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Guangzhou F.C.

Guangzhou
Full nameGuangzhou Football Club
Nickname(s)South China Tigers (华南虎)[1]
FoundedJune 1954; 70 years ago (1954-06)[2]
GroundHuadu Stadium
Capacity13,394
ChairmanXu Jiayin
Head coachSalva Suay
LeagueChina League One
2024China League One, 3rd of 16
Guangzhou F.C.
Traditional Chinese廣州足球俱樂部
Simplified Chinese广州足球俱乐部
JyutpingGwong2 zau1 zuk1 kau4 keoi1 lok6 bou6
Cantonese YaleGwóngjāu zūk kaù lokh bouh
Hanyu PinyinGuǎngzhōu Zúqiú Jùlèbù
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinGuǎngzhōu Zúqiú Jùlèbù
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationGwóngjāu zūk kaù lokh bouh
JyutpingGwong2 zau1 zuk1 kau4 keoi1 lok6 bou6

Guangzhou Football Club (simplified Chinese: 广州足球俱乐部; traditional Chinese: 廣州足球俱樂部; pinyin: Guǎngzhōu Zúqiú Jùlèbù), previously Guangzhou Evergrande (simplified Chinese: 广州恒大; traditional Chinese: 廣州恆大; pinyin: Guǎngzhōu Héngdà), is a Chinese professional football club based in Guangzhou, Guangdong, that competes in China League One, the second tier of Chinese football. Guangzhou plays its home matches at the Huadu Stadium, located within Huadu District. The club's majority shareholders are the now bankrupt Evergrande Real Estate Group (56.71%) and the e-commerce company Alibaba Group (37.81%),[3][4][5][6] while the rest of the shares are traded in the Chinese OTC system.

The club was founded in 1954, and won several second tier titles before turning professional in 1993. Their results improved, leading to a runners-up spot in China's top tier. Unable to improve upon these results, the club went through a period of stagnation and decline before they experienced a brief revival, when they won the 2007 second division. In 2009, the club was embroiled in a match-fixing scandal and was subsequently relegated. In 2010, the Evergrande Real Estate Group decided to purchase the club and pumped significant funds into the team. They immediately won promotion and gained their first top tier title in the 2011 season. Guangzhou are the most successful Chinese football club in continental competitions, winning the AFC Champions League twice, in 2013 and 2015, and participating in the FIFA Club World Cup in both years as a result. Between 2011 and 2017, Guangzhou won seven consecutive Chinese Super League titles, and after winning another Chinese Super League title in 2019, the club were relegated after the 2022 season amid financial difficulties.

According to a Forbes report from 2016, the team was valued at US$282 million, the highest out of all Chinese football teams, with a reported operating loss of over US$200 million in 2015.[7]

History

Early history

In June 1954, the local Guangzhou sports body founded Guangzhou Football Team to take part in the newly formed Chinese national football league.[2] They entered the club in the 1955 league season and named Luo Dizhi as their first manager. He guided them to an eighth spot finish in their debut campaign.[8] The league had grown to incorporate a second tier and their debut season performance final standing relegated them to the second division. Guangzhou won the division championship, however the Chinese Football Association decided to restructure the league at the beginning of the 1957 season and Guangzhou were denied promotion.[9] Despite this, Luo Rongman managed the team to win the 1958 second division title; however, the club were unable to gain promotion because this time they went into receivership. They were not re-established until April 1961 and were allowed to take part in the top tier. Back within the top division Guangzhou often struggled within the league and were again relegated to the second tier at the end of the 1963 league season. They remained there until 1966 when the Cultural Revolution halted football in China.[10]

Back-to-back promotions and sponsorship deal

When the Chinese football league restarted, Guangzhou took the unusual step of abstaining from the competition and instead on 26 October 1977 brought Luo Rongman to manage their youth team.[11] The team played within the National Youth League until 1980 when it was decided that they were mature enough to play in the senior football league pyramid. They started in the recently established third division. The club's youth team development immediately paid off and players such as Mai Chao, Zhao Dayu and later Wu Qunli all rapidly rose into Chinese international footballers. Guangzhou gained successive promotions until they reached the top tier. At the end of the 1982 league season Guangzhou were relegated again. They returned to the top division at the end of the 1984 season via the Chinese FA Cup. Guangzhou also became the first Chinese team to gain sponsorship when the Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Factory signed a $200,000 annual deal with the club.[12]

