Shanghai Port managed to lift the Chinese Super League crown, while Shanghai Shenhua pocketed the FA Cup trophy. Both teams fought two fierce battles for the end-of-season showdown with Shandong Taishan, but struggled to claim the title. Shandong Taishan, who finished second in the Chinese Super League, second in the FA Cup and second in the Super Cup at the beginning of the year, have been dubbed the "King of the Three Asias" by some fans. This scene is like a lost picture.
In the face of Shandong Taishan's situation, Shanghai team reporter Liu Wenchao expressed his views. He mockingly pointed out that the fans of certain teams hold double standards, and their home team was hailed as "gold-rich" despite being the runner-up. The Shanghai team, on the other hand, is the runner-up, but they mock themselves as "average champions".
This story is about the origin of the term "average champion".
In 2017, Shanghai teams were hard to find in the title race. Cheng Yaodong, who held the position of Shanghai club at the time, openly defended the team, arguing that if the average results of the Chinese Super League, the Asian Champions League and the FA Cup were calculated, Shanghai should be the first in the Chinese Super League, not Guangzhou Evergrande.
Cheng Yaodong's view was jokingly called "Shanghai is the average champion" by the fans in those years.
Now, the term "average champion" is officially born.
To be honest, Shanghai is jokingly called "average champions", which is a kind of self-deprecation. Whether they are champions or runners-up, Shanghai teams deserve respect. The three-point ranking is unique in the world. If this is the self-deprecation of Shanghai fans, then Cheng Yaodong's special status gives this statement a deeper reality.
Nonetheless, journalist Liu Wenchao expressed his displeasure (see below). He wrote: "At the time, the phrase 'best overall performance by the third line' was over-interpreted as 'average champion'. Now fans of some teams laugh at the idea that their two runners-up are full of gold. Sometimes you wonder how that repetition works."
At first glance, the reporter's argument makes sense, both being runners-up. Why was I derided as an "average winner" when I was runner-up, while you claimed to be a gold medalist when you were runner-up?
In fact, the statement is misleading: confusing the views of club official Cheng Yaodong with the banter of fans, the two are not comparable.
Is "average champion" a past interpretation? It doesn't seem to be, because Cheng Yiu Tung did say that Shanghai should be first in average.
Then the reporter recalled the record of the "Three-Year-Old King" in Hong Kong, mentioning how the competitive environment was different from now, "In the way of influencing the strongest Evergrande, you usually think of Hong Kong, Guoan and Suning". The reporter just didn't mention Shandong Taishan, suggesting that this year's "Three-Year King" is not as golden as that of Hong Kong.
In the end, Liu Ji said that every team has difficulties, and hoped that the Chinese Super League team can fight hard on the way to the runner-up spot, and also hoped that "some fans of that team can treat themselves and their opponents correctly".
It's easy to talk about others, but hard to improve yourself. I hope Liu Ji, when convincing fans of other teams, won't forget to convince Shanghai fans to treat themselves and their opponents correctly, and also convince his home team officials to have the right outlook on results.
