Guangzhou City F.C.

Not to be confused with Guangzhou F.C..
Guangzhou City
广州城
Full nameGuangzhou City Football Club
广州城足球俱乐部
Nickname(s)The Blue Lions[1]
Short nameGZ City
Founded2011; 13 years ago (2011)
Dissolved29 March 2023; 19 months ago (2023-03-29)
GroundYuexiushan Stadium
Capacity18,000[2]
Guangzhou City F.C.
Traditional Chinese廣州城
Simplified Chinese广州城
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinGuǎngzhōu Chéng
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpinggwong2 zau1 sing4

Guangzhou City Football Club (simplified Chinese: 广州城; traditional Chinese: 廣州城) was a Chinese professional football club which last competed in the Chinese Super League. The team was based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. The club's name between 2011 and 2020 was Guangzhou R&F, which was short for rich (富) and force (力). The club changed its name to Guangzhou City in December 2020.

The club was founded in 2011 in Guangzhou. They played at the 55,000-seat Wulihe Stadium, until they moved to Changsha, Hunan in 2007 to reside at the Helong Stadium. American sportswear and sports equipment company MAZAMBA took over the club in 2010, and relocated the club to Shenzhen, Guangdong in February 2011. Their ownership was brief, and by June 2011 Chinese property developers Guangzhou R&F gained ownership of the club and moved them to Guangzhou. The club had their most successful season in 2014 as they finished third in the league and qualified for the 2015 AFC Champions League.[3] Guangzhou City was dissolved in March 2023.[4][5]

History

History before moving to Guangzhou

The club was founded in 1986 by the local Shenyang government sports body to take part in the Chinese football league system, and was named Shenyang. The team started at the bottom of the league system by playing in the second division. They were promoted to the 1988 Chinese Jia-A League quickly after the league expanded and Liaoning FC was ineligible to field their reserve team in the same division. The club was relegated after only one season.[6] With the following campaigns the club mostly remained within the second tier, except for a short foray in the 1992 Chinese Jia-A League campaign; however, they were again relegated after only one season.

By the 1994 league season, the entire Chinese football league system had become professional. The team were allowed to gather sponsorship and renamed as Shenyang Liuyao, and were allowed to join the top tier due to their 1992 membership.[7] When the club were relegated again at the end of the season, it was renamed Shenyang Huayang and then Shenyang Sealion in 1996. The club again won promotion to the top tier; however, this time they were able to avoid relegation. This was to be the beginning of the club's establishment within the league, though the team benefitted from several seasons where there was no relegation while the league expanded. In 2001, the club was taken over by Ginde Plastic Pipe Industry Group, a subsidiary of the Hongyuan Group and changed its name to Shenyang Ginde. In 2007, the club's homeground Wulihe Stadium was demolished. While the club was expected to move to another stadium within Shenyang, specifically the Shenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium, the deal fell through and the club instead moved to Changsha, Hunan and changed its name to Changsha Ginde.

After Changsha Ginde were relegated to League One at the end of the 2010 season, the club was purchased by Mazamba and moved into the Shenzhen Stadium in the city of Shenzhen, Guangdong in February 2011. To represent this change, the owners changed the club's name to Shenzhen Phoenix, and also changed the home kit from sky blue to green.[8] By May 2011, the club was exposed as having serious financial problems and were struggling to pay their players and their hotel accommodation.[9]

History in Guangzhou

In serious doubt of completing the 2011 season, Shenzhen Phoenix was put up for sale. The club was bought by Chinese property developers Guangzhou R&F who moved the club to the Yuexiushan Stadium in Guangzhou and changed the club's colours back to blue.[10] Under the new ownership results significantly improved and the club gained promotion back into the top tier at the end of the 2011 China League One season. The team finished the league in seventh, and the club's owners decided to commit their long-term future to the club by establishing a football school in Meizhou.[11] The start of the 2013 Chinese Super League season, however, the club struggled in the league and the manager Sérgio Farias was fired. Former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson was appointed to replace him on June 4, 2013, and given a 19-month contract.[12] Eriksson's first full season would see the club finish third, its highest league finish, and qualify for the Asian Champions League for the first time. Moroccan striker Abderazzak Hamdallah was a key player for the team, scoring 22 times in 22 appearances. However, manager Eriksson left at the end of his contract and moved to Shanghai SIPG who had finished fifth that year.[3]