Becoming fully professional and match-fixing scandal

Throughout the 1990s, the Chinese Football Association were demanding more professionalism from their football teams. Guangzhou was one of the first fully professional football clubs in China after the Apollo Group took over the club on 8 January 1993. The investment aided the manager Zhou Sui'an to help create a competitive squad. Hu Zhijun won the top goalscoring award. Guangzhou were able to gain a runners-up spot in the 1994 league season.[13] The following season Zhou Sui'an left the team after having twice guided the club to a runners-up position within the league and a runners-up spot against Shanghai in the 1991 Chinese FA Cup. After his exit, the club were unable to replicate the same results. When influential international footballers Peng Weiguo and Hu Zhijun left the club, the team went into free fall and were relegated at the end of the 1998 league season.[14] With the management concerned about the team's performance, an investigation was launched which discovered that Wen Junwu and three other players were in collusion with gambling groups and were immediately expelled from the club.[15] In 2001, the Guangzhou Sports Bureau took over the club again. With significant investment coming from the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd it was hoped that the club could push for promotion. The division was rocked by a match-fixing scandal involving Changchun Yatai, Chengdu Wuniu, Jiangsu Sainty, and Zhejiang Greentown. Guangzhou's new sponsors Geely immediately pulled their funding from the team to distance themselves from the bad publicity.[16] The club went through a tough transitional period until the Sunray Cave Group took over the club in 2004 and started to invest money in hopes of pushing for promotion.[17] When the Guangzhou Pharmaceuticals group took over the club in 2006, they were able to realize the ambition of gaining promotion. The club won the 2007 second division title and entry to the Chinese Super League.[18] In February 2010, Guangzhou was relegated back to the China League One in the fallout of a match-fixing scandal despite having achieved a ninth-place finish in the 2009 season.[19] The match in question was the 19 August 2006 league game against Shanxi Wosen Luhu, which Guangzhou won 5–1 when they were still playing in the China League One. It was discovered by the police that the Guangzhou general manager Yang Xu paid ¥200,000 to the opposing general manager Wang Po to secure a win at home and that Guangzhou's vice presidents Wu Xiaodong and Xie Bin knew about it.[20] With the offending participants sentenced to jail for fraud, the club was put up for sale.[21] On 28 February 2010, Evergrande Real Estate Group took over the club for a fee of ¥100 million. Xu Jiayin, chairman of Evergrande Real Estate Group, said that they would pump more funds into the transfer market.[22] His first act was to sign in Chinese national team striker Gao Lin from Shanghai Shenhua for a reported fee of ¥6 million. Then, he replaced the head coach Peng Weiguo with former Beijing Guoan manager Lee Jang-soo with no indication. In the 2010 summer transfer window, the club signed Sun Xiang, the first Chinese footballer to play in the UEFA Champions League with PSV Eindhoven, and the Chinese national team captain Zheng Zhi on 28 June 2010. On 30 June 2010, Guangzhou confirmed that they had signed Muriqui on a four-year deal from Campeonato Brasileiro Série A side Atlético Mineiro with a domestic record fee of ¥23 million.[23] On 30 October 2010, Guangzhou became League One champions for the second time and returned to the Super League after a 3–1 win against Hunan Billows.[24]

