Shanghai Greenland Shenhua wins 2017 CFA Cup title
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E-mail Xinhua, November 27, 2017
SHANGHAI, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- While the season is over for most Chinese football clubs, Shanghai football fans are holding their breath for a key clash: the Chinese Football Association (CFA) Cup. Shanghai Greenland Shenhua won the 2017 CFA Cup title on away goals at Shanghai Stadium Sunday night.
Shanghai Greenland Shenhua lost 3-2 to city rival SIPG on the team's home soil Sunday night, but thanks to the 1-0 victory in the first leg of the final of the CFA Cup at Shanghai Hongkou Football Stadium last weekend, Shenhua finally bagged the 2017 CFA Cup title.
The end of the match means Shanghai SIPG ended the season empty-handed.
"We obtained a lead of 1-0 at the beginning of the game but Shenhua equalized the score before the end of half-court. It was a big blow to our morale and we are sorry that we didn't win this game. SIPG should have had the opportunity to win three trophies but we lost them and I am responsible for that," said SIPG coach Andre Villas-Boas.
At the start of the season, Villas-Boas was tasked with winning at least one of three trophies - the Chinese Super League, the AFC Champions League and the CFA Cup. SIPG finished second to defending champion Guangzhou Evergrande in the CSL, while it lost in the semifinals of the ACL.
For Villas-Boas' counterpart, Wu Jingui, the victory was the best gift, and he was profuse in thanking his players for their performance.
"The match was very exciting and rough. We finally won the cup with the advantage of scoring more away goals. Our team have made great progress and finally we won the Cup this year. Thanks to my team members for their hard work. In the 180 minutes, our players suffered not only physical stress but also psychological pressures. Our players did a lot of running and put up a great defense," Wu told reporters after the match.
Shenhua lost both of their local derby matches to SIPG in the CSL this season. It fell 3-1 to SIPG at home in May, and then suffered a humiliating 6-1 away defeat in September - days after Wu took over from Gus Poyet as head coach.
"Whoever wins the Cup, the honor belongs to Shanghai football," a 33-year-old fan surnamed Yu told Xinhua.
The last time a Shanghai team won a national level championship was way back in 2003 when Shenhua won CSL's predecessor, the First Division League, but it was taken away following betting scandals. The last time Shenhua won the CFA Cup was in 1998.
A CFA Cup title gives Greenland an automatic berth in next year's AFC Champions League. Enditem
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