saturday match, Beijing beat Guangzhou R&F 3-1 to kill the latter's hopes of qualifying for the ACL. Both teams, along with Hebei China Fortune, are fifth on 39 points — seven less than SIPG.
Evergrande held a celebration ceremony in Guangzhou after last night's victory. The club announced on Saturday that it had terminated a contract which had named Marcello Lippi as its new manager after “friendly talks” with the Italian. The contract was signed on August 3. The club apparently made a “sacrifice” in letting go the experienced veteran coach for the sake of the much-troubled national team, which lost to Syria and Uzbekistan in the 2018 World Cup Asian qualifiers forcing Gao Hongbo to resign as head coach.
Lippi was then officially unveiled as the new Chinese national team manager. His salary, which was reported to be 20 million euros (US$21.78 million) per year before tax, would be largely shouldered by Evergrande. Evergrande was also said to have extended the contract of its current head coach, another World Cup winning manager Luiz Felipe Scolari of Brazil.
Lippi, who masterminded Italy to its most recent World Cup triumph in 2006 and also led Guangzhou to three consecutive CSL titles between 2012 and 2014, has his work cut out in his latest assignment.
China, the most populous nation on earth, languishes a lowly 84th in the FIFA world rankings — sandwiched between Kenya and Guatemala.
It has claimed just one point from four games in World Cup qualification and is bottom of Group A, which also includes Iran, South Korea, and Qatar.
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