The One Match to Watch: Guo'an to Play for League Title Sunday at Gongti

As the 2013-2014 Chinese professional football season approaches its end, Beijing Guo'an, the city’s most loved professional sports team, will play their last game of the season at home against Henan Jianye at Gongti this Sunday – with the league title at stake.

After a dramatic victory over league leader Guangzhou Evergrande Sunday, they're only three points behind in the standings. If Guo'an wins their last game against Henan and Guangzhou loses their last game vs Shandong, Guo'an and Guangzhou will be tied, and Guo'an named champion due to their better performance in head-to-head matches.

Punters say there's a good chance Beijing could end up with the title: Guangzhou needs to beat fourth-ranked Shandong, while Beijing's opponent, Henan, is 14th on the league table. 

The Chinese Super League is generally believed to be the most popular, profitable and influential professional sports league in China. Guangzhou Evergrande has been the champion for the last three consecutive seasons, while Beijing has placed second, third, and third.

Sunday's do-or-die fight between the best two soccer teams in China was regarded by many people including Beijing’s head coach and Spanish national Gregorio Manzano as the Chinese El Clasico. This Sunday might not be as much of a classic match, but given the league title is up for grabs, it should be an exciting one to watch live. Both games start at 3:30 pm, so some scoreboard watching will be in play.
 

How to Buy a Guo'an Ticket for Sunday
Guo'an no longer sells tickets at the booths outside the Workers' Stadium – you can only buy online at liansaipiao.com. Online shopping seems much better than waiting in line at a ticket booth before the game starts, but still, there are bad news – you need a valid Chinese ID number (身份证号) to buy a ticket – so hit them zhongguo pengyou up for some help.

Ticket price ranges from RMB 50 to 200.

If you can’t find a Chinese friend to buy tickets in advance, you can also get tickets from scalpers outside the stadium on game day. However, given the championship is at stake, it's likely to be a sell out, which means you could be paying premium prices.

Seats are assigned. Usually the best seats are behind the home team's goal; unfortunately those seats are reserved for season ticket holders. Look for seats in the upper tier behind the halfway line, where you can have a good perspective on play.
 

What to Bring
You are allowed to bring your own food and drinks, though glass bottles are not allowed. There are also stands selling drinks inside and outside of the stadium.

The stadium can be extremely loud and everybody will get hyper. Fans will chant throughout the game and will cheer for good plays by shouting "niubi!", vulgar slang for "awesome." Heavy drinking in public is not as common at the games as it is in leagues elsewhere around the world, so behave yourselves, hooligans.
 

Players to watch
Dejan Damjanovic is Beijing's top scorer of the season so far (10 goals in 12 games). He also has 24 caps for the Montenegrin national team and scored 7 goals. Before he came to China, Dejan played in Korea for 7 years. He helped FC Seoul win the K-league in 2013, and became the K-league MVP himself. He is widely considered one of the best strikers playing in Asia.

Pablo Batalla is another star player for Beijing. Before came to China, Batalla played for Bursaspor in Turkey and was well known in Europe for his creativity in the midfield and ability to control the ball. He transferred to Guo'an in the beginning of this season and the transfer fee was rumored to be between 3.5 million to 4 million euro, making him one of the highest paid players in the Chinese Super League.
 

How to Get There
Don't attempt to drive or take a taxi to the Gongti area around game time; it's guaranteed to be a disaster. If you are going by subway, you can either get off at Dongsishitiao station on Line 2 or at Tuanjiehu station on Line 10. After you get off the train is just follow the crowd dressed in green and yellow and you can't miss it.
 

Want to Show Some Guo'an Spirit?
Don’t have a Guo'an jersey yet? You can get them easily on taobao.com. Search 国安 on taobao.com and you will find endless Guo'an merchandise such as scarves, hats and jerseys. You can also find Guo'an jerseys at amazon.com. On your way to the Workers' Stadium on Sunday, there are also stands selling Guo'an merchandise along the street. Bargaining is a must. If you don't want to buy extra gear, just wear green as if you are going to a St. Patrick’s Day parade and you will be fine.
 

Barflies
If you'd prefer to watch at a bar, one that comes particularly recommended is He Shi Wei Ci (合十微瓷酒吧, 57 Gulou Xidajie, Xicheng District 鼓楼西大街57号), which not only has great food and beer but also makes the soccer game central to the experience. If you are going by subway, you can get off at Shichahai station (什刹海) on Line 8. Go straight north after you get on the ground and turn left when you reach the first crossing. Keep going and you will see the bar on your right hand side.

Watching on TV/Online
Unfortunately there is not any coverage of the game with English commentary. Beijing TV Sports Channel will broadcast the game at 3:30 p.m. with Mandarin commentary. If you have no cable, you can also watch the game online at Sina Sports (新浪体育), Azhibo (A直播), or Zhiboba (直播吧).

Image: The Beijinger