Chapter 28: The Lively Second Transfer

The second transfer window of the 2015 Chinese Super League season officially closed at midnight on July 16th. With championship and relegation battles fiercer than ever, clubs poured unprecedented sums into a frenzied arms race.

During this window, marquee foreign signings arrived in droves: Paulinho, Robinho, Sissoko, Demba Ba, Kleber, Gyan, and others joined the league. Among domestic transfers, the collapse of Sun Ke’s move made Beijing’s acquisition of Zhang Chimeng and the repurchase of Zhang Xizhe stand out as rare highlights.

According to figures from the German site Transfermarkt, Chinese Super League clubs spent a total of 55.72 million euros—about 380 million yuan—on player acquisitions this summer. This sum not only set a record for second-window spending in the Super League, but also doubled last year’s figure.

Since not all transfer fees were publicly announced or reported in the media, actual spending likely far exceeded 55.72 million euros. Transfermarkt’s data comes from club statements and media reports, but fees for players like Shandong’s Yuxilei and Renhe’s Salihovic remain undisclosed. Estimating their market value, total spending could approach 70 to 80 million euros.

The Super League only entered the multimillion-euro era for midseason transfers in 2011: 13.45 million euros that year, 23.38 million in 2012, 19.61 million in 2013, and 27.15 million in 2014. This year’s sudden leap to 55.72 million euros shattered previous records, more than doubling the prior high.

Guangzhou Evergrande, with over 14 million euros invested, remained the most aggressive spender, while among the sixteen clubs, only Changchun Yatai made no signings. Shanghai Shenhua paid 13 million euros for former Chelsea striker Demba Ba, whose transfer was second only to Paulinho’s. Shanghai SIPG also made a bold move, paying 12 million euros for last year’s AFC Champions League top scorer Gyan—though he didn’t claim the highest transfer fee, his salary topped the league. According to British media, Gyan’s weekly wage reached $350,000, surpassing Suarez and Aguero to rank eighth worldwide.

Former Bundesliga midfielder Salihovic and ex-Barcelona star Gudjohnsen joined Guizhou Renhe and Shijiazhuang Yongchang respectively, both considered major signings.

In contrast to the foreign player frenzy, the domestic market was quieter. Aside from Sun Ke’s unexpected, record-breaking 66-million-yuan sale to Tianjin Quanjian, few blockbuster deals occurred, with most clubs supplementing key positions through loans.

Quanjian withdrew investment from Tianjin Teda, leaving Sun Ke temporarily at Jiangsu Sainty. Yet Zhang Xizhe’s return was the more sensational homecoming. After a lackluster half-season at Wolfsburg, Zhang Xizhe chose to return to Beijing. His motivation was not financial, but a desire to play, confirming his previous move was a failed gamble. With Zhang Xizhe, Beijing’s attacking options became more complete, strengthening their title challenge.

The most eventful transfer window belonged, without doubt, to Dai Zhiwei’s Evergrande.

This time, Dai Zhiwei’s sudden emergence significantly bolstered Evergrande’s attack, their points tally far exceeding what it had been in the previous timeline, and firmly atop the league table, there was no need for a coaching change.

Yet even with Cannavaro staying, Evergrande’s transfer moves were as lively as ever. First, they invested 14 million euros to bring in Brazilian international Paulinho, then signed another Brazilian international, Robinho, just before the deadline. Robinho arrived as a free agent, requiring no transfer fee.

Paulinho was brought in to replace the underperforming Rene, while Evergrande signed Robinho to a short half-year contract, clearly intended as a temporary stand-in for the injured Alan.

Among domestic transfers, Evergrande signed the young goalkeeper Liu Weiguo from Dalian Aerbin and loaned defender Yi Teng to Hangzhou Greentown.

Robinho’s arrival made Evergrande’s forwards anxious, except for Dai Zhiwei himself.

Between Dai Zhiwei’s return from national duty and Robinho joining Evergrande, there were five league matches. Dai Zhiwei continued his astonishing streak.

On June 20th, the 14th round of the Super League saw Shandong Luneng host Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao in a battle for the top spot. Thanks to Dai Zhiwei’s goal and assist, Evergrande triumphed 2–1, further cementing their lead.