On 2 January 2015, the club announced that Cosmin Contra would be their new manager.[13] Contra coached the club in their maiden appearance in the Asian Champions League, coming through the preliminary stages against Warriors FC and Central Coast Mariners to earn a place in the group stage.[14] However, despite an away victory over Gamba Osaka, Guangzhou R&F were eliminated at the group stage.[15] The club's league form was also poor and Contra was sacked on July 22. Li Bing was installed as caretaker manager.[16] There were more changes as Korean defensive midfielder Park Jong-woo and the injured and unsettled Hamdallah also left the club mid-season. Hamdallah only scored three goals in 2015, making him the club's all-time leading foreign scorer at the time with 25, one ahead of Yakubu. The disruption continued as R&F were forced to play some of their home matches at Guangzhou's University City Stadium whilst Yuexiushan was being refurbished, just as in 2012.[17]

The Dragan Stojković era

Guangzhou R&F announced Dragan Stojković as their new manager on 24 August 2015 and handed the former Yugoslav international a contract until the end of the 2017 season.[18] Stojković preserved R&F's top flight status as they finished 14th out of 16 teams in 2015.[19]

In July 2016, R&F signed Israeli international Eran Zahavi from Maccabi Tel Aviv. Whilst home stadium Yuexiushan was being refurbished, R&F played their opening home games in 2017 at the Guangdong Provincial People's Stadium.[20] Stojković's attacking style of play and Zahavi's goals led R&F to finish fifth in the CSL in 2017. There was double disappointment on the final day of the season however, as the club fell just short of qualifying for the Champions League and Zahavi missed out on breaking the single season CSL scoring record by just one goal. However, his 27 goals earned him the 2017 golden boot.[21] Guangzhou R&F reached the semi-finals of the CFA Cup in 2018, but had a disappointing CSL campaign as they finished 10th.[22]

Guangzhou R&F finished 12th in the CSL in 2019. In attack, Zahavi's 29 goals set a new single season scoring record,[23] but the team had the worst defensive record in the league, conceding 72 goals in 30 games.[24] After spending over four seasons at the club - making him Guangzhou R&F's longest ever serving manager - Stojković left the club in January 2020.[25]

Giovanni van Bronckhorst was announced as Guangzhou R&F's new manager on 4 January 2020.[26] The CSL's format was disrupted because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and van Bronckhorst led the team to an 11th-place finish.[27] After a CFA Cup quarter-final loss on penalties, the club announced on 3 December 2020 that van Bronckhorst had resigned as manager for personal reasons.[28]

In accordance with the new national rules on removing sponsors from club names, the club was renamed Guangzhou City in December 2020.[29]

Name history

  • 1986–1993: Shenyang (沈阳)
  • 1994: Shenyang Liuyao (沈阳东北六药)[7]
  • 1995: Shenyang Huayang (沈阳华阳)
  • 1996–2001: Shenyang Sealion (沈阳海狮)
  • 2001–2006: Shenyang Ginde (沈阳金德)
  • 2007–2010: Changsha Ginde (长沙金德)
  • 2011: Shenzhen Phoenix (深圳凤凰)[8]
  • 2011–2020: Guangzhou R&F (广州富力)[10]
  • 2020–2023: Guangzhou City (广州城)

Rivalries

Main article: Guangzhou Derbies

The club took part in the Liaoning Derby, a regional fixture contested against Dalian Football Club and Liaoning FC while the club was located in Shenyang.[30] The tie against Liaoning FC was the more intimate affair because the clubs shared the Shenyang People's Stadium in the 1994 league season compared to the Dalian fixture, which historically saw few meaningful clashes. At the end of the 2006 league season the club left this derby when they moved out of Shenyang.

