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| Full name | Guangzhou City Football Club 广州城足球俱乐部 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Blue Lions[1] | ||
| Short name | GZ City | ||
| Founded | 2011; 14 years ago (2011) | ||
| Dissolved | 29 March 2023; 2 years ago (2023-03-29) | ||
| Ground | Yuexiushan Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 18,000[2] | ||
| Guangzhou City F.C. | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 廣州城 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 广州城 | ||||||||||
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Guangzhou City Football Club (simplified Chinese:广州城;traditional Chinese:廣州城) was a Chinese professionalfootball club which last competed in theChinese Super League. The team was based inGuangzhou,Guangdong. The club's name between 2011 and 2020 wasGuangzhou R&F, which was short forrich (富) andforce (力). The club changed its name to Guangzhou City in December 2020.
The club was founded in 2011 inGuangzhou. They played at the 55,000-seatWulihe Stadium, until they moved toChangsha,Hunan in 2007 to reside at theHelong Stadium. American sportswear and sports equipment company MAZAMBA took over the club in 2010, and relocated the club toShenzhen, Guangdong in February 2011. Their ownership was brief, and by June 2011 Chinese property developersGuangzhou 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 the2015 AFC Champions League.[3] Guangzhou City was dissolved in March 2023.[4][5]
The club was founded in 1986 by the localShenyang government sports body to take part in theChinese 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 the1988 Chinese Jia-A League quickly after the league expanded andLiaoning 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 the1992 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 homegroundWulihe Stadium was demolished. While the club was expected to move to another stadium within Shenyang, specifically theShenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium, the deal fell through and the club instead moved toChangsha,Hunan and changed its name to Changsha Ginde.
After Changsha Ginde were relegated toLeague One at the end of the 2010 season, the club was purchased by Mazamba and moved into theShenzhen Stadium in the city ofShenzhen,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]
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 theYuexiushan Stadium inGuangzhou 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 the2011 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 inMeizhou.[11] The start of the2013 Chinese Super League season, however, the club struggled in the league and the managerSérgio Farias was fired. Former England managerSven-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 theAsian Champions League for the first time. Moroccan strikerAbderazzak 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 toShanghai SIPG who had finished fifth that year.[3]
On 2 January 2015, the club announced thatCosmin 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 againstWarriors FC andCentral 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 midfielderPark 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 ofYakubu. The disruption continued as R&F were forced to play some of their home matches at Guangzhou'sUniversity City Stadium whilst Yuexiushan was being refurbished, just as in 2012.[17]
Guangzhou R&F announcedDragan 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 in2015.[19]
In July 2016, R&F signed Israeli internationalEran Zahavi fromMaccabi Tel Aviv. Whilst home stadium Yuexiushan was being refurbished, R&F played their opening home games in 2017 at theGuangdong 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 in2019. 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 theCOVID-19 pandemic, and van Bronckhorst led the team to an 11th-place finish.[27] After a CFA Cup quarter-final loss onpenalties, 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]
The club took part in the Liaoning Derby, a regional fixture contested againstDalian Football Club andLiaoning 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 the1994 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 withGuangzhou Evergrande, which is often referred to as the Canton derby.[31] The first derby was played atYuexiushan 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 andXu 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]
Serhiy Morozov (1994)
Zhang Zengqun (1995)Li Yingfa (1996)Li Qiang (1996–98)
Ademar Braga (1999)Li Qiang (1999)
Valery Nepomnyashchy (2000)
Henryk Kasperczak (2000–01)
Alain Laurier (2001)
Toni (July 1, 2002 – Dec 31, 2002)
Dragoslav Stepanović (June 26, 2003 – Dec 31, 2003)
Bob Houghton (Nov 25, 2005 – June 9, 2006)
Martin Koopman (2006)
Milan Živadinović (2007)Slobodan Santrač (Jan 1, 2008 – June 30, 2008)Zhu Bo (July 21, 2008 – Oct 12, 2009)Hao Wei (Oct 12, 2009 – June 21, 2010)Miodrag Ješić (June 21, 2010 – 2010)Li Shubin (Feb 27, 2011 – Nov 22, 2011)Sérgio Farias (Nov 22, 2011 – May 18, 2013)Li Bing(Caretaker) (May 19, 2013 – June 3, 2013)
