By David de la Peña
Pellegrini's Chinese Super League title squad has a powerful luxury weapon, that is, the bullet from Côte d'Ivoire that has fought in Belgium, France, Britain and Italy - Gervinho. If he doesn't have a clear position, it can only be because he is so fast that although he is a striker, he often retreats to the backfield, playing with his physical advantages, possession ability, and exquisite and fast dribbling ability to participate in the defense. His favorite play on the pitch is to shoot with his right foot on the left. After spending five years at Arsenal and Roma, the 29-year-old Gervinho decided to take the final step of his career in the Chinese Super League. He has scored 3 goals in 17 games here and contributed 5 assists.
Gervinho's real name is Kuassi, but he is better known as the nickname "Gervinho" given to him by a Portuguese coach at asESC Mimosa in Côte d'Ivoire. The Ivory Coast giants have also produced homegrown stars such as Yaya Toure, Arthur Boca and Didier Zoccola. Five years later, Gervinho joined Tumodi FC in the second division of Côte d'Ivoire.
In 2005 Gervinho came to Europe and joined Belgian side KSK Vivalen. In his two seasons there, he made 61 appearances and scored 14 goals. He then spent four more years in France, two at Le Mans and two in Lille. His outstanding performances in France attracted the attention of some of the bigger teams in Europe, and in the end Arsenal signed him for 12 million euros.
However, Gervinho's performance at Arsenal did not go as expected, and he was sold to Roma in 2013. In his first season there, he was one of the regular starting lineups, scoring 19 goals in 33 games and helping Roma to become the serie A runner-up that year. However, in the following two years, due to injury, Gervinho gradually faded out of the main lineup. And now, Gervinho has found a stable playing opportunity in Hebei Huaxia Happiness. Of the 17 games he played, he started in 15.
The Western Eye looks at the Chinese Super League, a subsidiary of Spain's Chapman Media Group, and the Chinese football information platform cn.superligachina.comChinese version, sharing daily views from Spain on Chinese football.