When the club moved to, Guangzhou they soon formed a rivalry with Guangzhou Evergrande, which is often referred to as the Canton derby.[31] The first derby was played at Yuexiushan Stadium in a league match on March 16, 2012, and Guangzhou R&F won 2–0 at home against the reigning league champions.[32] The venue was significant because it had been Guangzhou Evergrande's home ground. However, the two club owners, Zhang Li and Xu Jiayin, did not view the derby with hostility and on the return fixture, which R&F won 1–0, they were seen enjoying a meal together instead of watching the game.[33][34]

Managerial history

Main article: List of Guangzhou R&F F.C. managers
As of 7 December 2022[35][36]

Honours

League

Professional club records

For Guangzhou R&F in league football as of the end of the 2018 season

Team records

  • Record home victory: 6–2 v Hangzhou Greentown (2014), 6–2 v Yanbian Funde (2017)[38]
  • Record away victory: 5–1 v Liaoning Whowin FC (2014)
  • Record home defeat: 2–6 v Tianjin Quanjian (2018)
  • Record away defeat: 0–6 v Beijing Guoan (2013)
  • Most cleansheets: 9 (2014)
  • Fewest cleansheets: 5 (2012, 2017, 2018)

Player records

Results

All-time League rankings

As of the end of 2022 season.[42][43]

Year Div Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Pos. FA Cup Super Cup League Cup AFC Att./G Stadium
1986 2 7 4 1 DNQ  –  –
1987 3 7 3 1 2 NH  –  –
1988 1 20 4 7 9 17 17 0 19 17 NH  –  –
1989 2 22 5 12 5 20 18 1 27 9 NH  –  –
1990 2 22 6 10 6 19 16 3 28 7 DNQ  –  –
1991 2 18 8 7 3 23 18 5 19 1 RU QF  –  –
1992 1 14 1 1 12 8 36 −28 3 8 3 R1  –  –
1993 2 5 1 0/1 3 5 9 −4 2 5 1 NH  –  –
1994 1 22 1 9 12 16 39 −23 11 11 NH  –  – 5,591 Shenyang People's Stadium
1995 2 22 6 8 8 22 28 −6 26 8 R1 DNQ  – Shenyang People's Stadium
1996 2 22 6 8 8 24 23 1 26 7 R1 DNQ  – Shenyang People's Stadium
1997 2 22 9 8 5 37 28 9 35 3 R1 DNQ  – Shenyang People's Stadium
1998 1 26 7 10 9 19 28 −9 31 10 R2 DNQ  – 15,077 Shenyang People's Stadium
1999 1 26 5 13 8 28 32 −4 28 11 R1 DNQ  – 11,923 Shenyang People's Stadium
2000 1 26 8 10 8 35 32 3 34 7 QF DNQ  – 35,615 Wulihe Stadium
2001 1 26 2 1 23 23 69 −46 7 14 4 R2 DNQ  – 12,000 Wulihe Stadium
2002 1 28 8 10 10 34 34 0 34 11 R1 DNQ  – 14,500 Wulihe Stadium
2003 1 28 11 10 7 35 31 4 43 5 SF DNQ  – 18,857 Wulihe Stadium
2004 1 22 7 5 10 23 29 −6 26 8 R4 NH R1 5,000 Wulihe Stadium
2005 1 26 4 7 15 19 43 −24 19 13 4 R1 NH R1 2,077 Wulihe Stadium
2006 1 28 6 8 14 22 43 −21 26 13 R2 NH NH 2,750 Wulihe Stadium
2007 1 28 8 10 10 17 24 −7 34 10 NH NH NH 10,571 Helong Stadium
2008 1 30 7 13 10 28 36 −8 34 11 NH NH NH 6,645 Helong Stadium
2009 1 30 6 15 9 23 31 −8 33 14 NH NH NH 8,498 Helong Stadium
2010 1 30 6 12 12 24 42 −18 30 16 NH NH NH 10,152 Helong Stadium
2011 2 26 13 8 5 36 27 9 47 RU R2 NH NH Dongguan Nancheng Stadium
Yuexiushan Stadium
2012 1 30 13 3 14 47 49 −2 42 7 R4 DNQ NH 8,460 Yuexiushan Stadium
Guangzhou HEMC Central Stadium
2013 1 30 11 7 12 45 47 −2 40 6 R4 DNQ NH 10,384 Yuexiushan Stadium
2014 1 30 17 6 7 67 39 28 57 3 R4 DNQ NH 11,487 Yuexiushan Stadium
2015 1 30 8 7 15 35 41 −6 31 14 R4 DNQ NH Group 7,989 Yuexiushan Stadium
Guangzhou HEMC Central Stadium
2016 1 30 11 7 12 47 50 −3 40 6 SF DNQ NH 9,831 Yuexiushan Stadium
2017 1 30 15 7 8 59 46 13 52 5 QF DNQ NH 9,904 Yuexiushan Stadium
Guangdong Provincial People's Stadium
2018 1 30 10 6 14 49 61 −12 36 10 SF DNQ NH 10,321 Yuexiushan Stadium
2019 1 30 9 5 16 54 72 -18 32 12 R4 DNQ NH Yuexiushan Stadium
2020 1 14 4 3 7 14 28 −14 15 11 QF DNQ NH Yuexiushan Stadium
2021 1 22 7 8 7 32 31 1 29 7 R4 DNQ NH Yuexiushan Stadium
2022 1 34 6 5 23 32 62 -30 23 15 R3 DNQ NH Yuexiushan Stadium
  • ^1 in group stage
  • ^2 Liaoning B team promoted to 1 level, but according to CFA rules a club could only enter 1 team in top level so that Senyang replaced Liaoning B's place in 1 level
  • ^3 Joins 1994 Jia-A League as 1992 member
  • ^4 no relegation

