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88-491: Shen Si would go to several specialist sports schools during his youth before being picked up by Shanghai Shenhua and the Chinese U-23 team . At Shenhua he would start his career at the dawn of China's first fully professional league season in the 1994 league season where he quickly establish himself as a vital player within the squad before going on to win the league title in the 1995 league season . At Shenhua, Shen would add

176-971: A CSL player has risen rapidly since the investment boost started in 2015. The six most expensive transfers with players coming to CSL have exceeded €30 million, with Chelsea selling Oscar to Shanghai SIPG in December 2016 for a fee of €60 million, Zenit Saint Petersburg selling Hulk to Shanghai SIPG for €55.8 million in July 2016, Shakhtar Donetsk selling Alex Teixeira to Jiangsu Suning for €50 million in February 2016, Atlético Madrid selling Jackson Martínez to Guangzhou Evergrande for €42 million in February 2016, Villarreal selling Cédric Bakambu to Beijing Guoan for €40 million in February 2018, Atlético Madrid selling Yannick Carrasco to Dalian Yifang for €30 million in February 2018. Guangzhou Evergrande's sale of Paulinho to Barcelona for €40 million in 2017 broke

264-566: A disappointing 2011 season in the Chinese Super League , Zhu Jun decided to bring in a marquee player, so on 12 December 2011, it was confirmed that Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka would be arriving in Shanghai in January 2012, while six days later, it was announced that his compatriot Jean Tigana would be the head coach from the 2012 season. Tigana was fired after a string of poor results and

352-465: A fixture called the Yangtze Delta Derby. Later, with the relegation of Shanghai Shenxin in 2015 and then disbandment in 2020, Shanghai SIPG became the sole rival for Shenhua in Shanghai. The competition reached its peak when Shenhua beat SIPG in the 2017 Chinese FA Cup finals on aggregate and when SIPG won the super league soon after, in 2018. The rivalry between the fans and the players made

440-718: A foreign player transfer or ¥20 million for a Chinese player transfer must pay the same amount to a CFA youth development fund. In December 2020, the CFA imposed a salary cap on the Super League. Starting with the 2021 season, total player wages are capped at ¥600 million, with a separate limit of €10 million for foreign players. Individual player salaries are also capped, at ¥5 million before tax for Chinese players and €3 million for foreign players. In early years, numerous players from Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America regions were signed as

528-426: A gap in the club finances that saw Rolando Schiavi , Patricio Toranzo , and Giovanni Moreno refuse to play the 31 March 2013, league game against Liaoning Whowin because of unpaid wages. The Zhu Jun era ended on 31 January 2014, when the club was purchased by Greenland Holding Group Company Limited who bought a share of 28.5% of the club. On 6 February 2014, Greenland Holding Group Company Limited announced that

616-429: A majority share of Shanghai Shenhua and began to merge Shanghai United into Shanghai Shenhua. His first act was to replace the previously successful existing head coach Wu Jingui with Shanghai United's Osvaldo Giménez . The appointment was to prove highly disruptive and Wu Jingui was quickly brought back as the head coach after only a few months, but was sacked on 9 September 2008. Jia Xiuquan took over his position on

704-501: A rising power in the global transfer market. Brazil international Ramires , Colombia international Jackson Martinez and Fredy Guarin were among the notable signings, while Pavel Nedvěd was appointed as second global ambassador for CSL. 2017 saw the Chinese Super League (CSL) catapulted to global attention. Players such as Oscar , Carlos Tevez , Ricardo Carvalho , Alexandre Pato and Mikel John Obi all moved east during

792-597: A vital league game, Beijing thrashed Shenhua 9–1 at the Workers Stadium in Beijing. It would be Beijing's largest victory and Shenhua's greatest defeat ever recorded. Soon after that event, both teams would meet again in the 1997 FA Cup final, which saw Beijing win the cup. When professionalism was established in 1994 within the Chinese leagues, it opened the door for more than one team within each city. This eventually paved

880-555: A youth development program at every club. The CSL published first edition of CSL club criteria in 2002 and revised it several times, club license system was introduced since 2004. Besides the regular professional league, the CSL also has a reserve league, and Youth super league plays in U-19,U-17,U-15,U-14 and U-13 levels. The CSL and China League One's goals are to promote high-quality and high-level competition, introduce advanced managerial concepts to

