The A-League's golden boot winner for 2012/13 is moving to the Chinese Super League on loan for five months as Daniel McBreen joins Bernie Ibini at Shanghai SIPG. The 36-year-old McBreen will see out the 2013 season in Shanghai with his former teammate at Central Coast Mariners who just joined East Asia this week on a full-time basis.
Daniel McBreen joins Bernie Ibini at Shanghai SIPG
17 goals in the A-League impressed the newly promoted CSL side enough to bring McBreen to Shanghai for the rest of the 2013 season.
According to Mariners Media Officer Ben O'Neill, the CSL club will pay McBreen's wages for the duration of the loan, providing an opportunity for Central Coast to invest in new players this offseason. With Mat Ryan (Club Brugge) and Ibini leaving for good and Oliver Bozanić expected to depart for the K-League, McBreen's absence from the side will remove even more heavy contributions from the current A-League championship holders. That said, freeing the club of half of his contract for the year will also give manager Graham Arnold options with several months remaining before the 2013/14 season begins.
Though McBreen is much older than the 20-year-old Ibni, SIPG will count equally on his contributions for the remainder of the CSL season. Though the newly promoted side are currently 12th out of 16 on the CSL ladder, SIPG have only lost once by more than one goal through a dozen top-flight games. If McBreen and Ibini can provide even a handful of goals between them, a quick climb could be possible. The CSL debutants are nine points short of qualifying for the Champions League with eighteen rounds left this season.
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