Chinese Social Media Reaction to Wales at the China Cup

A couple of weeks have past since Wales' Eastern adventure to take part in the 2018 China Cup in Nanning. Uruguay were the winners of the competition after a 1-0 over Wales in the final, but Chinese public reaction to Wales following the events of the tournament suggests that Wales were the bigger winners of Chinese hearts, especially the travelling Welsh fans.

I have picked out a few posts from Chinese social media site Weibo, similar to Twitter, and attempted to translate them using my dodgy Mandarin skills.

After Wales beat China 6-0 in the Semis

Translation:
China held the competition at home. In the stadium I saw 4 medium sized China flags, 1 giant sized China flag, 5 Chinese flags in total. Tonight Wales fans put up 50 red dragon flags in different sizes. Guys, before we have a go at others we should have a look at ourselves. If we don't care, why would China win?

This post is in response to the fact that most Chinese fans were hugely critical of the Chinese team after they were hammered by the Welsh. This fan points out that not all the blame can be at the players' feet, but instead take a look at the difference in fan culture between the two nations.

Translation:
Reading news stories and people's comments online after China lost 6-0 to Wales, I'm grateful to have seen China make it to the World Cup in my lifetime.


This Chinese fan alludes to China's participation in the 2002 World Cup Finals and realises that if Wales can't make it to Russia 2018, then China's chances must be very slim indeed.

Translation:
I have been reading comments after the game and saw people comment on how terrible the Chinese players' performance was. I just got to say that Wales were actually worse. As a semi-finalist in Euro 2016, they only scored one more goal than China against Thailand! Where did they get the guts to claim they were one of the best teams in Europe? I think their levels are second tier in Asia at best.

This post came from a well-known director of marketing for a car company in China. He shows that China can have a sense of humour about their side's heavy defeat. Pointing out that Thailand, currently ranked 123rd in the world, beat China 5-1 in a friendly in 2013. How can Wales be any good if they scored just one more?

Translation:
Beijing time March 22nd, China Cup unveiled in Nanning. China lost to a strong Wales team at home, thanks to Bale's hattrick. Western fans online joked that 1.4 billion China couldn't beat 3.5 million Wales. Some other fans replied: Normal! China lost to 300,000 Iceland too.

Iceland beat China 2-0 in the 2017 China Cup Semi Finals. Final scores adjusted for population: Wales 2898 - 0 China. Iceland 8571 - 0 China. So I'm afraid we have to hand over the Population Disparity Cup to our Nordic neighbours.

Original Post was a GIF of Chinese goalkeeper Wang Shen Chao's save against Wales, with the line "Wang Shen Chao's epic stop of the ball." In response, a user posted:
My former colleague is the translator for Wales media. It's said that Wales players felt like they were on holiday.

To be fair, China's keeper was arguably their best player on the night. Without trying to sound too harsh, I reckon most of the Chinese team would struggle to play in the English Football League, with most not good enough to run out in the Conference. Wang Shen Chao, though, I reckon could be a decent signing for, say, Gillingham.


After the China Cup had Finished

Translation:
China cup ended. Football in China seems not to be the same as in western countries. The sound made by just a few hundred Wales fans is like a million times stronger than thousands of fans of the so-called "Dream Team", who like to call themselves "the most professional fans" by singing the national anthem from time to time. If singing the national anthem can win games, we'd be in the final in 2002. Don't know where the weird theory came from that Chinese fans are world level. The scariest thing is not losing the game but in self-denial. The national team might have seen the difference, but the fake fans/ real business men continue to cover the truth. Also, the X team withdrew collectively from the final, you are holding a day pass.

Angry post here from a Chinese fan. Having attended a number of Chinese League games as well as the 2017 and 2018 China Cup, I can confirm that the atmosphere in Chinese football games is almost non-existent. With vuvuzelas, inflatable clappers, and even cheering noises piped through the stadium speakers. However, because of the state-run media editing most football highlights, within the country Chinese football fans have cultivated an image of being professional and passionate fans. Standing in the middle of 500 boisterous Welsh fans easily out-singing the 40-odd thousand China fans inside Nanning Sports Stadium confirmed that it's just a different ball game. The poster also alludes to the fact that the 3rd place playoff between China and Czech Republic was largely played in front of an empty crowd, yet many of the Chinese fans that held a day pass for both the playoff and the final later showed up to watch Uruguay beat Wales to win the cup.