968-406: Is $ 1,016,579 in 2017, it is ranked at eleventh place among all of the professional sports leagues and the sixth-highest of any professional association football league in the world. CSL has two transfer windows—the primary pre-season transfer window lasts two months from January to February, and the secondary mid season transfer window runs one month from mid June to mid July. As of the 2018 season,

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1056-563: Is a Chinese professional football club based in Shanghai , that competes in the Chinese Super League , the top tier of Chinese football . Shanghai Shenhua plays its home matches at the Shanghai Stadium , located within Xuhui District . The owner of Shanghai Shenhua F.C. is Shanghai Jiushi Group , a state-owned cultural and sports operation company in Shanghai. Shanghai Shenhua is one of

1144-594: Is counted first. Key Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League ( Chinese : 中国足球协会超级联赛 ; pinyin : Zhōngguó Zúqiú Xiéhuì Chāojí Liánsài ), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL , currently known as the China Resources C'estbon Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in China, operating under

1232-401: Is the financial centre of modern commerce within China. Each club had an extensive history, including successful periods. However, they rarely competed directly for trophies until the 1997 league season . With Shenhua having won the 1995 league title and Beijing having won the 1996 Chinese FA Cup, both teams looked as if they had the pedigree to win trophies that season and on 20 July 1997, in

1320-489: The Asian Champions League title, the first time a Chinese Super League team has won that award. In 2014, Guangzhou Evergrande became the first Chinese club to win four consecutive professional league titles. In 2015, ex-Tottenham midfielder Paulinho moved to Guangzhou Evergrande at the age of 27, Guangzhou Evergrande become AFC champions League champions for second time. In 2016, the Chinese super league became

1408-702: The Australian national football team won the AFC Asian Cup , Tim Cahill announced he had been signed by the Shenhua, moving from the New York Red Bulls Despite signing a one-year contract extension in November 2015, Tim Cahill announced on his Instagram on 16 February 2016, that his contract had been terminated by incoming coach Gregorio Manzano . No reason was given for his termination beyond saying that he

1496-648: The China League One and the top two teams from the League One are promoted, taking their places. The League position is determined by the highest number of points accumulated during the season. If two or more teams are level on points, tiebreakers are, in the following order When the Asian Football Confederation started the AFC Champions League in the 2002–03 season, China was given 2 slots in

1584-679: The Chinese FA Cup in 1991, which was their first trophy in 29 years. Throughout the 1990s, the Chinese Football Association was demanding more professionalism from their football teams and while many were semi-professional, Shanghai would be one of the first when they gathered sponsorship from Yu Zhifei and the local company named Shenhua ("Flower of Shanghai") on 10 December 1993, founding Shanghai Shenhua. This then saw Shanghai hire their first professional manager in Xu Genbao , who

1672-538: The Chinese Taipei national football team were no longer deemed native players. In the 2016 and 2017 season, players from the three associations whose contract was signed after 1 January 2016 were no longer deemed native players. From the 2018 season, a club could register one non-naturalized player from the three associations as a native player. According to the Chinese FA, a non-naturalized player refers to someone who

1760-598: The first season beginning in 2004 . Intending to introduce truly commercial methods and let the professional football market in China operate more freely, the CSL seeks to draw on the experience of professional Leagues in Europe to redesign the league structure and strengthen professionalism. Compared to the Jia-A, the CSL is a lot more demanding on teams. The CFA and CSL committee imposed a range of minimum criteria to ensure professional management and administration, financial probity, and

1848-693: The 1988 season, but divided again in 1989. In the early 1990s, the CFA began to allow enterprises to purchase football clubs and manage them, whether they were state-owned enterprises or private-owned companies, and in 1992, it was announced that, as part of the sports system reform project, the Chinese Jia-A League would become the country's first professional football league, starting with the 1994 season. All Jia-A clubs were ordered to set up professionally before 1994, and all Jia-B clubs were given an extra year to realise professional structural reform. The Jia-A league achieved success in its early years, but in

