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Building a football Mecca(附图)
http://www.sina.com.cn 2003/07/30 10:01  上海英文星报

  JULY 16 saw a fantastic festival in Shanghai. More than 50,000 fans flooded into the Shanghai Stadium to watch the third Shanghai local derby clash. Shanghai Stadium was bombarded with light, noise, blue shirts and water bottles and filled with fantastic fans whose shouting and applause rocked the stadium.

  The match was also viewed live on television by millions and reported by newspapers all over the country. Spectators in other cities even sacrificed the matches of their own teams to focus on China's only local derby. Spectators came all the way to Shanghai from neighbouring Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces to catch a glimpse of the city clash.

  The match ended with Zhongyuan's 2-1 victory over Shenhua, leaving spectators with a great impression of excitement and fulfillment. But the meaning of the derby match goes far further than that.

  Shanghai has long been known as one of the economic and financial centres of China, and of Asia more widely, but now it also adds the derby clash to its trophies. It has made a further step toward being an international city.

  As a profitable but expensive sport, football is not an easy game to nurture.

  Running a club requires large-scale financial support. Shanghai Shenhua has spent 28 million yuan (US.4 million) to acquire international-level players while Zhongyuan expenditures come to over 21 million yuan (US.5 million).

  Without a booming market, including fans who have the money and leisure to watch the games and buy their team's shirts, the team cannot survive. In China, only the affluent areas with strong local economies can afford football clubs.

  Moreover, there is an art to managing and promoting clubs. A good team does not make a good club by itself. Even the clubs with international fame in Italy and England can suffer from financial problems because of poor management and promotion.

  To support two teams in one city is more challenging still. Rome, Turin, London, Milan, Madrid and Buenos Aires, cities who all keep "derby" teams, are the economic centres of their respective regions.

  Shanghai, as one of the foremost economic and financial centres in Asia, is striving to compete with its rivals not only economically, but also in sports. Shenhua and Zhongyuan and their fans are striving to make their derby as exciting as those in Milan and Rome.

  Fierce competition

  For years, Shenhua and Zhongyuan have taken great steps forward in constructing their teams. They have attracted outstanding players from both home and abroad and found them high-level coaches.

  Shenhua has acquired Qu Shenqing and Zhang Yuning, two top strikers in China, from domestic leagues, as well as obtaining Honduran striker Martinez, Serbian mid-fielder Prodicvic and German striker Jorg Albertz, who used to play for their national teams or Europe clubs with international fame.

  While Zhongyuan has Shen Si, Wu Chengying and Qi Hong, who used to stand in the first rank of the China national team, along with international players such as Cuevas, a player from the Paraguay national team.

  The two teams inevitably collided in the fight for players and fans. The two derby matches in 2002 were spotted with taunting, curses and violent conduct among the teams' fans, even though both wear a blue shirt to support their teams.

  The competition between the Shanghai teams remains extremely fierce. In 2002, Zhongyuan stole several first line players from Shenhua, leaving Shenhua relying on younger players to reconstruct the team. No wonder one fans points out: "The former Shenhua was divided into two. The older formed Zhongyuan and the younger made Shenhua."

  Cheng Yaodong, the Zhongyuan coach, used to play for Shenhua and spent his golden years there. In the conference after the match, he said: "First, I want to express my thanks to fans who support our Shenhua team." After sensing his mistake, he smiled and explained: "Shenhua and Zhongyuan come from one family. Although we must fight for victory on the pitch, we both represent Shanghai football off the pitch."

  The Milan derby produces non-stop taunting and Spanish derbies generate feud and hatred. But the Shanghai derby is not so bitter.

  "I will build Zhongyuan into one of the century's great clubs," said Xu Zexian, the boss of the Shanghai Zhongyuan club. After a series of transfers, Zhongyuan has become a competitive team in the top league.

  Wu Chengying, a local football star in the Zhongyuan team and a former player with Shenhua commented: "We must admit the derby is a good thing. It forces the two teams to learn from each other and strive for progress. But we should not turn it into a heated war."

  Jin Zhiyang, a coach with China's national team marveled after watching the match: "If other domestic matches reach the level of the Shanghai derby clash, the days will soon approach when Chinese football becomes outstanding and China's top league becomes the top league in Asia."




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