Foreign stars serve up CSL goalfest

Oscar admission

As one of the CSL's most high-profile imports, Brazilian Oscar helped 2018 champion Shanghai SIPG get off to a smooth start with a 3-1 win over Tianjin Teda.

"I'm excited to have the games now. We've spent too much time with no games, and I'm so happy to be back playing," the former Chelsea star told CGTN.

"You need to have a focus. If we don't have a game, we need to prepare good. And the club has been doing their best for us.

"We want to win both the league title and the AFC Champions League. I know it's hard, but we have a strong team. We need to focus and to win game by game."

Oscar, meanwhile, said he would like to one day don the red of Team China－if FIFA changed a rule that prevents players from representing two countries in official competitions.

In recent years, Team China has begun recruiting a number of naturalized stars, including Guangzhou Evergrande pair Ai Kesen (aka Elkeson) and Luo Guofu (aka Aloisio).

Oscar played for Brazil at the 2014 World Cup finals, but has not featured for his native country since 2016. On the possibility of being naturalized, Oscar replied: "I can think about it. It's difficult to join the Brazil national team because I'm here. In China everyone sees how good I play. So if the Chinese national team need a good midfielder, I can help. I like China."