Domestic domination and international success

Guangzhou logo used in 2010

During the 2011 season, Guangzhou Evergrande further strengthened its squad with the purchase of Argentinean Dario Conca and Brazilian Cléo.[25] Although the team was promoted to the Super League in the first year, they clinched the league title in late September 2011 although there were four games yet to play.[26] In March 2012, Guangzhou played and won their first-ever AFC Champions League match, defeating South Korean champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 5–1.[27] In addition, Paraguayan Lucas Barrios left the German champions Borussia Dortmund in summer 2012 to join Guangzhou Evergrande.[28] Marcello Lippi replaced Lee Jang-soo as the head coach and brought in South Korean defender Kim Young-gwon and Chinese midfielder Huang Bowen.[29] Guangzhou was knocked out of the 2012 AFC Champions League when they lost 5–4 on aggregate to Al-Ittihad in the quarter-finals.[30] They became the first Chinese side to reach the quarter-finals since 2006. During the 2012 season, Guangzhou won the league for the second time in a row, becoming the first team in China to win the Super League title twice in a row, while also securing the Chinese FA Cup to become double winners for 2012.[31]

In the 2013 season, Guangzhou Evergrande strengthened their squad by signing Chinese goalkeeper Zeng Cheng and Brazilian Elkeson.[32][33] This proved to be beneficial to Guangzhou as they became the first team in China to win the Super League three times in a row.[34] The club also won the 2013 AFC Champions League by defeating FC Seoul in the final on the away goals rule, after drawing 2–2 in the first leg in Seoul and 1–1 in the second leg in Guangzhou, becoming the first Chinese side to win the tournament since 1990.[35] By winning the AFC Champions League, Guangzhou was assured a place in the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup, entering in the quarter-finals, beating the African champions Al-Ahly 2–0.[36] In the semi-finals, they were defeated by the European champions Bayern Munich 3–0.[37] In the third place match, the club lost against the South American champions Atlético Mineiro 3–2 and finished in fourth place.[38] Guangzhou won its fourth and fifth consecutive Chinese Super League titles in 2014 and 2015, respectively.[39] On 21 November 2015, the club won its second continental championship, defeating Al-Ahli 1–0 on aggregate in the 2015 AFC Champions League Final.[40] In the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup, Guangzhou won 2–1 against Club América in the quarter-finals before losing 3–0 against Barcelona in the semi-finals.[41][42] Guangzhou also lost the third place match 2–1 against Hiroshima Sanfrecce, ending up in the same position as in the 2013 edition.[43] By 2020, Guangzhou Evergrande won a total of eight Super League championships, including seven consecutive titles from 2011 to 2017.[44][45]

Financial troubles and relegation

Ahead of the 2021 season, the team was renamed Guangzhou FC due to the Chinese Football Association's request for "neutral" names that would omit references to the investors and companies that own the club.[46] In the same year, the Chinese financial crisis and the problems of the Evergrande Group caused the financial collapse of the club.[47] After losing several key players, the team was relegated from the Super League in 2022, ending their twelve-season stay in the top flight.[48]

Stadiums

Before the start of the 2023 China League One season, Guangzhou moved to Yuexiushan Stadium, the former ground of Guangzhou City.[49] Previously, they played their home games at Tianhe Stadium with a capacity for 54,856 spectators. In April 2020, construction work began on the new 100,000-capacity Guangzhou Evergrande Football Stadium. Completion was scheduled for December 2022, in time to host the opening ceremony of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.[50] However, due to the Chinese property sector crisis, sparked by the Evergrande Group, the project was cancelled in mid-2022.[51] On 29 February 2024, Guangzhou announced a move to the Huadu Stadium.[52]

Ownership and naming history

Year Owner Club name Sponsored team name
1954–55 Central and Southern China Institute of Sports Central and Southern China Sports Institute Football Team Central and Southern China White
1955 Guangzhou
1956 Central and Southern China White
1956–57 Guangzhou Institute of Sports Guangzhou Institute of Sports Football Team
1958 Guangzhou Football Team
1959–61 Guangzhou Public Security Bureau Guangzhou Vanguard Football Team
1962–66 Guangzhou Sports Bureau Guangzhou Football Team
1977–79 Guangzhou Youth Football Team
1980–84 Guangzhou Football Team
1985–89 Guangzhou Baiyun
1989–93 Guangzhou Football Club
1993–00 Guangdong Apollo Group Guangzhou Apollo Football Club
2001–02 Guangzhou Sports Bureau Guangzhou Football Club Guangzhou Geely
2002–03 Guangzhou Xiangxue
2004–05 Sunray Cave Group Guangzhou Sunray Cave
2006–07 Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings Guangzhou GPC Football Club
2008 Guangzhou GPC Zhongyi
2009 Guangzhou GPC Baiyunshan
2010 Guangzhou Sports Bureau Guangzhou Football Club
2010 Evergrande Real Estate Group Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club Guangzhou GAC
2011–2014
2014–2015 Evergrande Real Estate Group (50%→60%)
Alibaba Group (50%→40%)
Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club
2016–2020 Evergrande Real Estate Group (56.71%)
Alibaba Group (37.81%)
Other shareholders in NEEQ (5.48%)
2021– Guangzhou Football Club