Key

International results

Main article: Guangzhou City F.C. in Asian football

Guangzhou City played in the Asian Champions League in 2015. They beat Singaporean side Warriors FC and Australian team Central Coast Mariners in the qualifying rounds but were knocked-out in the group stage.

R&F (Hong Kong)

Main article: R&F (Hong Kong)

In August 2016, it was announced that R&F had entered a satellite team into the Hong Kong Premier League. Players registered for the Chinese Super League are ineligible to play in the Hong Kong Premier League, and vice versa.[44] R&F (Hong Kong) played their home matches at the Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground during the first season. The following year, they were permitted to play their home matches at Yanzigang Stadium in Guangzhou under the condition that all away teams' travelling expenses would be covered by R&F.[45]

Past and present internationals

This list contains the present and former international football players playing for Guangzhou City.[46]

References

  1. ^ Murphy, Ronan. "Is this the weirdest Chinese Super League transfer yet?". goal.com. Archived from the original on 5 January 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  2. ^ www.TheFootballStadiums.com, Jiri Vojkovsky. "Yuexiushan Stadium – stadion – The Football Stadiums.com – Database of football stadiums". www.thefootballstadiums.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Summary – CSL – China PR – Results, fixtures, tables and news – Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-29. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  4. ^ "2023职业联赛准入名单：广州城、昆山、陕西未在列" (in Chinese). Dongqiudi. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  5. ^ "官方：广州城即日起暂停运营" (in Chinese). Dongqiudi. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  6. ^ China League History Archived 2014-06-07 at the Wayback Machine at rsssf.com. 22 Oct 2009. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  7. ^ a b China League 1994 Archived 2014-07-27 at the Wayback Machine at rsssf.com. 19 June 2003. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  8. ^ a b 长沙金德将更名落户深圳 将加紧确定主帅内外援 Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine at sports.sohu.com. 2011-02-27. Retrieved 2013-06-04. (in Chinese)
  9. ^ 中甲深圳队穷困请球员家属结房费 难以维持或退赛 Archived 2011-05-26 at the Wayback Machine at sports.sina.com.cn. 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2013-06-04. (in Chinese)
  10. ^ a b 富力地产低调接手深圳凤凰 望学恒大模式入主足球 Archived 2012-10-15 at the Wayback Machine at sports.sina.com.cn. 2011-06-25. Retrieved 2013-06-04. (in Chinese)
  11. ^ Guangzhou R&F and Chelsea FC open football school Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine at wildeastfootball.net. May 16, 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  12. ^ Sven Goran Eriksson takes charge of Guangzhou R&F Archived 2013-11-01 at the Wayback Machine at thesackrace.com. 4th-june-2013. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  13. ^ "富力宣布孔特拉下周一正式接手 刘殿座确定加盟". 广州日报. 网易新闻. 4 January 2015. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015.
  14. ^ "Central Coast fail to qualify for Asian Champions League after playoff defeat". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 2015-02-17. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  15. ^ "Guangzhou R&F stun Gamba Osaka in Asian Champions League opener". ESPNFC.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  16. ^ "通 告-公告". gzrffc.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  17. ^ "Guangzhou R&F 2013 Season Review: Work in progress : Wild East Football". wildeastfootball.net. Archived from the original on 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
