New-boy Anelka inspires lofty dreams in Shanghai

Nicolas Anelka, plays his first game in China during the club's warmup match, Feb 21, 2012. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

SHANGHAI - So far, so good. Now for a trophy.

It seems, on first impressions, that everyone is delighted with the arrival of Nicolas Anelka and the new-look Shanghai team which has championship aspirations.

To get a first-hand look at the team's star import, about 50 fans turned up at Shanghai Shenhua's Kangqiao training base on Tuesday to watch a preseason game between Shenhua and second-tier team Hunan Xiangtao. Shenhua won 3-1.

The cost for a ticket was 500 yuan ($79) (a ticket to one of Shenhua's league games is worth between 80 - 380 yuan), and what diehard fans got - besides watching the game - was a No 39 jersey with Anelka's signature and an opportunity to meet and be photographed with the famous French forward.

"We went to buy the tickets as soon as it was put up on the (team's) website on Sunday morning," said Li Hui from BlueBoys Supporters Club. "Anelka's arrival has brought lots of changes to the team and the squad we saw today is very much different from that of last year.

"Shanghai is looking more and more like a champion," said Li, who said Shenhua should at least rank among the top four in the Chinese Super League (CSL) and qualify for the AFC Champions League this year.

Anelka played the full game and headed in the opening goal after only 40 seconds of play.

"Anelka performed very well today. It's always hard for domestic players to play freely on the pitch, but Anelka handles the ball in a very simple way, which is a real reflection of his ability," Li said.

However, the former French international seemed to be frustrated at times and drifted back to the midfield to orchestrate attacks.

"I have a feeling that at the beginning of the game, he was concerned that other players couldn't receive his passes or they couldn't create what he wanted," Li said. "However, he can't decide the result alone. I saw the players were eager to cooperate with the newcomers, but they still need time to gel.

"After all, this is only a warm-up match, and there is no need for players to show their full ability right now," she said.

The Shenhua players also said they have benefited from playing with the foreign players, but need to practice more to catch up with Anelka's speed.

"We still need to work together more with Anelka in strategy and cooperation, especially within limited spaces. Soccer is international, we will make rapid progress as long as we adopt new ideas," said player Wu Xi. "Our target is to win the championship."

Wang Fei, who signed with Shenhua last month, said he is proud to play with Anelka and has already learnt a lot from his idol.

Though Anelka didn't speak to the media after signing autographs for the fans, his brother, Claude, said he expected the former Chelsea striker to score about 20 goals in the coming CSL season, in which the 16 teams will play 30 games each.

"He played well in the first half. He kept it simple," Claude told China Daily in an interview between the halves.

Nicolas' initial objective is to lift the team from its lowly 11th-place finish in the CSL last season.

"I hope Shanghai will be a better team and perform well; and hopefully win the trophy," Claude said of the league which starts on March 10.

"I have no concerns (about Nicolas playing in China)," he said. "Everything is fine. (We are) happy to be in Shanghai and happy to be here to play with new teammates."

Nicolas Anelka, plays his first game in China during the club's warmup match, Feb 21, 2012. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

Nicolas Anelka, plays his first game in China during the club's warmup match, Feb 21, 2012. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]