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1936-507: The 1998 Chinese FA Cup medal to his collection and become a regular for the Chinese national team , which saw him included in the 2000 AFC Asian Cup in a tournament that saw China finish fourth. Despite becoming the club's captain at Shenhua by 2001 in 2002 Shen decided to make a big money move to local rivals Shanghai International who were willing to pay 9.4 million Yuan and wages equivalent to 20,000 US dollars per week to make Shen one of

2024-476: The 2017 season, Chinese clubs won the AFC Champions League two times, behind Korean K-League with five wins, and Japanese J-League with three wins. On 17 November 2017, the Vice-president of the CFA, Li Yuyi, disclosed the expansion plan of the top four level leagues of China. The Chinese Super League is planning to expand to 18 clubs, followed by China League One with 20 clubs, China League Two with 32 clubs and

2112-479: The 2018 Chinese Super League Champion, thus breaking Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao's 7-year monopoly of the Chinese Super League. At the 2019 CSL Mobilization Meeting, the CFA Referees Committee officially announced that a professional referee system will be introduced in the CSL in 2019, with two foreign referees including Mark Clattenburg , Milorad Mažić , and three local referees to be officially hired as

2200-643: The 2024 edition. The Chinese Super League is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in China, with an average attendance of 24,107 for league matches in the 2018 season. This was the twelfth-highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world and the sixth-highest of any professional association football league in the world, behind the Bundesliga , the Premier League , La Liga , Serie A and Liga MX . Unlike many top European leagues like Bundesliga , Premier League , La Liga , and Serie A ,

2288-631: The AFC. Between 2009 and 2017, there was an additional slot for a player from AFC countries. During the middle of the 2012 season, it was decided that teams that were competing in the AFC Champions League were allowed to have two extra foreign players, which can bring the number of foreigners on a team's seven; however, the policy was removed in the 2013 season. Policy for Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwanese players has changed continuously. Players from Hong Kong Football Association were considered foreigners at

2376-405: The CFA launched its "neutral name campaign", requiring professional clubs to switch to names that do not mention their sponsors. The club, though, always had been publicly recognized as "Shenhua", had different sponsor prefixes and suffixes (such as "Greenland Shenhua" and "Shenhua SVA") in the last thirty years. Responding to the call for neutral names, the club owner, Greenland, restored the name of

2464-445: The CSL introduced new rules mandating that each club must register a maximum 31-man squad, with 27 Chinese Players, including a player from Hong Kong, Macau and Chinese Taipei, and 4 foreign players. In the transfer window clubs could sign 5 Chinese players at any age, plus 3 under 21 Chinese players; clubs could register 4 foreign players in the winter transfer, and replace two of them in the summer transfer. The record transfer fee for

2552-446: The CSL was beset by a scandal going right to the top of the CFA. The Chinese government took nationwide action against football gambling, match-fixing and corruption , and former CFA vice presidents Xie Yalong, Nan Yong and Yang Yimin were arrested. On February 22, 2010, CFA relegated Guangzhou Yiyao for match-fixing in 2006 China League One Season, as well as Chengdu Blades for match-fixing in 2007 China League One season. In 2011,

2640-591: The Chinese Football Association Member Association Champions League with 48 clubs. Though it could be argued that football was invented by the Chinese , organised league play of association football in China only began in 1951 with the establishment of the Chinese National Football Conference as a round-robin tournament, with 8 teams participating. Development was rapid: in 1954, the competition

2728-470: The Chinese Super League starts in February or March and ends in November or December. In each season, each club plays each of the other clubs twice, once at home and another away. With 16 clubs currently in the Chinese Super League in Season 2023, each club plays 30 matches. There are 8 games every round, and a total of 240 games in the season. The two lowest-placed teams by the end of the season are relegated to

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2816-523: The League structure of the CFA. The PFL will be a private company wholly owned by its Member Clubs who make up the League at any one time. Each club is a shareholder, with one vote each on issues such as rule changes and contracts. The newly formed PFL would have commercial independence from The CFA, giving the PFL licence to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements. The CFA will no longer hold any shares of

2904-434: The League, but as the national governing body for football in China, the CFA is responsible for sanctioning competition Rule Books, and regulating on-field matters. It also organises The CFA Cup competition, in which PFL Member Clubs compete and the lower division leagues ranked after CL2, under a specific agreement between CFA and PFL. The CFA also has the ability to exercise a vote on certain specific issues, but has no role in

