Exclusive Interview: Beijing Guoan midfielder Renato Augusto on Tackling China

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Olympic gold medalist and Beijing Guoan midfielder Renato Augusto sat down with CGTN's Mike Fox to discuss his personal attachment to Beijing and share his thoughts on why more players from his native Brazil are flocking to the Chinese Super League.

Augusto was one of the highest profile players offered to move to China in 2016. The former Bayern Leverkusen player chose to play for Beijing Guoan over accepting an offer from Germany's Schalke 04.

But the first game he played in China was not what the Brazilian league top player had expected.

“My killer instinct on the field is very strong, I would tell myself to do whatever I can to win before every game I was going to play. So it would be my saddest moment when my team didn’t manage to win." Augusto said.

“After the new coach arrived in the team, we played pretty well, the whole team is in good form, this is exactly what I expect to see. I am pretty familiar with our coach’s tactic of play.”

The hard work has certainly paid off as Renato has become a regular player in the national team. The 29-year-old helped the squad win gold in Rio, and recently he was chosen again to play in the world cup qualifiers later this month.

“If we were talking about this topic two or three years ago, no one would believe that a player who comes to Chinese Super League would have a chance to go back and play in a more advanced league or national team. But this is exactly what is happening now. This proves the rapid development of Chinese Super League. “Augusto said.