Sponsorship

Kit manufacturers

Period Kit manufacturer
1994 Umbro
1995 Reebok
1996 Diadora
1997 Reebok
1998–2005 Ucan
2006–2007 Godedke
2008–2023 Nike
2024– Kelme

Rivalries

When professionalism was established within the Chinese football leagues in 1994, it allowed more than one team to play within each region. This saw the establishment of Guangzhou Matsunichi which used to be the youth academy of Guangzhou FC before being sold to Matsunichi Digital Holdings Limited.[53] Direct ties between these two teams also saw them share the Yuexiushan Stadium. In their first meeting in the first round of the 1995 Chinese FA Cup, Matsunichi beat Guangzhou FC 4–3 on aggregate.[54] For a brief period during the 1998 season, both teams were in the top tier with Matsunichi finishing higher than Guangzhou FC; however, the rivalry would reach its peak and subsequent conclusion during the 2000 season with both clubs in the second tier fighting relegation. On 15 July 2000, Guangzhou FC won 3–1 against Matsunichi which inevitably helped lead to Matsunichi's relegation, causing Matsunichi to disband at the end of the season.[55][56]

When Guangzhou R&F moved to the city of Guangzhou, a local derby, often referred to as the Canton derby, was born.[57] The first Canton derby was at Yuexiushan Stadium on 16 March 2012 as Guangzhou Evergrande lost 2–0 against Guangzhou R&F.[58] Relations between the two club owners remain cordial off the pitch and club owners Xu Jiayin and Zhang Li were seen enjoying a meal together instead of watching the second derby in 2012, which Guangzhou R&F also won.[59][60]

Players

First-team squad

As of 7 March 2024[61]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK China CHN Askhan
2 DF China CHN Wang Wenxuan
3 DF China CHN Liu Langzhou
4 DF China CHN Chen Quanjiang
5 DF China CHN Wang Shilong
6 MF China CHN Hou Yu (captain)
7 FW China CHN Eysajan Kurban
8 DF Lithuania LTU Rimvydas Sadauskas
9 FW Colombia COL Juan Alegría
11 FW China CHN Abduwahap Aniwar
12 FW China CHN Islam Yasin
13 DF China CHN Wang Jie
14 MF China CHN Wu Yongqiang
15 DF China CHN Xu Bin
16 MF China CHN Zhang Zhixiong
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 FW China CHN Yang Hao
18 MF China CHN Liao Jintao
19 FW China CHN Wu Junjie
20 MF China CHN Han Kunda
21 MF China CHN Wang Shijie
22 FW China CHN Li Jiahao
23 MF China CHN Yang Dejiang
24 FW China CHN Weli Qurban
26 MF China CHN Li Xingxian
27 MF China CHN Wang Junyang
28 FW Colombia COL Juan Peñaloza
29 FW China CHN Zhang Dachi
30 FW China CHN Bai Yutao
31 GK China CHN Wu Zitong
32 GK China CHN Huo Shenping

Coaching staff

Position Name
Head coach Spain Salva Suay
Assistant coach China Niu Zhenning
Assistant coach China Zhao Yuxiang
Goalkeeping coach Spain Marc Franquesa Puig
Fitness coach Spain Sergio Manuel Pou Rodriguez

Source:[61]

Managerial history

Amateur period (1954–1993)

 
Manager Period
China Luo Dizhi 1954–1956
China Zeng Peifu 1956
China Zheng Deyao 1956
China Luo Rongman 1956–1961
China Li Wenjun 1964
China Lin Xiaocai 1966–1976
China Luo Rongman 1977
China Feng Meilu 1977
 