  18. ^ "关于聘请德拉甘·斯托伊科维奇担任广州富力足球俱乐部主教练的公告-公告". gzrffc.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  19. ^ "2015 CSL – Summary". soccerway.com. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  20. ^ "From the Qing dynasty, to collapsing roofs and the CSL: a history of Guangzhou R&F's temporary home – Wild East Football". wildeastfootball.net. Archived from the original on 2017-05-21. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  21. ^ "扎球王27球斩金靴有遗憾 离埃神纪录就差1个单刀". sports.sina.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  22. ^ "CSL 2018 Summary". Retrieved 2018-12-16.
  23. ^ a b staff, T. O. I. "Israel's Zahavi sets single season scoring record for Chinese soccer". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  24. ^ Ross, Donald (2020-01-04). "Stojković departs, van Bronckhorst arrives at Guangzhou R&F". Wild East Football. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  25. ^ "Stojkovic leaves Guangzhou by mutual consent". Reuters. 2020-01-03. Archived from the original on January 4, 2020. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  26. ^ "Van Bronckhorst appointed Guangzhou R&F head coach". xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  27. ^ "中超-陈志钊替补救主 富力总分4-3逆转大连获第11". Sina (in Chinese). Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  28. ^ "广州富力官宣范帅离任 工作出色带队完成新老交替". Sina (in Chinese). Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  29. ^ "China's Guangzhou Evergrande changes name to 'Guangzhou football club'". chinadailyhk.com. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2023. Last month, Guangzhou R&F changed its name to "Guangzhou City".
  30. ^ "A Guide to Football in Shenyang". wildeastfootball.net. 2011-06-15. Archived from the original on 2015-09-12. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  31. ^ "Yuexiushan News: Canton Derby". wildeastfootball.net. 2014-09-26. Archived from the original on 2015-09-09. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  32. ^ "张烁张远联袂发威 富力再爆冷2–0恒大". sports.sohu.com. 2012-03-16. Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  33. ^ "Drunken Club Owners Miss Guangzhou Derby". wildeastfootball.net. 2012-07-21. Archived from the original on 2015-09-26. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  34. ^ "Yak Attack Nicks Guangzhou Derby for R&F : Wild East Football". wildeastfootball.net. Archived from the original on 2016-02-21. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  35. ^ "Guangzhou R&F " Manager history". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 2015-01-10. Retrieved 2015-01-09.
  36. ^ "Guangzhou R&F Football Club". footballzz.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-05-19. Retrieved 2015-01-09.
  37. ^ "CHINA LEAGUE ONE – 2011". uk.soccerway.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-25. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  38. ^ "Chinese Super League (Sky Sports)". SkySports. Retrieved 2018-12-23.
  39. ^ "富力20岁小将:进球因运气好 愿不靠新政也可踢比赛". Net Ease Sports. Retrieved 2018-12-16.
  40. ^ "实录-朴钟佑世界波阿隆首球 富力客场5–1灭辽足". Net Ease Sports. 2014-07-31. Retrieved 2018-12-16.
  41. ^ Ross, Donald (2014-03-31). "Guangzhou R&F Swamp Hangzhou Greentown". Wild East Football. Retrieved 2018-12-23.
  42. ^ "China League History". RSSSF. 22 Oct 2009. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  43. ^ "广州富力". sodasoccer.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  44. ^ "港超我们来啦！教师节将迎首秀-赛事新闻". www.gzrffc.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
  45. ^ "R&F富力擬主場賽事內地上演 港超球會提出答允條件". Upower. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2017. (in Chinese)
  46. ^ "Guangzhou R&F". national-football-teams.com.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Guangzhou R&F.