2992-625: The PFL, holding the elections of the PFL president in January and February 2017. However, after a series of meetings includes CFA officers and club owners, the plan had been put on hold. There are several key rivalries and local derbies that have formed in the Chinese Super League, including: Jing–Hu rivalry Shanghai derby Guangzhou derby Dalian derby Tianjin derby Beijing derby Professional footballers in China receive relatively high salaries when compared to other Chinese sports leagues and football leagues in other countries. The average salary for CSL players

3080-492: The Shanghai Zobon real estate company and relocated to Shanghai for the 2005 season, and subsequently renamed to Shanghai Zobon. In 2006, the league was planned to expand to 16 teams with the newly promoted Xiamen Blue Lions and Changchun Yatai . However, Sichuan First City withdrew before the start of the season, leaving only 15 teams when the season started on March 11. Shanghai Zobon , after another change of ownership,

3168-493: The aforementioned, as well as a multitude of other factors, the Chinese Football Association decided to reform the League system, which ultimately led to the creation of the Chinese Super League. On January 13, 2001, Yan Shiduo, vice-president of the Chinese Football Association, discussed setting up a new professional league system, and in 2002, the CFA announced the establishment of the Chinese Super League, with

3256-668: The anti-corruption movement had visibly improved the image of the CSL, with increases to attendance. Clubs such as Guangzhou Evergrande and Shanghai Shenhua began investing heavily in foreign stars. After former Fluminense midfielder Darío Conca transferred in 2011, some notable signings during the 2012 seasons included former Chelsea forward Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka , former Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita and Fábio Rochemback , former Sevilla FC forward Frédéric Kanouté , former Blackburn Rovers forward Yakubu and former Borussia Dortmund forward Lucas Barrios . Former Japan national team coach Takeshi Okada took up

3344-648: The auspices of the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The league was established in 2004 by the rebranding of the former top division, Chinese Jia-A League . Initially contested by 12 teams in its inaugural year, the league has since expanded, with 16 teams competing in the 2024 season . A total of 38 teams have competed in the CSL since its inception, with 9 of them winning the title: Guangzhou (eight), Shandong Taishan (four), Shanghai Port (three), Shenzhen , Dalian Shide , Changchun Yatai , Beijing Guoan , Jiangsu , and Wuhan Three Towns (one title each). The current Super League champions are Shanghai Port, who won

3432-499: The beginning of 2009, but the league held back the change until the summer transfer window. After the 2010 season, players from Macau Football Association and Chinese Taipei Football Association (except goalkeepers) were not considered foreigners in CSL matches, but will be regarded as foreigners in AFC competitions. In the 2015 season, players who had not played for the Hong Kong national football team , Macau national football team or

3520-403: The best paid players in Chinese football. His move would eventually see Shanghai International become title contenders and they just missed out of the title at the end of the 2003 league season . The following season saw Shen spend most of the season injured, due to his age and his wages the club would off load him to second tier club Shanghai Zobon where Shen would eventually retire. He became

3608-417: The care-taker manager of Pudong Zobon during the 2009 season and later was offered the position on a permanent basis. Under his stewardship, the team ranked 9th in the China League One at the end of season. In the 2010 season Shen Si led his team to a flying start but experienced a string of mediocre results afterward. Throughout the term Pudong Zobon was fighting against relegation. On October 15, 2010, he

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3696-421: The club and team since Shanghai Shenhua became a professional club back in 1993. Shenhua F.C. Shenhua SVA SMEG Shenhua Liansheng Greenland Shenhua Shenhua F.C. All-time honours list, including semi-professional Shanghai period. Domestic titles International titles All-time League Rankings Key Updated 12 March 2021 On neutral venue, Shanghai Shenhua score

3784-416: The club by revoking its 2003 league title , fining the club with 1 million Yuan and giving a 6-point deduction at the beginning of the 2013 Chinese Super League season after it was discovered that they also fixed another game against Shaanxi National Power en route to winning the 2003 league title. In 2007, the owner of inner-city rival Shanghai United , Zhu Jun and his company The9 Limited , bought