Five days later, in Round 15, another top-table clash awaited—Beijing, with a one-point lead over Shandong, had climbed to second place. Dai Zhiwei scored the only goal of the match, sending a clear message to all Super League teams: your only realistic target is second place.

Just three days later, in Round 16, Evergrande traveled to face Shijiazhuang Yongchang. After ninety minutes, Dai Zhiwei’s brace secured a hard-fought away win, keeping Evergrande unbeaten and unrivaled at the summit.

In these matches, Evergrande’s scoring relied entirely on Dai Zhiwei, but by the 17th round on July 5th, he was no longer carrying the team alone.

This time, Elkeson returned from injury, and Evergrande’s attacking trio—Dai Zhiwei, Elkeson, and Goulart—all found the net. With strong support from domestic players, Evergrande demolished newly promoted Chongqing Lifan 7–0 at home.

After a week’s rest, Evergrande faced Changchun Yatai away in Round 18. The match was uneventful; Dai Zhiwei scored his 22nd league goal of the season in the first half and was substituted at halftime with Evergrande already leading 3–0—the final score.

With Dai Zhiwei in such stellar form, everyone knew Robinho could not displace him; instead, Goulart and Elkeson, both foreign attackers, had reason to worry.

On Robinho’s first day with the team, Dai Zhiwei gave him a proper introduction.

Robinho’s debut match for the club was the 20th round away against Liaoning Whowin; as a new arrival, he could only watch from the bench.

Under Robinho’s gaze, Dai Zhiwei notched his second hat-trick of the season, leading the team to a 4–1 victory, raising his league tally to 25 goals, and making it clear to Robinho that his true rival was the “Terrifying Dai.”

“Terrifying Dai”—this was the nickname Robinho gave Dai Zhiwei when speaking to reporters after the match. From this moniker, it was clear Dai Zhiwei had completely won over the new arrival.

By comparison, Robinho’s only impression of other domestic Evergrande players was Zheng Zhi, simply because Zheng wore the captain’s armband.

Compared to Paulinho, who scored in this match, Robinho’s integration was notably slower. He had never imagined it would be so difficult to earn a starting spot in a Chinese Super League team.

If Robinho missed the 20th round due to being new, then a week later, in Round 21, he still didn’t see a minute of action.

In this away match against Hangzhou Greentown, Evergrande’s attacking trio couldn’t break the 0–0 deadlock in the first eighty minutes. As Cannavaro prepared to bring Robinho on to boost the attack, Dai Zhiwei executed a flawless stepover at the edge of the box, bursting through and firing home.

With a perfect stepover, Dai Zhiwei reminded the former “stepover prince” Robinho that starting for Evergrande was no easy feat.

Of course, Evergrande didn’t sign Robinho to be a spectator. With two weeks between rounds 21 and 22, he had ample time to settle in.

On August 12th, Evergrande faced Jiangsu Sainty away in Round 22, and Robinho finally made his debut, coming on in the 79th minute for Dai Zhiwei, who had scored the match’s only goal.

The Evergrande fans cheered for Dai Zhiwei, while Robinho seemed merely an inconspicuous supporting player.

Three days later, Cannavaro rotated the squad, allowing Robinho to start in place of Goulart for the first time. Unfortunately, the star of the match was still not Robinho, but Dai Zhiwei, who scored his 28th and 29th goals of the season.

Faced with such a teammate and competitor, Robinho could only sigh in resignation. But five days later, in the 24th round against Shanghai Shenxin, Cannavaro, preparing for the upcoming away Champions League semifinal against Kashiwa Reysol, left Dai Zhiwei in Guangzhou.

In this match, Robinho finally showcased his world-class talent, scoring twice to help Evergrande win 4–2 away. Through this performance, Robinho proved it wasn’t his own shortcomings, but rather the strength of his rivals, that kept him out—he had no choice but to admit defeat.

Who had subdued Robinho? None other than Dai Zhiwei.

P.S.: Accelerating the Super League storyline to bring the protagonist to European football for further development.