Translation:
The point of the China Cup is to tell China football fans that even teams like Wales and Czech can't make it to the World Cup, let's not hallucinate for now. Having watched China's disastrous performance in the last few days, i might have to watch CCTV news continuously for like half a year to regain my national pride.
Talking of state-run Chinese news, this user comments that the jingoistic images that flood their main news TV Channel, CCTV, will need to be streamed Clockwork Orange-like into his glazzballs to help him recover his national pride. See, communists do have a sense of humour.

Original news post from live platform:
China lost both games in this China Cup, conceding 10 and scoring 1...
Response from a fan:
Normal result... What kind of level Wales and Czech are, didn't fans have a clue? I think China's opponents deserve the credit. They sent almost all their best players. It's rare to see high level games even in the whole of Asia. Results in these type of games are not so important, what's more important is to learn from it. Don't waste the tuition fee.

Wales were paid a reported £1m to play in the 2018 China Cup, but only if Gareth Bale was in attendance. This user points out that the fee will not be wasted if it is viewed as a tuition fee, with Wales being the guest lecturer. Before the amazing exploits of Euro 2016, when I was asked by Chinese people where I came from, if I answered Wales they would stare blankly. If they knew of Wales they usually thought it was a neighbourhood in London, somewhere near Peckham probably. After Euro 2016 and especially after beating China 6-0, most football fans are fully aware of Wales. Not just the quality of our football players, but of the passion of our fans. 

The Red Wall 6 
The Great Wall 0

World Record Transfers 1996-1998

1996
 Alan Shearer, Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle United
£15,000,000

Straight into this post with big Al. You all know the stats, I don't need to quote numbers here. Shearer leads almost all the Premier League charts. Most goals all-time, most goals in a season, most one-handed goal celebrations, most boring McDonald's advert ever, most times written Arsenal off for the title on MOTD. Some points you maybe don't know about this transfer though; this was the first time that an English club had broken the world transfer record since way back in 1951 when Sheffield Wednesday spent £34.5k to sign Jackie Sewell from Notts County. Shearer is also the most recent Englishman to be the world's most expensive player, the last of 14 players to hold that honour, more than any other country in history. Shearer's transfer was not the only time that Newcastle had broken the world record for a player, in 1904 the Geordies signed Andy McCombie from local rivals Sunderland for a then-record £700 (note the lack of an 'm' or even a 'k' after that last number). McCombie, a right-back, helped Newcastle to 3 league championship wins, in 1904/05, 06/07, and 08/09. Alan Shearer, unfortunately, couldn't bring the same glory to St. James' Park almost a century on. Shearer did become Newcastle's record goalscorer in all competitions, with 206, 6 more than Jackie Milburn, who still holds the Geordie record for most league goals. Shearer is probably the greatest goalscorer the Premier League has ever seen, here were the scenes at St. James' Park the day he 'came home'... 

                                            1997
 Ronaldo, Barcelona to Inter Milan
£19,500,000

After one goal-filled season at the Camp Nou, then Barcelona president Josep Lluis Nunez declared "[Ronaldo]'s ours for life," after initial contract talks had Ronaldo signed to the club until 2006. Just 24 hours later, after contract talks had collapsed, Nunez had changed his tune; "It's all over, Ronaldo is going." Inter duly met the release clause in Ronaldo's initial contract, £19.5m, and took the world's best player to Serie A. In doing so, Ronaldo became the third player in history to break the world record twice, the other two being Diego Maradona in the 80s, and David Jack in the 1920s. Ronaldo's spell at Inter is largely remembered as a low-point in his career, with a severe knee injury limiting his playing time during the 5 years he spent at the club. It is testament to what a phenomenal player Ronaldo was that even during this so called 'low-point' he scored 59 goals in 99 games in all competitions. Ronaldo stayed at the Nerazzuri until 2002, when the world was reminded what a gifted player he was as he finished competition top scorer in Brazil's 2002 World Cup win. Real Madrid snapped him up for €46m, which was not enough to break the world record a third time, as Zinedine Zidane's move in 2001 to Real Madrid held onto the record. Ronaldo continued to score for fun, bagging 104 goals in 177 games as part of Madrid's Galacticos side.