3872-518: The club declared that the Shanghai Jiushi Group would become the owners of the club. Shenhua's fiercest and oldest rivalry is against Beijing Guoan , and the rivalry is often referred to as the China Derby. The rivalry with Beijing is viewed as a manifestation of the rivalry that exists between the two most important cities in the country, as one is the center of government while the other

3960-462: The club to "Shanghai Shenhua F.C." without prefixes or suffixes on February 9, 2021. On 23 November 2022, the club was deducted six points for unpaid salaries. The club would admit that they had been in financial difficulties for over a year and it was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic . However, they have resolved the issue and were looking for additional financial investment. On 6 January 2023,

4048-505: The club was spared any disciplinary action. The reason provided by the CFA at the time for the leniency was that they would be punishing the individuals who put the game in disrepute and not the club; because Lou Shifang was Shenhua's offending participant and had left the club several years before the allegations were confirmed, it would have been harsh to punish the club retrospectively. On 18 February 2013, The CFA would decide to change its mind on Shenhua and retrospectively decided to punish

4136-475: The club won the 1998 Chinese FA Cup. By the end of 2001, the Shenhua group ended their sponsorship of the club and were replaced by SVA and the Shanghai Media & Entertainment Group . The club changed its name to Shanghai Shenhua SVA SMEG Football Club. The team, however, remained unique as it still retained "Shenhua" in its name, whereas many other teams dropped the name of their former sponsors completely. On

4224-464: The club's official name would be changed to "Shanghai Greenland FC, Shanghai Greenland Shenhua team" and it was hoped that by retaining Shenhua within the official team name, it would appease the fans by reflecting on the club's heritage. This did not work. Subsequent badge alterations which eliminated Shenhua from the team's logo drew significant criticism from many of the club's supporters, who publicly voiced their dissatisfaction on 9 March 2014, during

4312-420: The club's title challenge and see Zhu Jun's investment within the club reach 150 million Yuan , which he believed gave him a controlling stake of 70 percent, as promised by the other shareholders. When the other shareholders decided not to agree to this arrangement, Zhu Jun decided to pull his funding of the club, which resulted in the team finishing in a disappointing ninth place and both Anelka and Drogba leaving

4400-453: The club. The relationship between Zhu Jun and the other shareholders became even more fractious at the beginning of the 2013 league season when the Chinese FA issued the club with a six-point deduction for match-fixing ten years prior and a fine of one million Yuan. This would lead to a shareholder dispute between the other shareholders SVA, Shanghai Media Group, Shanghai Electric Group, and Huangpu SASAC on who should pay for this fine, which saw

4488-510: The competition. Qualification for the AFC Champions League changed in 2009 as AFC distributed 4 slots to China. The top three of the league, as well as the winner of the Chinese FA Cup , qualify for the AFC Champions League of the next year. If the FA Cup finalists finish the league in 3rd or higher, the 4th place team in the league will take the Champions League spot. Between the 2002–03 and

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4576-456: The day-to-day running of the CSL, CL1 and CL2. On January 3, 2017, the CFA announced that Chinese Professional Football League, formed as a limited company, will be established in March 2017, the CSL and CL1 clubs will be found members of the PFL starts from 2017, with CL2 planning to join the system by 2019. The PFL preparatory committee will discuss and establish the regulations and the structures of

4664-429: The entire season, especially after the arrest of club owner Xu Ming. They had planned to merge with Dalian Aerbin, the other CSL club of the city, but the Chinese Football Association blocked the merger at the end, as Dalian Shide failed to cancel their registration as a CSL club before the merger. So Aerbin effectively purchased and swallowed up Shide, including the club's famed academy and training facilities. Dalian Shide

4752-470: The first professional referees in the history of Chinese football. The two foreign professional referees will be mainly responsible for enforcing the Chinese Super League, but will also provide coaching and training for local referees. Affected by COVID-19 ,the 2020 Chinese Super League has been postponed to July 25. The 16 teams will be divided into two groups to play in Suzhou and Dalian . This year's league

4840-432: The foreign players in the Chinese league. Steadily, a lot of players transferred to China from major European and South American Leagues. The league has rules, at present, restricting the number of foreign players strictly to four per team. A team could use a maximum of three foreign players on the field each game. This is to promote native player improvement and to conform to rules regarding international club competitions in

