The Chinese Super League (CSL) 2017 season kicks off on Saturday 4th March. In the first match, Guangzhou R&F play against Tianjin Quanjiang at 1.00 pm. The match sees former Yugoslav great Dragan Stoikovitch in a managerial role, pitting his wits against 2006 Italian World Cup-winning hero, Fabio Cannavaro.
Cannavaro’s team, Tianjin Quanjiang, start off as favourites away from home, thanks to the presence of international stars like Belgian, Axel Witsel and Brazilian, Pato. Both are bound to figure prominently in coach Cannavaro's line-up in the season opener.
Watch the match live on DSport – Discovery’s new sports channel – available on DishTV channel 630, Videocon d2h channel 410 and Hathway channel 183 amongst others.
In another match which will be telecast live on Sunday, the world’s highest paid footballer – Argentinian, Carlos Tevez, will display his skills for the first time for the Shanghai team. Confronting him will be the Brazilian pair of Ramires and Teixeira, on the Jiangsu side. Shanghai Shenhua play against Jiangsu Suning on Sunday, 5th March at 5.00 pm live on DSPORT.
Also read: The Chinese boom and the emergence of European football’s nemesis
13 out of the league's 16 teams are managed by foreign coaches including 2002 World Cup winner Luiz Felipe Scolari, English Premier League winner Manuel Pellegrini, multiple German Bundesliga champion Felix Magath and former Chelsea, Porto and Zenit St. Petersburg manager, Andre Villas-Boas.
China is home to a growing power in the world of football, and some huge signings have made their way over to the Far East from Europe and South America. It's not only players, though, as some megastar managers, a few familiar from their spells in the Premier League, have also signed up to work in the competition.
Players
Carlos TevezOscarRamiresJohn Obi MikelGervinhoPapiss CisseHulkEzequiel LavezziGraziano PelleAlexandre Pato
Managers
Ricardo CarvalhoBig Phil ScolariFabio CannavaroManuel PellerginiGus PoyetAndre Villas-Boas
