Shanghai Shenhua Information

Shanghai Shenua is one of the oldest Chinese Super League teams, having been established back in 1951. The club operated at a semi-professional level until 1993 when it became a fully-fledged professional club. Based in the Kangqiao region of Shanghai, it plays its home games at the Hongkou Football Stadium, which has a capacity of 35,000.

As one of the most established clubs in Super League history, Shanghai Shenhua boasts many of the world’s biggest names. Former greats such as Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba have both lined up for the Shanghai side along with the likes of Demba Ba, Freddy Guarin, Carlos Tevez and Odion Ighalo.

The club ran into severe financial difficulties in 2014 and was bought by current owners the Greenland Group. The club is nicknamed the Flower of Shanghai, and its main rival is Beijing Guoan. The two play in what’s known as the China Derby due to each side representing a club from China’s two largest cities. 

Colombian forward Giovanni Moreno is the club’s leading scorer, having found the back of the net 86 times in his 223 appearances for the club.

Shanghai Shenhua History

Shanghai Shenhua was originally formed by the Shanghai government in order to have a side registered for China’s first football league in 1951. Originally called East China, the club was renamed Shanghai Shenhua in 1957. It quickly became one of the dominant forces in the Chinese game, winning titles in 1961 and 1962. The team would go on to win a further league title in 1995 and has won the Chinese FA Cup on five separate occasions, the last of these victories occurring in 2019.

Shanghai Shenhua is one of the founding clubs in the Chinese Super League and has been a stable presence since the league’s inception in 2004. 

Despite being a fixture of the Chinese Super League, the club has never won the competition but has finished as the runner up on three separate occasions.