From 2010 to 2017, there was only one name on Chinese Super League trophy, the Fire-god Trophy, and that name was Guangzhou Evergrande. But no more!
On February 7, 2017, a certain baby-faced Kratos Oscar made his official debut for Shanghai SIPG, after signing from Chelsea in December, 2016 for £60 million. Taking a year to acclimatize, Oscar led Shanghai right to the very top this season, usurping the seven-time winners and claiming their first CSL title!
This is only Shanghai’s sixth season in the top flight, after getting promoted in 2013, but with the help of six-time highest scoring Chinese player in CSL, Wu Lei, and Brazilian talents like HULK and Oscar, they finally did the unthinkable.
Oscar himself had an amazing season, scoring 12 goals and grabbing a record 18 assists in the league, breaking Aleksandar Živković’s total from 2007.
Oscar had many wonderful performances this season, like in the 8-0 hammering of Dalian Yifang when he scored a hat-trick and grabbed a brace of assists on top of that.
Another great performance came with two assists in Shanghai’s 2-1 home win over the powerhouse Guangzhou Evergrande in mid-September.
What’s next for Oscar? Rumblings had already started last season about a potential return — he just turned 27 a couple months ago! — and now that he’s conquered Chinese football and filled up his bank accounts, maybe it’s time to come back to Europe?
Either way, we wish Oscar (who certainly would not look out of place as the third player in Sarri’s three-man midfield) all the best in his future endeavors…