4928-514: The four clubs to have never been relegated from the Chinese top-flight since the Chinese Super League 's foundation in 2004. The term shen hua literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" in English ;– shen is one of the alternative names for Shanghai and hua means flower in Chinese. The club's predecessor was the municipal-run semi-pro club Shanghai F.C.. The team predominantly played in

5016-443: The late ’90s, its management practices received heavy criticism; special attention was paid to the lack of continuity in key policies, as well as a lack of sustainable development in certain member clubs. At the same time, the league was affected by gambling, match-fixing and corruption. As a result, the chaotic state of Jia-A had become a "troubled investment environment," with sponsors and club owners both bowing out. In recognition of

5104-428: The league game against Shanghai Shenxin as they saw removing Shenhua from the club's name as a stain on the team's heritage and history. On 18 July 2014, the club bowed to pressure from their supporters when they officially released a new team badge, which brought Shenhua back into the team logo and subsequently changed the club's name to "Shanghai Greenland Shenhua Football Club". On 3 February 2015, three days after

5192-518: The league that year. The football league gradually expanded and the team was allowed to name themselves after their own province of Shanghai in 1957. Soon afterwards, by 1961, Shanghai started to establish themselves as a major football team within China when they won their first league title. This was then quickly followed by their second league title in 1962. However, in 1966, because of the Chinese Cultural Revolution , football in China

5280-572: The league title. Shenhua won their game while Inter surprisingly lost theirs to relegation fighting club Tianjin Kangshifu . This saw critics dispute the title win and it was eventually discovered that both teams had players and officials match-fix games throughout the campaign. Shenhua would retrospectively lose their title while the Inter owners decided it was financially unviable to remain in Shanghai and relocated their team to Xi'an , which effectively ended

5368-541: The loss of interest in the domestic game, low attendances and great financial losses. The original plan was to have one relegated team and two promoted teams for the 2004 season and 2005 season , thus increasing the number of teams in 2006 to 14. But the CFA's decisions caused the relegations to be cancelled for these 2 years. For the 2005 season , the league expanded to 14 teams after Wuhan Huanghelou and Zhuhai Zobon won promotion from China League One. The Zhuhai team, formerly named Zhuhai Anping, had been bought by

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5456-546: The market, enforce the delivery of minimum standards of professionalism, encourage an influx of higher-quality foreign coaches and players, and gradually establish the European system for player registrations and transfers. The first CSL season began in 2004, with 12 teams in the league. The inaugural season was plagued with controversy, which continued from the former league, Jia-A, and where, since 1999, scandals such as match-fixing and gambling had been uncovered. This resulted in

5544-482: The new Shanghai derby arguably the most exciting derby in China. Also, in 2020, with Jiangsu Suning lifting the domestic league, Jiangsu fans escalated the cross-town rivalry by renting a billboard showcasing Jiangsu's trophy just outside the Hongkou Stadium, Shenhua's home venue. This act of provocation incited massive rebuke from the Shenhua fans, resulting in the ad being removed the day after. However, though fierce

5632-452: The pitch, the club would take over Shanghai 02 , a youth football team set up by Xu Genbao, while also bringing in a new manager in Wu Jingui , who built a new squad predominantly using many from the Shanghai 02 squad and despite struggling in his debut season, he was able to win the league title in 2003. Critics would dispute the legitimacy of the title win after it was discovered in 2011 that

5720-489: The police Qi Hong along with Shen were later released on bail while the police traced back 2 million Yuan from their accounts, after a lengthy wait Shen was found guilty of match-fixing as was sentenced to six years imprisonment on June 13, 2012 and fined 500,000 Yuan while his associates were given five and a half each. Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai Shenhua Football Club ( Chinese : 上海申花足球俱乐部 ; pinyin : Shànghǎi Shēnhuā Zúqiú Jùlèbù )

5808-472: The record for a CSL player transfer to other leagues. Transfer fees for domestic players also increased dramatically. Beijing Guoan sold Chinese International Zhang Chengdong to Hebei China Fortune for ¥15 million in January 2017, breaking the domestic transfer record for Chinese players. The Chinese Football Association introduced a new transfer tax to restrict transfer spending. On June 20, 2017, CFA announced that any club that pays more than ¥45 million for

