Foreigners in Tianjin find a fresh goal to aim for

Like Kapelastegi, Robert Watt also plays at full back in the team, although he said he is trying to be a forward.

Teaching English at a university in Tianjin, the tall, slim Briton said he used to play for a Chinese team before joining the all-foreigner club in October.

"Players need to communicate on the field, but I can't speak Chinese very well. So it was a bit difficult to get integrated into my former team," Watt said. "Soccer gives me a chance to run and know different people. I don't really like running on a treadmill in an air-conditioned gym."

Watt recalled that once his team had a match with police officers, and given the stereotyped image of the police among foreigners in China, he joked that his side had thought of losing the game deliberately for fear of inviting trouble.

"But after the match, we found the officers were no different from other Chinese players," he said.

Watt said Chinese players are usually more even-tempered on the field, while his foreign teammates tend to get angry with each other if the team is losing.

Every month, the club holds birthday parties for members and at the end of each season it will elect its Mr Soccer, based on performance.

Zhang Min in Tianjin contributed to this story.