Ups and downs

Positive things happened in Chinese soccer in 2011, but the national team is still struggling in the international stage. Below is a list of the eye-catching ups and downs of last year.

Go, Guo'an

On Jan 4, Beijing Guo'an signed Jaime Pacheco and under the Portuguese coach's leadership, Beijing played beautiful team soccer and finished second in the CSL. In October, Guo'an extended Pacheco's contract by two more years.

Asian Cup flop

On Jan 17, China's national men's team was held 2-2 by Uzbekistan and finished third in the Asian Cup group stage, the second time in a row China failed to advance to the knockout stage.

Troussier struggles

On Feb 22, noted French coach Philippe Troussier joined Shenzhen Ruby with the hope of lifting the team into the top four. But Shenzhen, the 2004-05 CSL champion, was relegated at the end of the season amid rumors of a standoff between the coach and players. But Troussier has the trust of his Shenzhen boss and will keep coaching the team in the second division league.

Black whistles revealed

On March 30, Chinese Central Television (CCTV) disclosed the details of the corruption cases against three Chinese soccer referees, including Lu Jun, who was widely regarded as China's best referee. The three officials, also including Huang Junjie and Zhou Weixin, were arrested on charges of taking bribes to manipulate matches in 2003, 2004 and 2009.

Big-spending Guangzhou

On March 19, Guangzhou Evergrande announced prize money of 5 million yuan ($800,000) for a win, 1 million yuan for a draw and a fine of 3 million yuan for a loss. On July 2, Guangzhou signed Argentine star Dario Conca for a record fee of $10 million. The inspired team finished with 20 wins, eight draws and two losses to take the CSL title.

Olympic team's shame

In June, the men's Olympic team failed to advance to the London Games after suffering a series of humiliating losses in the qualifying stage.

League boosted

On July 3, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) reached an agreement with real estate giant Dalian Wanda over an investment deal that will see 500 million yuan ($80 million) pumped into the Chinese domestic league, men's and women's national teams and youth development over the next three years.

Women's soccer struggling

On Sept 11, China's women's team ended its Olympic qualifying campaign with one win, two draws and two losses; thus missing out on an Olympic berth for the first time in the team's history.

World Cup nightmare

Under new coach Juan Antonio Camacho, who was appointed on Aug 14, China's efforts to qualify for the 2016 World Cup final ended in vain. Its dream vanished on Nov 15 when the team failed to even advance to the final round of Asian Zone qualifying.

Shenhua signs Anelka

On Dec 12, Shanghai Shenhua reached an agreement with Chelsea to sign French striker Nicolas Anelka to a two-year contract. The 32-year-old will receive a salary of about $13.3 million, which makes him the most expensive soccer player ever in China. The price tag is only behind that of Samuel Eto'o of Inter Milan (20.5 million euros) and Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid (12 million euros).

First Japanese coach

On Dec 15, Hangzhou Greentown and former Japan coach Takeshi Okada reached a deal, making him the first Japanese coach in China's soccer history.

Corruption trials start

On Dec 19, the long-awaited trials of some of the country's former top soccer officials kicked off. More than two years after the nationwide clampdown on gambling and match-fixing began in late 2009, Zhang Jianqiang, former director of the Chinese Football Association's (CFA) referee committee and former women's soccer chief, became the first defendant in the Intermediate People's Court of Tieling. Former CFA chief officials Yang Yimin and Nan Yong as well as club managers and referees were put on trial.

China Daily