5896-426: The referee Lu Jun was bribed by the head of the CFA's referee arrangements, Zhang Jianqiang, to be biased towards Shenhua in a vital match against Shanghai COSCO Sanlin in a game that Shenhua won 4–1. Lu Jun and Zhang Jianqiang were both officially charged with match-fixing, while Shenhua's general manager Lou Shifang was discovered to be the person who orchestrated the bribes. Initially, despite this indiscretion,

5984-527: The reins as the new coach of Hangzhou Greentown , former Argentina national team coach Sergio Batista replaced Jean Tigana as Shanghai Shenhua's head coach, and former Italy national team and Juventus manager Marcello Lippi replaced Lee Jang-Soo as Guangzhou Evergrande's head coach. In 2012, Guangzhou Evergrande became the first Chinese team to defend their CSL title, and to win consecutive titles. However, eight-time champions of Professional League, Dalian Shide, had seriously financial problems during

6072-542: The rivalry might have been through the years, it concluded with Jiangsu Suning's dissolution in 2021. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Managers who have coached

6160-399: The rivalry. With Inter Shanghai leaving the city, Shenhua experienced another one of these Shanghai derbies when Shanghai United was promoted in the 2006 league season . The rivalry between the two teams never reached the same intensity as what was experienced against Inter because United had only recently relocated to the city and was building their fan base. Any development of a rivalry

6248-420: The same day. This was followed by the club adding to their backroom staff when, on 1 January 2009, Shenhua made Chinese football history by becoming the first Chinese team to hire a foreign CEO and a technical director. The club hired former manager Osvaldo Gimenez as their chief executive officer. One day later, former PSV Eindhoven technical director Stan Valckx joined Shenhua in the same position. After

6336-454: The season started with 16 clubs participating for the first time, however, Wuhan protested against punishments made by the CFA after a match against Beijing Guoan , and announced its immediate withdrawal from the league, which left the season to finish with 15 clubs. Since 2009, the league has run with 16 stable clubs participating each year. Two are relegated to China League One, and two are promoted from China League One each season. In 2010,

6424-648: The top 7 clubs of the 1986 Division 1, together with Liaoning, who were 1985 season champions, but did not compete in 1986 league season due to participating in the Asian Club Championship. The tournament was renamed the National Football League Division 1 Group A, or Chinese Jia-A League for short, and the other 8 clubs of Division 1 and the top 4 clubs from Division 2 participated in the Chinese Jia-B League . The two groups merged in

6512-430: The top tier, where they won several domestic league and cup titles. On 10 December 1993, the club was reorganized to become a completely professional football club so they could play in the 1994 Chinese Jia-A League season, making them one of the founding members of the first fully professional top-tier leagues in China. Since then, they have won one league title and four Chinese FA Cups . According to Forbes , Shenhua

6600-420: The way for the first-ever Chinese top-flight city derby, which took place in 2002 when Shanghai Shenhua lost 2–0 to Shanghai Zhongyuan (later renamed Inter) in front of a sold out Hongkou Football Stadium. Known as the Shanghai derby, it would be the start of an intense but short rivalry between the two clubs, which reached its peak on the final day of the 2003 league season with both teams within reach of winning

6688-400: The year. Guangzhou Evergrande won their 7th consecutive league title. 2018, in the 28th round of the 2018 Chinese Super League , the two title favourites Shanghai SIPG and Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao clashed head-to-head, with Shanghai SIPG coming away with 5 - 4 hard win over Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao to open up the points gap with Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao. At last, Shanghai SIPG won

6776-477: Was "not part of the new coach Manzano's plans for the 2016 season..." Shanghai Shenhua won the 2019 Chinese FA Cup , beating Shandong Luneng Taishan 3–0 at a packed Hongkou Stadium on 6 Dec 2019, making it a 3–1 aggregate victory for the Blues. It was the fifth time Shenhua had lifted the trophy, and the second time in three years, after their 2017 Chinese FA Cup victory over city rival Shanghai SIPG . In 2021,

