The Chinese Super League is not over yet -the final positions have yet to be decided-, but practically all the Spaniards who compete in the highest category of the Asian country are in luck. Especially those who were forced to fight to avoid the descent, since both Dalian Pro and Shenzhen, Henan Jianye and Qingdao Huanghai achieved the great goal of the season: permanence.
The only club no one expected to see on that list is Dalian Pro, a team led by Rafa Benitez. The Spaniard has players of the stature of Marek Hamsik, Sam Larsson, Salomón Rondón and Emmanuel Boateng at his command, but he could not pass from 7th position in the first part of the championship. Being 10 points behind the 4th place forced Dalian to fight to avoid relegation, a mess that avoided at the first exchange after defeating Shijiazhuang (3-1 aggregate) in the play-out. The assistants Mikel Antía, Antonio Gómez and Alejandro Dorado, the physical trainer Paco de Miguel, the goalkeeper coach Joaquín Valerio and the readapter Javier Sagaste work alongside Benítez.
The same fate ran Javier Pereira, who It only took two games to save Henan Jianye from relegation to Second. The Badajoz arrived in China last October and, after keeping the mandatory quarantine, took the reins of a team that had only won one of their last 14 games – one victory, three draws and 10 defeats. Henan, who finished the first phase of the Super League as the bottom of Group A, took advantage of the format and won in the first round of the play-out to Wuham Zall (2-1 aggregate), thus confirming their permanence in First. The Red Devils defeated Guangzhou R&F in the next round, which will lead them to fight for the middle table. Together with Pereira Agustín Izquierdo (assistant) and Álex Ballesteros (analyst).
Javier Pereira, during a press conference in China.
CSL
It cost more to Shenzhen, whose change on the bench – the Italian Roberto Donadoni left his place to Jordi Cruyff – was not enough to reach the 'play-offs' for the title. The Guangdong Province team finished fifth in Group A. Already in the qualifying rounds, they lost to Tianjin Teda, but met the goal of permanence after beating Shijazhuang 3-2. The team led by Jordi Cruyff won 1-0 in the first leg, a result that he did well, drawing a 2-2 draw in the second leg with a goal in the 80th minute. Along with Jordi Cruyff, the assistants Carlos García, Domingo Marín and Toni Astorgano, the goalkeeper coach Juan Torrijo and the analyst Joel Lara. The Canarian Roberto Mickel was already in the club, who gave the club a whole structure of subsidiaries and earned the respect of the country after creating the first Chinese team composed solely and exclusively of children with intellectual disabilities.
Also saved the category Qingdao Huanghai, whose bench was occupied by Pablo Machín for a few hours. The Canarian center-back Yaki Yen's team, the sports director Óscar Céspedes and the physiotherapists Érica Hernández and Jordi Escura, recently promoted to the Chinese Super League, fought until the last moment to maintain the category. They were second to last in Group B and in their first direct meeting to avoid relegation they fell (2-1) against Guanzhou R&F. However, managed to beat Wuhan Zall on penalties and in 2021 he will compete in the First Division again.
Viera will fight for third place
The Spanish footballer who went the furthest in the fight for the title was Jonathan See, whose team, Beijing Guoan, lost in the semifinals (3-1) against Guangzhou Evergrande of Paulinho and Talisca. A meeting that was not without controversy, since the referee did not whistle on Viera when the result was 2-1. In the fight for third place, the Canarian midfielder will face the Shanghai SIPG of the physiotherapist Eduardo Santos.