Shanghai Shenhua (Meaning “Flower of Shanghai” in Chinese) is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League. The club is currently owned by Zhu Jun (75%), Shanghai SVA Group, SMEG (Shanghai Media & Entertainment Group) and Huangpu Investment Ltd. (SMEG + Huangpu Investment 25%). The team’s home stadium is called the Hongkou Football Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 33,060.

The club's predecessor was called Shanghai Football Club and predominantly played in the top tier, where they won several domestic league and cup titles. In 1993, the club was reorganized to become a completely professional football Club. Since then, they have won 2 League Championships and 1 Chinese FA Cup Championship.

Shanghai Shenhua's predecessor was East China team who were founded in October 1951 by the local government sports body to take part in China's first fully nationalized national football league tournament and finished second in the league. The football league gradually expanded and the team were allowed to name themselves Shanghai after their own province in 1957 and then eventually Shanghai Football Club. By the 1961 league season Shanghai started to establish themselves as a major football team within China when they won their first league title. This was then quickly followed by their second league title in 1962, however by 1966 because of the Chinese Cultural Revolution football in China was halted and Shanghai were unable to play. When football returned Shanghai were able to return to the top tier, however they were unable to regain any of the dominance that they had previously shown and were even relegated in the 1980 league season. Though they were able to be quickly promoted in the following season, they still spent many years without actually winning any titles until they won the Chinese FA Cup in 1991, which was their first trophy in 29 years.

Shanghai is the largest city by population of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the largest city proper by population in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities of the PRC, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010. It is a global city, with influence in commerce, culture, finance, media, fashion, technology, and transport. It is a major financial center and the busiest container port in the world.

Located in the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China, Shanghai sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River in the middle portion of the Chinese coast. The municipality borders Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces to the west, and is bounded to the east by the East China Sea.

Once a fishing and textiles town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to European recognition of its favorable port location and economic potential. The city was one of several opened to foreign trade following the British victory over China in the first opium war and the subsequent 1842 Treaty of Nanking which allowed the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement. The city then flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became the undisputed financial hub of the Asia Pacific in the 1930s. However, with the Communist Party takeover of the mainland in 1949, the city's international influence declined. In the 1990s, the economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city.

Giovanni Andrés Moreno Cardona (born July 1, 1986) is a Colombian footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Racing Club in the Argentine Primera División.

Moreno started his career with Colombian second division side Envigado. After achieving promotion and playing half a season with Envigado in the first division, Moreno was transferred to Atlético Nacional.

After arduous negotiations, the Colombian footballer joined Argentine Primera División side Racing Club for the 2010-11 season. Atlético Nacional received 4,3 million US dollars for 75% of Moreno's rights, half being paid by Racing and the other half by a third party entrepreneurial group.

In May 2012, Moreno and teammate Federico Santander were stopped in a Buenos Aires street by hooligans who threatened to shoot him in the legs if Racing failed to win their next game.

Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (French pronunciation: [didje dʁɔɡba]; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian footballer who plays as a centre forward for Chelsea. He is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team (Ivory Coast). He has scored more goals for Chelsea than any other foreign player and is currently Chelsea's fourth highest goal scorer of all time. His key attributes include his physical strength, ability in the air, and his ability to retain possession of the ball.

After playing in youth teams, Drogba made his professional debut aged 18 for Ligue 2 club Le Mans. A late bloomer, he signed his first professional contract aged 21; it was not until the 2002–03 season that he realized his potential, scoring 17 goals in 34 appearances in Ligue 1 for Guingamp. During the same season he made his first international appearance for Côte d'Ivoire, in September, and scored his first international goal the following February. He moved to Olympique de Marseille in 2003 for £3.3 million. His scoring success at Olympique de Marseille continued, finishing as the third highest scorer in Ligue 1 with 19 goals and helped the club to reach the 2004 UEFA Cup Final.

Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (French pronunciation: [nikɔlas anɛlka]) (born 14 March 1979 in Le Chesnay, France) is a professional football player who is currently a player and assistant manager of Shanghai Shenhua. Anelka was also a regular starter for the French national team. Former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has described him as a quick player with good aerial ability, technique, shooting, and movement off the ball.

Anelka began his career at Paris Saint-Germain, but soon moved to Arsenal. He became a first team regular and won the PFA Young Player of the Year Award the following season. Real Madrid signed him for £22.3 million in 1999, a record fee at the time, but he did not settle in well and returned to Paris Saint-Germain in a £20 million deal. Despite regular first team football in Paris, Anelka set his eyes upon the Premier League once more; he went on loan to Liverpool in January 2002 but joined Manchester City for £13 million at the start of the 2002–03 season.

After three seasons in Manchester, he moved to Fenerbahçe for two seasons before returning to England to join Bolton Wanderers – in deals worth £7 million and £8 million, respectively. He transferred to Chelsea from Bolton for a reported £15 million in January 2008. During his transfers over the years, he has built an aggregate transfer cost of just under £90 million. On 12 December 2011, Shanghai Shenhua announced that they have reached an agreement with Anelka to join the team when the winter transfer window opens.