6864-407: Was halted and Shanghai was unable to play. When football returned in China, Shanghai was able to return to the top tier. However, they were unable to regain any of the dominance that they had previously shown and were even relegated in 1980. Though they were able to be quickly promoted in the following season, they spent many years without actually winning any titles until Wang Houjun led them to win

6952-488: Was officially dissolved on 31 January 2013. The country's most successful club had ceased to exist. In 2013, David Beckham became first global ambassador for CSL. In February 2013, Shanghai Shenhua was stripped of its 2003 Chinese Ji-A league title as part of a broad match-fixing crackdown. In total, 12 clubs were handed punishments, while 33 people, including former CFA vice-president Xie Yalong and Nan Yong, received life bans. Also in 2013, Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao won

7040-417: Was renamed Shanghai United . In 2007, the league was again planned to be expanded to 16 teams, but once again it found itself one team short. Shanghai United's owner, Zhu Jun , bought a major share in local rival Shanghai Shenhua and merged the two teams. As a result, Shanghai Shenhua retained its name as it already had a strong fanbase in the city, while Shanghai United pulled out of the league. In 2008,

7128-502: Was renamed the National Football League, in 1956, it was divided into two Divisions, and promotion and relegation between the two tiers started in 1957. In the 1980s, the Chinese Football Association allowed enterprise entities to sponsor and invest in football teams, and as a result, the league entered a semi-pro period in 1987. Sponsored by Goldlion Group, the league played its first-ever home and away season: participating were

7216-440: Was replaced by former Argentina national team coach Sergio Batista to lead the team. After a successful season playing for Chelsea and winning the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League , Ivorian striker Didier Drogba signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Shenhua. This was soon followed by the signing of Colombian international footballer Giovanni Moreno from Argentinian club Racing Club . These signings were intended to boost

7304-507: Was reported to have been detained by the police and was said to be involved in fixing the November 30, 2003 league game against Tianjin Teda F.C. during his stint as a player at Shanghai International. The allegations suggests that Shen was bribed by former Tianjin Teda general manager Yang Yifeng a total of 12 million Yuan to lose the game and that Shen had asked teammates Qi Hong , Jiang Jin and Li Ming (1975) to help him. After being arrested by

7392-427: Was reported to have been detained by the police and was said to be involved in fixing the game during his stint at Shanghai Zhongyuan . He was absent from the subsequent matches of Pudong Zobon . Shortly afterward the club announced that his place was taken by the assistant manager Huang Zhenhua . At the end of the 2010 season, Pudong Zobon won its battle against relegation and ranked 10th. On October 15, 2010, Shen

7480-548: Was temporarily changed to a "Group stage + Knockout" format and adopted a tournament system. The preparatory committee of the Chinese Professional Football League was established on May 27, 2016, with members from 5 CSL clubs, 3 CL1 clubs and 2 CL2 clubs, includes two CFA representatives. The blueprint is to have all of the three professional level leagues of China, the Chinese Super League, China Football League one and China Football League two separated from

7568-546: Was the 6th most valuable football team in China, with a team value of $ 106 million, and an estimated revenue of $ 29 million in 2015. Shanghai Shenhua's predecessor was originally called East China, a team name used as far back as 1910 for football in the multi-sport event Chinese National Games . The local Shanghai government sports body decided to use this name for their new club, founded on 1 November 1951, to take part in China's first fully nationalized national football league tournament, where they finished second in

7656-409: Was the previous China national team manager, in 1994. The move would quickly see Shanghai win the second professional football league title by the end of the 1995 league season. When Xu left, Shanghai attempted to bring in several foreign coaches to add more experience to the team. However, few achieved any success despite being close on several occasions, except for Muricy Ramalho 's brief spell when

7744-516: Was ultimately cut short when Zhu Jun took over both teams and merged them together, with Shenhua keeping their name. In 2012, Shanghai Shenxin moved to the city, revitalizing the derby. However, it was the promotion of Shanghai SIPG in 2013 that caught the fans' imagination because they were formed by Xu Genbao , who had previously managed Shenhua. The club's geographical location has also opened them up to rivalries with neighbouring clubs Hangzhou Greentown and Jiangsu Suning , where they contest in

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