Shanghai Shenhua F.C. is a Chinese professional football club that represents the city of Shanghai. The side currently competes in the Chinese Super League.
The club was formed in October 1951, although under the name of the East China team. In 1957 the team’s name was changed to Shanghai F.C. with reference to the province where the club was based. In the early 1960s the side became the most feared colours in the league. However, after the Chinese Cultural Revolution Shanghai F.C. went into decline and dropped into the second division.
In December 1993 the club turned professional. The first honours came in 1995 when Shanghai clinched its first Super League title. The club continued to make its mark on the domestic game and in the year of 1998 Shanghai lifted the Chinese FA Cup and the Chinese FA Super Cup. In 2002 Wu Jingui was unveiled as a new manager. Under Wu Jingui, the club cemented its second Super League title in 2003.
In 2007 the financial benefactor Zhu Jun, the owner of Shanghai United, bought the controlling interest of Shanghai Shenhua. Ultimately, the two clubs merged. That year also saw Shanghai Shenhua win the East Asian Champions Cup.
The club`s home matches are staged at Hongkou Football Stadium which holds 33,060 supporters. The official colours are blue, white and red. Such notable players as Rubén Sosa, Fernando Correa, Diego Alonso, Sergio Blanco, Valeri Kleymyonov, Carsten Jancker, Christian Perez, Júnior Baiano, Vyacheslav Hleb and Mark Milligan defended the colours of Shanghai Shenhua. In June 2012, Didier Drogba signed for the Chinese outfit and teamed up again with his former Chelsea colleague Nicolas Anelka.
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