1998
 Denilson, Sao Paolo to Real Betis
£21,500,000

One of the biggest flops on this list. Betis broke the world record to sign then-21 year old Denilson, believing that they had secured the services of a player destined to become the best winger on Earth. You may have noticed a trend that many players on this list, after becoming the world's most expensive player, went on to win the league in their first few seasons. Denilson, however, was relegated to the Segunda Division in his second season with Betis. What inspired Betis to make this signing? Denilson had made his debut for Sao Paolo aged 17, and in his debut season helped them to win the 1994 Copa CONMEBOL (South America's version of the UEFA Cup during the 1990s). This alerted Europe's elite clubs, who were surely tracking the rising star. Over the next few years Denilson remained at Sao Paolo, and scored 4 league goals in 50 appearances, not enough to draw a bid from Europe's big boys. This gave Betis an opening, and Betis had already shown their penchant for signing wingers for big money. The summer before Denilson's arrival, Betis broke their club record to sign right-winger Finidi George from Ajax for around £7m. The summer of 1998 saw Denilson as part of the Brazil squad that finished runners-up to France in the World Cup. Denilson came on as a sub in every single game for Brazil except a Group Stage dead rubber against Norway in which he started. Betis had seen enough to decide that Denilson was their man, and duly broke the world record to bring him to the club, a club record transfer that still stands to this day. After relegation, Denilson did help the side back up to La Liga, but was never good enough to hold down a regular place in the top flight. He left to join Bordeaux in 2005.

World Transfer Records 1992-1996

1992
 Gianluca Vialli, Sampdoria to Juventus
£12,500,000

Probably more familiar to British readers during his playing and managing days at Chelsea, but Gianluca Vialli was already 32 by the time he moved to Stamford Bridge. 85 goals in 223 league games helped Sampdoria win the 1990/91 Serie A title, still their only league title to this day. Vialli was league top scorer that season with 19 Serie A goals, in a Sampdoria side that included Roberto Mancini and Attilio Lombardo (you know your 90s football if you remember which English side he later played for). That Sampdoria side continued to surprise, by making the European Cup final the following year, losing out to Johan Cruyff's Barcelona. Vialli had scored 6 goals in that 1992 European Cup campaign, second to Jean-Pierre Papin, who netted 7 for Marseille. The summer of 1992 saw Papin head to Milan for a world-record £10m, only to be broken by Juventus' £12m capture of Vialli. By 1992, Juventus had not won Serie A since 1986. Vialli joined a side containing Roberto Baggio, Paulo Di Canio, and Pierluigi Casiraghi. Juventus, captained by Vialli, went on to win the 94/95 scudetto, and the European Cup the following year. Following the European Cup triumph, Vialli made his move to England in 1996.

1992
 Gianluigi Lentini, Torino to Milan
£13,000,000

Now here is probably the most recent world's most expensive player that most football fans have never heard of. Bank the name Gianluigi Lentini for any future appearances on 'Pointless'. Lentini's transfer is also interesting in that he is, to date, the last Italian player to be the world's most expensive player, and the seventh all-time (Sormani 63, Anastasi 68, Savoldi 75, Rossi 76, Baggio 90, Vialli 92, and Lentini 92), since WW2 no other country has produced as many. This is all well and good, but why have we never heard of Gianluigi Lentini? After impressing at his first club Torino, Lentini was 23 when he moved to Milan, full of pace and promise. His first season at AC went well, his seven Serie A goals helped them to the 92/93 title as well as the final of the Champions League (where they were beaten by Marseille). But in the summer of 1993, Lentini was involved in a serious car accident whilst driving home from a pre-season tournament in Genoa. Lentini suffered a fractured skull and was in a light coma for two days. He returned to action at the end of the 93/94 season, but his ability was never the same. Milan teammate Marcel Desailly said of Lentini "you could see the skills, how he was before the accident and after the accident, the balance was completely different." Lentini never fully captured his form at the top level again, and moved to Atalanta in 1996 and a string of lower league Italian teams until his retirement as late as 2011. A sad story, who knows what Lentini would have achieved? Perhaps the outcome of the 1994 World Cup would have been different if Italy had had their world-record breaking striker at the peak of his powers alongside one Roberto Baggio.