Manager Period
China Luo Rongman 1978–1982
China Cai Tangyao 1983–1984
China Chen Yiming 1985
China Qi Wusheng 1986–1988
China Xie Zhiguang 1989
China Chen Yiming 1990
China Zhou Sui'an 1991–1993

Professional period (1994–present)

Manager Period Honours
China Zhou Sui'an[62] 1994 – 7 June 1995
China Zhang Jingtian[63] 8 June 1995 – 28 December 1995
China Xie Zhiguang January 1996 – 15 April 1996
China Xian Dixiong[64] 16 April 1996 – December 1996
China Chen Yiming[65] January 1997 – 13 August 1997
China Mai Chao[66] 13 August 1997 – 12 June 1998
China Chen Xirong[67] 12 June 1998 – 4 May 1999
China Zhao Dayu[68] 5 May 1999 – December 1999
Brazil Gildo Rodrigues[69] January 2000 – 19 April 2000
China Zhou Sui'an[62] 19 April 2000 – 23 September 2000
Brazil Edson Tavares (caretaker)[70] 13 November 2000 – 11 December 2000
China Liu Kang[71] 11 December 2000 – 25 July 2001
China Zhou Sui'an[62] 25 July 2001 – 2 September 2002
China Wu Qunli[72] 2 September 2002 – 19 December 2002
China Zhou Sui'an[62] 19 December 2002 – 18 February 2003
China Mai Chao[66] 18 February 2003 – 31 October 2005
Croatia Drago Mamić (caretaker)[73] 25 November 2005 – 25 February 2006
China Qi Wusheng[74] 25 February 2006 – 31 December 2006
China Shen Xiangfu[75] 4 January 2007 – 30 November 2009 2007 China League One
China Peng Weiguo (caretaker)[76] 1 December 2009 – 25 March 2010
South Korea Lee Jang-soo[77] 25 March 2010 – 16 May 2012 2010 China League One
2011 Chinese Super League
2012 Chinese FA Super Cup
Italy Marcello Lippi[78] 17 May 2012 – 2 November 2014 2012 Chinese Super League
2012 Chinese FA Cup
2013 Chinese Super League
2013 AFC Champions League
2014 Chinese Super League
Italy Fabio Cannavaro[79] 5 November 2014 – 4 June 2015
Brazil Luiz Felipe Scolari[80] 4 June 2015 – 5 November 2017 2015 Chinese Super League
2015 AFC Champions League
2016 Chinese FA Super Cup
2016 Chinese Super League
2016 Chinese FA Cup
2017 Chinese FA Super Cup
2017 Chinese Super League
Italy Fabio Cannavaro[81] 9 November 2017 – 28 September 2021 2018 Chinese FA Super Cup
2019 Chinese Super League
China Zheng Zhi (caretaker)[82] 7 December 2021 – January 2022
China Liu Zhiyu[83] 4 May 2022 – 14 August 2022
China Zheng Zhi[84] 14 August 2022 – 30 March 2023
China Liu Zhiyu[85] 30 March 2023 – 5 June 2023
Spain Salva Suay[86] 6 June 2023 – present

Honours

All-time honours list, including those achieved during the club's semi-professional period.[87][88]

Domestic

League

Cups

International

Results

All-time league rankings

[89][90]

