PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Christian Bassogog - Cameroon star hoping to shine again against Tianjin Quanjian

epa06035856 Christian Bassogog (L) of Cameroon and Gonzalo Jara of Chile in action during the FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 group B soccer match between Cameroon and Chile at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow, Russia, 18 June 2017. EPA/YURI KOCHETKOV

by Austin Ditlhobolo

Tuesday Feb 27, 2018. 19:00

The 22-year-old attacker and his Henan Jianye team-mates will take on Tianjin Quanjian in the first match of the 2018 Chinese Super League season.

The encounter is scheduled to be played at Jianye’s home ground, Zhengzhou Hanghai Stadium which is located in Zhengzhou.

Last season, Bassogog played an important role in helping Jianye hold Quanjian to a 1-1 draw in a league game which was played in Zhengzhou.

Quanjian opened the scoring through Zhao Xuri, but Bassogog set-up Zhong Jinbao, who snatched a late equalizing goal and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Bassogog, who had joined Jianye prior to the start of the 2017 Chinese Super League season, played the entire match as the team looked to retain their status in China’s elite league.

Jianye went on to finish the season just a place above the relegation zone on the league standings, while Quanjian, who are one of the top teams in China, finished third.

On Friday, Bassogog is likely to start upfront alongside Portuguese striker Ricardo Vaz Te, who scored five goals in five league games for Jianye last season.

It will be Dragan Talajić’s first match in charge of the club. The well-travelled Croatian tactician was appointed Jianye head coach last December.