1996
 Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima, PSV Eindhoven to Barcelona
£13,200,000

From a relatively unknown name to one of the most recognisable players in the history of the game. It surprisingly took until 1996 for a Brazilian player to be the world's most expensive player, and none more fitting than the phenomenon that was Ronaldo. Ronaldo began his career with Cruzeiro, and aged 17 was part of the Brazil squad that won the aforementioned 1994 World Cup, though he did not play a single minute in the tournament. Following the World Cup, Ronaldo chose to sign for PSV of the Dutch league. Teenage Ronaldo absolutely tore up the Eridivisie, finishing the 94/95 season as league top-scorer with 30 goals. His second season was curtailed by a knee injury, that would hamper his career further down the line, but Ronaldo still managed 12 goals in 13 appearances that season. In two seasons at PSV, he scored 54 goals in 58 games in all competitions. Ronaldo was the hottest property on the planet, and Barcelona were first in line to capture his signature in 1996 for a world record fee. Ronaldo spent just one season at the Camp Nou, and just as he did in the Eridivisie, he tore La Liga up too. 47 goals in 49 games in all competitions helped Barcelona, then managed by our very own Bobby Robson, win the Cup Winners Cup, Copa del Rey, and Supercopa de Espana. Not only was he scoring goals for fun, it was the manner in which he was scoring that was incredible, with most of his goals coming at the end of mazy runs that took on entire defences before rounding the keeper to slot into an empty net. One such goal against Compostela led Spanish newspaper AS to headline the next day's story 'Pele Returns'. The end of his season at Barcelona saw Ronaldo break the world transfer record again, but we will cover that in my next post, join me why don't you? In the meantime, enjoy Ronaldo at the peak of his physical powers at Barcelona...

World Record Transfers 1987-1992

First, let's set the scene. The year is 1987. Margaret Thatcher is Prime Minister of Britain. Hassan Gouled Aptidon is President of Djibouti. Oh... you think that's a random fact to give? Thatcher and Britain OK, but Hassan and Djibouti a bit random? White leader good, black leader bad. Shame on you. In the football world, Diego Maradona reigns supreme. He is the world's most expensive player after moving to Napoli for £5m. He had a hand (...ahem) in Argentina's 1986 World Cup triumph, and has guided Napoli to their first ever Serie A title. Who can dethrone Diego as the world's most expensive player? Only one man is cool enough for this job.. You may want to put on this song as you read the next entry. Step forward....

1987
 Ruud Gullit, PSV Eindhoven to AC Milan
£6,000,000

Ohhhh yesss, it's Ruud. The coolest football player of all time. John Barnes spitting bars on Anfield Rap aside, of course. If you want proof of his cool, who else can combine an Ian Rush-moustache with dreadlocks and not make it horrendous? Ruud was signed by Milan to replace Ray Wilkins, the squarest football player in history. In 1987, Ruud was 25 and had played over 200 games in the Netherlands for HFC Haarlem, Feyenoord (where he played alongside Johan Cruyff in his twilight years), and PSV (where he helped them win the Eridivisie). Ruud had scored over 100 goals, impressive for a player that often played in midfield as well as up front. Ruud joined his Dutch compatriots, Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten, at Milan as well as Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi. In a side glittering with superstars it is testament to Gullit's quality that he would be picked to receive the Ballon D'Or in 1987. The late 80s belonged to Ruud. His '87 Ballon D'Or tucked under his arm, he helped Milan win the 87/88 Serie A, as well as 2 European Cups in 88/89 (where he scored 2 in the Final) and 89/90. Oh and wedged in between, he captained the Netherlands to the 1988 European Championships title, hosted in their arch-rivals West Germany's back yard. Gullit scored in the final, using only his dreadlocks, in a 2-0 win over the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union collapsed just 3 years later. Now I'm not saying that those two facts are related, but you can decide for yourself whether Ruud ended the Cold War.

