CSL parity bodes well for China

League's efforts to eliminate reliance on imports should boost national team's development

With no more megamoney transfers or perennial dominance by a single club, the Chinese Super League has kicked off an intriguing 2019 campaign on a mission to hone young guns for another shot at qualifying the national team for the 2022 World Cup.

Cheered by loud fans at four first-round matches to open its 16th season on Friday, the CSL looks poised to produce its closest title race ever over the next eight months.

The main storyline is whether the top-flight league will get down to real business by giving its homegrown hopefuls enough trust on a stage long dominated by expensive imports.

The heavy reliance on foreigners, especially in key playmaking positions, has had a negative impact on the national program as China's youth development pales even in comparison to the likes of Thailand and Vietnam.

The departure of Italian head coach Marcello Lippi after Team China's 3-0 loss to Iran in the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup in January underlined the talent crisis within the domestic league system. The 2006 World-Cup-winning manager had to pull together a squad with an average age of 29.3 years - the oldest in the tournament.

With qualifying for the World Cup set to launch in September, the Chinese Football Association is committed to building a younger and stronger national team, using the CSL as its testing ground.

"Whether our league is successful or not, the quality of homegrown players it develops is a key assessment," said Du Zhaocai, a vice-minister of the General Administration of Sport of China who also serves as the CFA's Party chief.

"We will strictly follow league rules this year to make sure all CSL clubs have youth teams from U-13 to U-19 in sound operation and we will make further policies to encourage more investment in youth training and player development."

Transfer binge curbed

Having built a reputation as lavish buyers in the international transfer market over the past few years, CSL clubs have learned to tighten their purse strings in the wake of a series of regulations imposed by the CFA to curb excessive spending on transfer fees and player salaries.

According to German website transfermarkt.com, 16 CSL clubs spent about $227 million during the 2018-19 winter transfer window which closed on Thursday - about half the amount ($446 million) they splashed two years ago when the CSL was the biggest spender among the world's major leagues.

Defending champion Shanghai SIPG, which signed Brazilian midfielder Oscar from Premier League side Chelsea to a league record $63.5 million in December 2016, didn't spend anything this year and released last season's top scorer, Wu Lei, to join La Liga club Espanyol in January.

A regulation that played a major part in cutting the cost was implemented in the summer of 2017, stipulating that a 100 percent levy would kick in on foreign players costing more than 45 million yuan ($6.7 million) and on domestic signings over 20 million yuan.

"Now with more clubs capable of signing star imports, we believe it's up to the consistent supply of high-level domestic players to build a solid foundation for long-term success," said SIPG chairman Chen Xuyuan.

New rules taking effect this season include clubs being required to cap each domestic player's beforetax annual salary at 10 million yuan, while a club's total salary expenditure for first-team and reserve players cannot exceed 65 percent of its total expenditure.

Each club's total spending cannot exceed 1.2 billion yuan this year, 1.1 billion yuan in 2020 and 900 million in 2021, according to the rule.

Existing CSL rules on under-23 player quotas remain in place, with clubs required to start at least one U-23 player in each game and field at least three over the 90 minutes.

As well, each team must have two self-cultivated U-21s on its 27-man roster.

"Rather than spending on costly foreigners, we'd love to give more opportunities to our own youngsters who are the future," said Chen.

Still, some clubs are rolling the dice on the foreign legion.

Former Napoli top scorer Marek Hamsik of Slovakia joined Dalian Yifang on a reported fee of $22.6 million to make him one of the most expensive signings this season, while former Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini of Belgium left the Red Devils to join four-time CSL champion Shandong Luneng in a deal reportedly worth $13 million.

Other notable transfers include Guangzhou R&F's signing of Mousa Dembele from Premier League side Tottenham for around $6 million, German striker Sandro Wagner's departure from Bundesliga giant Bayern Munich to join compatriot Uli Stielike's Tianjin Teda for $5.7 million and South Korea defender Kim Min-jae's $6 million deal to join Beijing Guo'an from Jeonbuk Motors.

National team clubs?

With major title contenders such as Shanghai SIPG, Beijing Guo'an and Shandong Luneng all reloaded for arguably the tightest title battle in years, the CSL's only seven-time winner, Guangzhou Evergrande, has opted for a different strategy.

The Cantonese club, which swept league titles from 2011-17 and won AFC Champions League trophies in 2013 and 2015, didn't add any imports over the offseason after SIPG ended its stranglehold on the title.

Instead, the team owned by real estate tycoon Xu Jiayin brought in five U-25 national team players, including promising striker Wei Shihao and centerback Liu Yiming from Lippi's Asian Cup squad to form a 12-man core filled with potential national team players all under the age of 25.

At the club's season preparatory meeting, Xu announced that Evergrande will use only two foreign players in any league game in order to give more opportunities to the core of Chinese youngsters.

"This is the only way to eventually realize our promise to play all-Chinese rosters by 2020," said Xu.

"That said, we are not giving up in the title battle as we believe the healthy competition within our organization will push everyone to improve."

Coached by Italian World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro, Evergrande still needs the firepower from Brazilian duo Paulinho and Talisca to stay competitive in the title fight.

Meanwhile, Tianjin Tianhai, formerly Tianjin Quanjian, has also gathered a group of talented young Chinese players following an ownership change in January.

The club is now managed by the Tianjin Football Association after its former owner, Quanjian Group, was accused of illegal marketing in December.

Guided by former U-21 national team coach Shen Xiangfu and led by veteran Brazilian attacker Alexandre Pato, Tianjin has set its sights on cultivating homegrown hopefuls while trying to avoid relegation.