Year Div Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Pos. FA Cup Super Cup League Cup AFC Other
1955 1 10 3 1 6 12 33 −21 7 8
1956 2 5 4 1 0 13 1 +12 14 1a DNQ
1957 2 5b NH
1958 2 5 4 1 0 13 5 +8 14b 1 NH
1961 1 NH
1962 1 7 1 4 2 4 5 –1 6b 25 NH
1963 1 8 0 3 5 4 14 –10 3b 20 NH
1964 2 7b NH
1965 2 6b NH
1980 3 8 3 4 1 13 4 +9 10b 2 NH
1981 2 30 24 6 48 1 NH
1982 1 30 9 21 23 53 −30 18 15 NH
1983 2 15 11 4 22 2a NH
1984 2 3c 8th
1985 1 15 8 7 +6 17 7 4th DNQ
1986 1 14 6 4 4 14 13 +1 16 7 DNE DNQ
1987 1 14 5 1 8 14 19 −5 16 7 NH DNQ
1988 1 25 10 10 5 32 19 +13 43 7 NH DNQ
1989 1 14 1 5 8 8 22 −14 10 8 NH DNQ
1990 2 22 8 11 3 27 15 +12 35 2 R1 DNQ
1991 1 14 4 7 3 16 13 +3 16 4 RU DNQ
1992 1 14 8 2 4 19 15 +4 18 2 R1 DNQ
1993 1 6b 2 0/3d 1 8 7 +1 4b 8 NH DNQ
1994 1 22 11 5 6 36 27 +9 27 2 NH DNQ
1995 1 22 7 7 8 28 27 +1 28 5 R1 DNQ DNQ
1996 1 22 7 8 7 26 25 +1 29 7 R16 DNQ DNQ
1997 1 22 5 10 7 14 20 −6 25 8 R16 DNQ DNQ
1998 1 26 4 8 14 25 41 −16 20 14 R1 DNQ DNQ
1999 2 22 6 8 8 26 30 −4 26 8 R2 DNQ DNQ
2000 2 22 6 7 9 27 27 0 25 10 R1 DNQ DNQ
2001 2 22 11 7 4 31 16 +15 40 4 R1 DNQ DNQ
2002 2 22 4 9 9 23 30 −7 21 11 R1 DNQ DNQ
2003 2 26 13 9 4 40 20 +20 48 3 R1 DNQ DNQ
2004 2 32 12 16 4 47 29 +18 52 4 R1 NH DNQ DNQ
2005 2 26 15 7 4 50 22 +28 52 4 R2 NH DNQ DNQ
2006 2 24 15 3 6 45 25 +20 48 3 R2 NH NH DNQ
2007 2 24 19 4 1 65 15 +50 61 1 NH NH NH DNQ
2008 1 30 10 10 10 41 42 −1 40 7 NH NH NH DNQ
2009 1 30 9 10 11 38 38 0 37 9e NH NH NH DNQ
2010 2 24 17 6 1 61 21 +40 57 1 NH NH NH DNQ
2011 1 30 20 8 2 67 23 +44 68 1 R2 NH NH DNQ
2012 1 30 17 7 6 51 30 +21 58 1 W W NH QF
2013 1 30 24 5 1 78 18 +60 77 1 RU RU NH W CWC 4th
2014 1 30 22 4 4 76 28 +48 70 1 R4 RU NH QF
2015 1 30 19 10 1 71 28 +43 67 1 R3 RU NH W CWC 4th
2016 1 30 19 7 4 62 19 +43 64 1 W W NH Group
2017 1 30 20 4 6 69 42 +27 64 1 SF W NH QF
2018 1 30 20 3 7 82 36 +46 63 2 R5 W NH R16
2019 1 30 23 3 4 68 24 +44 72 1 QF DNQ NH SF
2020 1 14f 11 1 2 31 12 +19 34f RUg R2 Cancelledh NH Group
2021 1 22 13 5 4 47 17 +30 44 3 R4 NH NH Group
2022 1 34 3 8 23 24 63 –39 17 17 R3 NH NH Group
2023 2 30 8 6 16 31 43 –12 30 12 R3 DNQ NH DNQ
2024 2 30 14 10 6 51 35 +16 52 3 R3 DNQ NH DNQ
Notes

No league games in 1959, 1966–1972, 1975, and 1976; Guangzhou did not enter the league in 1960, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, and 1979.
^a No promotion. ^b In final group stage. ^c In Changsha Group (first round). ^d Drawn matches were decided on penalties after 90 minutes. ^e Relegated for match-fixing scandal.
^f In Group A. ^g Lost in the CSL championship final. ^h Not played due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key

International results

Records and statistics

International players

Names in bold indicate players who had international appearances for their countries while playing for Guangzhou.[91]

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