1990
 Roberto Baggio, Fiorentina to Juventus
£8,000,000
Talking of cool, here is Roberto Baggio somehow defying the odds to show that a man with a ponytail isn't always a complete tit. Nicknamed 'Il Divin Codino' (The Divine Ponytail), Roberto Baggio was the greatest player on the planet in the early 90s. As a young boy I was lucky enough to go to Anfield every now and then, and having never seen live football before I was convinced that Mark Walters was the most graceful and skilful footballer to have ever lived. Then my older brother showed me a little weekend morning show on Channel 4 named 'Gazetta Football Italia'. Not only was Mark Walters not the most graceful player of all time, he looked like that stampede scene from 'The Lion King' in comparison to Roberto Baggio. Channel 4 had caught the crest of a wave with Italian football. The original idea for the show came when Paul Gascoigne moved to Lazio in 1992, leading to Channel 4 commissioning a show that would trail England's footballing sweetheart. The famous line "Golazzo!" from the show's intro music is not actually Italian, but is intriguingly Portuguese. This is because Channel 4 bosses wanted the Italian phrase "Golaco!" to sound more like "Go-Lazio" in honour of Gazza's new home. It was the quality of the football that kept fans watching, though. Serie A was out on its own as the best league in Europe at that time, with 4 of the 8 European Cups from 89-96 being won by either AC Milan (3) or Juventus. So for Baggio to stand out against that backdrop is a testament to the immense quality he had. A joyous player to watch, who, like most of the greats, seemed to play the game in slow motion as defenders zipped around him like headless chickens. Baggio was coolness personified in front of goal and managed to produce some of the best 'cheeky' goals ever scored. He was also a master free-kick taker. Baggio played for Juventus from 1990 to 95, scoring 78 goals in 141 Serie A games. Juve won the Serie A and Coppa Italia double in his last season at the club. Baggio will perhaps be best remembered for his missed penalty in the 1994 World Cup Final that gave the trophy to Brazil, but I will always remember him on our little portable TV on a freezing cold Saturday morning in North Wales, showing me that there were greater things out there than Liverpool's shit early 90s side. Golaccio!

1992
 Jean-Pierre Papin, Marseille to AC Milan
£10,000,000

With Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten up front, it is difficult to see why Milan opted to break the world record for a striker in 1992. Looking at Papin's record up to that point, however, its easy to see why they went for him. For Marseille, Papin had won 4 league titles in a row (89-92), and had got to the European Cup Final in 1991 (losing on penalties to Red Star Belgrade). In 1991, he became the only player to win the Ballon D'Or whilst playing for a French club, ever. His stay at Milan only lasted 2 seasons though. He did bag a decent 18 goals from 40 Serie A appearances, but injuries and the quality of the players ahead of him at the rossoneri  meant he never held down a regular starting place. In the 1993 Champions League Final he came on as a sub in a defeat to his old club Marseille. He moved to Bayern Munich in 1994, and didn't settle there either. He returned to France with Bordeaux, and managed to recapture his scoring form. Papin shows us that a heady French number, with oaky undertones, late 80s/early 90s vintage, does not travel well. Combine with a robust English from the north-east region, however, and Papin will be a delight for the palate. Who said we football fans can't be cultured?

• Thanks for reading, join me next time as we work our way through the 90s. 

World Record Transfers - 1973-1986

1973

 Johan Cruyff, Ajax to Barcelona

£922,000

Today's Price (Adjusted for Inflation) - £10.2m

Today's post starts off with an absolute worldie. Not many names in the beautiful game come as big as this one. After Pele won his last of three World Cups in 1970, the honour of being the world's greatest player was up for grabs, and many believe that Johann Cruyff was that player. Between 1964 and his transfer to Barca in '73, Cruyff had scored 190 goals in 240 games for his hometown club, Ajax, and was instrumental in the famous Dutch side winning three European Cups in a row in '71,'72, and '73. His legacy there is such that Ajax's current stadium is named The Johann Cruijff Arena (to use the Dutch spelling). It was on the strength of these phenomenal achievements that Barcelona decided to break a transfer record that had stood since Pietro Anastasi's £500k move to Juventus in 1968. Barcelona almost doubled the standing record, and were just £77k shy of making Johan Cruyff the first £1m player. Of course, the deal would have been paid in Spanish Pasetas, or Dutch Guilders, so whether or not they reached a million of a random currency was of no concern to the two clubs. Cruyff played for Barca for 5 seasons and won La Liga once and the Copa del Rey once. His Barcelona legacy was confirmed later as a manager, when he led Barcelona to their first ever European Cup success, in 1992.

