An analysis of Shanghai Seaport's path to glory. Back in 2014, Shanghai Dongya officially changed ownership to Shanghai Seaport, and four years later, the team wrote history by winning its first Chinese Super League title. Chen Xuyuan has been praised as a "believer in soccer". Xie Hui, a former assistant coach, became a member of the championship team, and after he took charge of the team, he revealed a shocking insider story, saying that the cost of this honor was as high as 12 billion.
Shanghai's win in 2009 was also full of controversy, and in 2018, VAR technology was introduced for the first time in the Chinese Super League, leading many fans to jokingly refer to that year's championship as a "VAR victory". In 2023, the team changed its name to Shanghai Seaport and went on top again, winning the second Chinese Super League trophy in the team's history.
Hong Kong's second title was also highly questionable. According to media statistics, in the first 20 rounds of the tournament, Hong Kong teams profited a lot from penalties (see below). These may have been mere coincidences, but they did not dampen the celebratory mood of the players and fans. The degree of controversy surrounding each of the Chinese Super League titles varies from big to small, obvious to subtle.
It is worth noting that neither Beijing Guoan nor Shanghai Seaport have any active players on this 44-player banned list. One can't help but wonder if this list reflects the views of the fans as well.
Are these three seasons the most pure and flawless compared to other years of Super League titles? This may be a question worth pondering.