Sven-Göran Eriksson (June 4, 2013 – November 10, 2014)
Cosmin Contra (Jan 4, 2015 – July 22, 2015)Li Bing(Caretaker) (July 22, 2015 – Aug 24, 2015)Dragan Stojković a.k.a. Piksi (Aug 24, 2015 – Jan 3, 2020)Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Jan 4, 2020 – Dec 3, 2020)Jean-Paul van Gastel (Jan 31, 2021 – July 24, 2022)Zhao Junzhe(Caretaker) (July 24, 2022 – Aug 29, 2022)Li Weifeng (Aug 29, 2022 – Mar 29, 2023)For Guangzhou R&F in league football as of the end of the 2018 season
As of the end of 2022 season.[41][42]
| 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 | 3 1 2 | NH | |||||||||||||
| 1988 | 1 | 20 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 19 | 17 | ||||||
| 1989 | 2 | 22 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 20 | 18 | 1 | 27 | 9 | ||||||
| 1990 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 19 | 16 | 3 | 28 | 7 | DNQ | |||||||
| 1991 | 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 | 5,591 | Shenyang People's Stadium | ||||
| 1995 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 22 | 28 | −6 | 26 | 8 | R1 | DNQ | |||||
| 1996 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 24 | 23 | 1 | 26 | 7 | ||||||||
| 1997 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 37 | 28 | 9 | 35 | 3 | ||||||||
| 1998 | 1 | 26 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 28 | −9 | 31 | 10 | R2 | 15,077 | ||||
| 1999 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 28 | 32 | −4 | 28 | 11 | R1 | 11,923 | ||||||
| 2000 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 35 | 32 | 3 | 34 | 7 | QF | 35,615 | Wulihe Stadium | |||||
| 2001 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 23 | 69 | −46 | 7 | 14 4 | R2 | 12,000 | ||||||
| 2002 | 28 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 34 | 11 | R1 | 14,500 | |||||
| 2003 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 35 | 31 | 4 | 43 | 5 | SF | 18,857 | ||||||
| 2004 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 29 | −6 | 26 | 8 | R4 | NH | R1 | 5,000 | |||
| 2005 | 26 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 19 | 43 | −24 | 19 | 13 4 | R1 | R1 | 2,077 | ||||
| 2006 | 28 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 43 | −21 | 26 | 13 | R2 | NH | 2,750 | ||||
| 2007 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 17 | 24 | −7 | 34 | 10 | NH | 10,571 | Helong Stadium | |||||
| 2008 | 30 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 28 | 36 | −8 | 34 | 11 | 6,645 | ||||||
| 2009 | 6 | 15 | 9 | 23 | 31 | −8 | 33 | 14 | 8,498 | |||||||
| 2010 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 42 | −18 | 30 | 16 | 10,152 | |||||||
| 2011 | 2 | 26 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 36 | 27 | 9 | 47 | RU | R2 | Dongguan Nancheng Stadium Yuexiushan Stadium | ||||
| 2012 | 1 | 30 | 13 | 3 | 14 | 47 | 49 | −2 | 42 | 7 | R4 | DNQ | 8,460 | Yuexiushan Stadium Guangzhou HEMC Central Stadium | ||
| 2013 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 45 | 47 | −2 | 40 | 6 | 10,384 | Yuexiushan Stadium | ||||||
| 2014 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 67 | 39 | 28 | 57 | 3 | 11,487 | |||||||
| 2015 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 35 | 41 | −6 | 31 | 14 | Group | 7,989 | Yuexiushan Stadium Guangzhou HEMC Central Stadium | |||||
| 2016 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 47 | 50 | −3 | 40 | 6 | SF | 9,831 | Yuexiushan Stadium | |||||
| 2017 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 59 | 46 | 13 | 52 | 5 | QF | 9,904 | Yuexiushan Stadium Guangdong Provincial People's Stadium | |||||
| 2018 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 49 | 61 | −12 | 36 | 10 | SF | 10,321 | Yuexiushan Stadium | |||||
| 2019 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 54 | 72 | -18 | 32 | 12 | R4 | |||||||
| 2020 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 28 | −14 | 15 | 11 | QF | ||||||
| 2021 | 22 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 32 | 31 | 1 | 29 | 7 | R4 | ||||||
| 2022 | 34 | 6 | 5 | 23 | 32 | 62 | -30 | 23 | 15 | R3 |
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Guangzhou City played in the Asian Champions League in 2015. They beat Singaporean sideWarriors FC and Australian teamCentral Coast Mariners in the qualifying rounds but were knocked-out in the group stage.
In August 2016, it was announced that R&F had entered a satellite team into theHong Kong Premier League. Players registered for the Chinese Super League are ineligible to play in the Hong Kong Premier League, and vice versa.[43]R&F (Hong Kong) played their home matches at theSiu Sai Wan Sports Ground during the first season. The following year, they were permitted to play their home matches atYanzigang Stadium in Guangzhou under the condition that all away teams' travelling expenses would be covered by R&F.[44]
This list contains the present and former international football players playing for Guangzhou City.[45]
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Last month, Guangzhou R&F changed its name to "Guangzhou City".
