Evergrande has been front and center of Chinese soccer over the past three years; especially since winning last year's Asian Champions League trophy.
Guangzhou Evergrande players burst into tears in the locker room when they heard their coach Fabio Cannavaro was fired.
In Seongnam, captain Kim Do-heon scored a 96th minute penalty as two-time Asian champion Seongnam FC edged 2013 champion Guangzhou Evergrande 2-1.
Guangzhou Evergrande boss Fabio Cannavaro understands why his players were furious after going down 2-1 to Seongnam in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday, but believes they will harness that anger to turn the tie around in the home leg.
As coach of China's national soccer team, 58-year-old Frenchman Alain Perrin not only has the support of the world's most populous country - he also has the backing of its top leader.
The club owner said earlier this month that he had agreed terms on selling a 75 percent holding to a Chinese-led consortium.
Chinese soccer could struggle to attract youngsters away from table tennis and badminton and needs a home-grown star playing in Europe before it really takes off, ex-England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson said.
The International Champions Cup will come to China for the first time with three prestigious European clubs, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Internazionale Milano.
Young girls practice soccer skills at No 1 middle school of Handan city, North China's Hebei province, April 14, 2015. The team reserves more talents in recent years, going with the stream to promote soccer nationwide.
The preliminary joint qualification round 2 draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup was held on Tuesday, with China pitted in Group C together with Qatar, Maldives, Bhutan and Hong Kong, China.
China's sports minister said soccer should not take the place of other sports at school, but rather help lead their development.
Young Chinese players to benefit from know how of Dutch masters as youth program gets boost from former Ajax coaches.
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