With a mere 11 days to go before the season kicks off, Shanghai Shenhua’s Chinese Super League 2012 fixtures have finally been confirmed. There are no changes to the preliminary schedule that was published several weeks ago, despite rumours of the home and away dates against Beijing Guoan being swapped, and Nanchang Hengyuan’s abrupt metamorphosis into Shanghai Shenxin – Shenhua’s impromptu derby opponents will be based in the outer suburb of Jinshan in the far southwest of the city – a journey which can take two hours or so from downtown Shanghai.
Almost all of the games this year kick off at 8pm, cutting it a bit fine for catching the last metro trains from Hongkou station. Last year games tended to kick-off at 7.45pm.
The season gets off with a bang to say the least – with derbies against Jiangsu, Beijing and Hangzhou in the first month, a mouth-watering clash against defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande in their third home game. So Chinese Super League fans of all persuasions will get an early indication of how the things are going to play out this year with the influx of new talent coming to China.
The other notable home clashes for those of a Shenhua persuasion are fairly spread out – a mid-summer clash at home to Beijing, the visit of Hangzhou Greentown on August 4, old rivals Shandong Luneng on April 28, and a new derby against Shanghai Shenxin on May 12.
Sadly, Shenhua fans’ hopes of their away trip to Qingdao coinciding with the cities annual beer festival have been dashed again – the game on July 1 takes place around a month before the internationally renowned drinking event.
Please note, kick-off times, dates and venues are subject to sudden change, before setting off to any of these games be sure to check the club’s official website.
UPDATE: now has the entire final Chinese Super League 2012 schedule.
Shanghai Shenhua’s 2012 home fixtures are also available on Gcalendar goo.gl/sgGUC
| DATE | HOME | AWAY | KICK-OFF | |
| March 10 | Shanghai Shenhua | Jiangsu Sainty | 19:35 | |
| March 16 | Beijing Guoan | Shanghai Shenhua | 19:30 | |
| March 24 | Shanghai Shenhua | Guangzhou Fuli | 20:00 | |
| March 30 | Shanghai Shenhua | Guangzhou Evergrande | 20:00 | |
| April 7 | Hangzhou Greentown | Shanghai Shenhua | 19:35 | |
| April 13 | Shanghai Shenhua | Tianjin Teda | 20:00 | |
| April 21 | Dalian Shide | Shanghai Shenhua | 15:30 | |
| April 28 | Shanghai Shenhua | Shandong Luneng | 20:00 | |
| May 6 | Liaoning Whowin | Shanghai Shenhua | 15:30 | |
| May 12 | Shanghai Shenhua | Shanghai Shenxin | 20:00 | |
| May 19 | Henan Construction | Shanghai Shenhua | 19:30 | |
| May 27 | Shanghai Shenhua | Guizhou Renhe | 20:00 | |
| June 16 | Changchun Yatai | Shanghai Shenhua | 19:35 | |
| June 24 | Shanghai Shenhua | Dalian Aerbin | 20:00 | |
| July 1 | Qingdao Jonoon | Shanghai Shenhua | 15:30 | |
| July 8 | Jiangsu Sainty | Shanghai Shenhua | 19:40 | |
| July 14 | Shanghai Shenhua | Beijing Guoan | 20:00 | |
| July 22 | Guangzhou Fuli | Shanghai Shenhua | 20:00 | |
| July 28 | Guangzhou Evergrande | Shanghai Shenhua | 19:35 | |
| August 4 | Shanghai Shenhua | Hangzhou Greentown | 20:00 | |
| August 11 | Tianjin Teda | Shanghai Shenhua | 19:35 | |
| August 18 | Shanghai Shenhua | Dalian Shide | 20:00 | |
| August 25 | Shandong Luneng | Shanghai Shenhua | 19:35 | |
| September 15 | Shanghai Shenhua | Liaoning Whowin | 20:00 | |
| September 22 | Shanghai Shenxin | Shanghai Shenhua | 19:45 | |
| September 29 | Shanghai Shenhua | Henan Construction | 20:00 | |
| October 6 | Guizhou Renhe | Shanghai Shenhua | 15:30 | |
| October 20 | Shanghai Shenhua | Changchun Yatai | 20:00 | |
| October 27 | Dalian Aerbin | Shanghai Shenhua | 15:30 | |
| November 3 | Shanghai Shenhua | Qingdao Jonoon | 15:30 |
Does anyone know if the entire CSL fixture list has changed much?
Well done Cameron, got the season tickets, ready for some Elk action. bestiality. bring it.
Looking to go to my first game. Where should I be looking to sit (hopefully the rowdy section!)? And how do I go about getting a ticket for that section? And is there any pubs nearhand you can have a few beers beforehand?? Sorry for all the questions!
Very difficult to get tickets with the ultras at Shanghai, unless you are a season ticket holder. You might have to make do with the (boring) side-stands.
Be warned: Shanghai are a bit of a contrast. They have some of the best ultras but also some of the most unanimated fans in the side stands.
The Qingdao pub on the corner of Sichuan Lu and Dongjiangwan Lu is the best bet for pre and post match beers. We will have a guide to watching football in Shanghai posted very soon.
Thanks Damian and Ed! I know that Qingdao pub, will head there!
So you say that you would need a season ticket to get in with the Ultras? Are these readily available or would they be hard to get hold of? Just so I know whether to try for a season ticket before the season starts or just get a random ticket from a scalper on matchday.