Football is a universal language and a labor of love

After nearly eight months living in the Chinese capital, I finally made it to my first Beijing Guoan match — and the team didn't disappoint by running out 6-0, winning over the hapless Qingdao Hainiu outfit.

The Beijing Workers' Stadium in Sanlitun — and home of Guoan — is an arena of which the city should rightly be proud. Accommodating 68,000 supporters, the ground is a mix of modern, inventive sporting architecture, such as its concrete facade, columns and oval shape, that has been fused with more traditional and historical elements that celebrate Beijing's past.

The old Workers' Stadium, which was known as Gongti for short, stood on the same site from 1959, the 10th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, until it was demolished in 2020 to make way for the current stadium, which opened at the end of 2022.

I was intrigued to experience what a Chinese Super League match would offer, and I have to say it did not disappoint. Coming from England, football (not soccer!) is a hugely passionate affair that is instilled in you from a very young age.

Quite often you do not have a choice which team you support as that is bestowed on you, more often than not by your dad, and that affiliation is passed down through generations. Unfortunately for me, most people will say, my cross to bear is that I was born in north London to a Tottenham Hotspur-supporting father.

While the not-so "Super Spurs "has given me hours of hope and joy, following them religiously has ultimately delivered a lot more pain, anger, frustration and disappointment, much to the annoyance of my girlfriend and the amusement of many of my friends, whose allegiances lie elsewhere.

But there is nothing you can do to escape a potential lifetime of despondency once you've become a fan. Unlike having a girlfriend, or boyfriend, or wife or husband, you most certainly cannot change your team, and there is nothing more annoying than those who do not follow football, and who say that it is "just a game", seeing you once again deflated at the final whistle.

Going to a game is a rite of passage for any fledgling football fan, and it was interesting to see the young and excitable Beijing Guoan fans, as well as the older, more seasoned, and therefore more cynical supporters, making their way to the match.

The beauty of football is that it is a universal language, and despite my very, very basic grasp of Chinese, there were no barriers to understanding the Guoan fans' frustration, amusement at club mascot Jingshi, the Beijing lion, and ultimately joy at watching their team canter to victory.

I even came away from the grounds for an after-match pint or three, having learned a new word — one that is unprintable in a respectable newspaper! But it is clear that whether you are in England or China, football evokes exactly the same emotions.

Sadly, despite rattling in a staggering 14 goals in its last two games, Guoan, which finished fourth, will not qualify for next season's AFC Champions League.

And that about sums up being a football supporter. You will never be content, and you will invariably end up in a world of frustration and pain. Unless, of course, you become one of those deservedly much-maligned and pathetic group of fans called "glory hunters", who do the unthinkable and change sides and opt to follow the flavor of the season!