1975

 Guiseppe Savoldi, Bologna to Napoli

£1,200,000

Today - £9.2m

A lesser known name became the world's first £1m pound player. Many fans will remember Trevor Francis as the first million pound player, when he moved from Birmingham to Nottingham Forest for £1.15m in 1979. Savoldi came 4 years earlier though, but as the transfer was paid in Italian Lira, there could be an argument that Francis really was the first player bought for a million pounds or more. Either way, Guiseppe Savoldi is the name you need to remember for pub quizzes or appearances on Pointless, he was the first transfer worth £1m or more. This was the second time Napoli had broken the transfer record and Savoldi hepled the club win the Coppa Italia in his first season. It would take there 3rd and final record transfer to clinch their first Serie A though; a certain Argentine in a decade or so time... stay tuned.

1976

 Paolo Rossi, Juventus to Vicenza

£1,750,000

Today - £11.6m

Paolo Rossi is probably best remembered for leading Italy to the 1982 World Cup title, in which he won the Golden Boot with 6 goals. Six years earlier though, he shot to prominence by becoming the world's most expensive footballer having played just 6 league games before his move to Vicenza. Rossi came through the ranks at Juventus but failed to make an appearance, he was loaned out to Como where he played six times without scoring a goal. Vicenza initially took Rossi on loan, and he impressed in his first season by scoring 21 goals and leading Vicenza to promotion to Serie A. This led to co-ownership of Rossi by both Juventus and Vicenza. When the two clubs were called to settle the property by way of a silent auction, Vicenza offered the massive sum of 2.6 billion lire, making Rossi the most expensive player in history at that point. 

1982

 Diego Maradona, Boca Juniors to Barcelona

£3,000,000

Today - £9.7m

Ah, Diego. As a 16 year old, Diego Maradona had started his career at Argentinos Juniors, here he managed 117 goals in 167 appearances. Still only 21 he moved to Boca for $4m USD, which would have been just shy of the £1.75m that Rossi had moved for in 1976. Aged 22 he moved again, to Barcelona, for a world record fee. Maradona spent two injury-hit years at Barcelona, but still managed to score 38 goals in 58 games in all competitions. He suffered a broken ankle against Athletic Bilbao after a poorly-timed tackle from Andoni Goikoetxea. When the two met again in the Copa del Rey Final of 1984, Maradona was taunted by the Bilbao fans, was on the receiving end of another rough tackle from Goikoetxea which wounded his leg, and Barcelona lost the game 1-0. At full-time Maradona lost it, Joey Barton-style, and squared up to Goikoetxea. When the Bilbao player made a xenophobic gesture, Maradona headbutted him and elbowed another Bilbao player, causing a mass brawl which left 60 people injured. This entire episode had been played out in front of Spain's King Juan Carlos and effectively secured Diego Maradona's transfer out of the club. Amazing footage of the brawl can be seen below.

                                       

1984

 Diego Maradona, Barcelona to Napoli

£5,000,000

Today - £14.7m

Following the brawl of a century, Napoli moved in quick to seal Maradona's signature. This transfer made Maradona the only player in history to have broken his own world transfer record. Two other players have been the world's most expensive player on two separate occasions, Original Ronaldo, and David Jack, but Diego is the only player to have done it consecutively. Whilst his ability was never in doubt, many clubs were wary of associating themselves with a player who could turn the Copa del Rey Final into a Gladiator-style fight to the death, in front of the King. The risk paid off for Napoli though, as Maradona led the club to their first ever Serie A title in 1986-87, the season following his remarkable exploits at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Maradona scored 81 goals in 188 appearances for Napoli, and is widely remembered as the greatest player ever to play the game, in particular during these halcyon days of the mid-80s. To balance the video I offered above of his gruesome side, here's a compilation of Maradona's graceful side whilst at Napoli:

• Next up I'll be looking at the record transfers from 1987 to 1992.