LEAGUE ONE SEASON REVIEW – PART 1: THE TOP SIX INCLUDING NEXT YEAR’S CSL SIDES YANBIAN AND HEBEI
It’s been over a month now since the League One season came to its conclusion and it’s time forWEF to take a look back at how each team did in our 2015 season review. In the first part, we look back at the top six sides including the incredible story of Yanbian Changbaishan’s resurrection and the narrow promotion of big spending Hebei CFFC. Dalian Aerbin, Beijing BG, Harbin Yiteng and Hohhot Zhongyou are also included. Thank you to Adam Riddler for providing the section on Harbin Yiteng and check back next week for part 2.
Yanbian Changbaishan 2015 position -1st 2014 position – 16th WEF pre-season prediction – 14th
Overview
There are not enough superlatives to describe Yanbian’s 2015 promotion season. When South Korean Park Tae-ha was appointed head coach in December of last year he expected to be challenging for promotion, but it was meant to be an immediate return to League One that the rookie boss was fighting for.
Yanbian manager Park Tae-ha
After a 2014 season which saw the Yanji side relegated with just 18 points from 30 games, they were handed a January reprieve when they were reinstated to League One after Shaanxi Wuzhou failed to register for the season. With everybody expecting the team to be struggling near the bottom of the table, they stunned everybody by going unbeaten in their first 21 games of the season and topping the division from round 12 onwards.
If that wasn’t remarkable enough, they did so while playing the most entertaining football in the division and in front of a rabid home crowd that averaged a league high of over 24,000. There is a lot of cynicism surrounding Chinese football, but Yanbian’s incredible 2015 is a reminder of just how beautiful the game can be.
Defining Game
There are so many to choose from here. Back-to-back wins over Dalian Aerbin and Beijing BG in late May/early June proved that Yanbian had to be taken seriously, while a 3-0 win over Hebei CFFC in round 17 was mighty impressive.
There were also back-to-back hammerings of Beijing Institute of Technology and Xinjiang by the respective scorelines of 4-0 and 6-1, with the former match featuring a tremendous 34-pass goal which demonstrates what this team is capable of. However, Yanbian’s season truly reached its zenith when they demolished promotion rivals Beijing BG 5-0 in round 27.
Coming into the home game, Yanbian had won just two of their last five and looked in danger of succumbing to a capitulation that had been anticipated all year. After being bested for much of the first half, Ha Tae-goon gave Yanbian the lead just before the interval. That proved a suitable platform for the hosts to rip apart their opponents in the second period with Ha going on to complete his hat-trick and Steve adding two more (including an outrageous 18-yard rabona).
Player of the Season
Ha Tae-goon celebrates another goal with Steve in the background
All of Yanbian’s foreign trio of Ha Tae-goon, Steve and Jailton Paraiba could have walked into any League One line-up this season based on their form. The 52 goals they bagged between them was more than the combined total of all but one of the division’s sides and only one behind second placed Hebei’s total haul.
Jailton Paraiba was responsible for nine of them, but also had 10 assists to his name, while Steve grabbed seventeen of his own despite missing four mid-season games through suspension. However, Ha Tae-goon‘s league leading 26 goal haul is impossible to overlook and makes him the player of the year. Very honourable mentions go to the centre back pairing of team captain Cui Min and Zhao Ming who took care of things at their end of the field with confidence and composure.
Looking Ahead
There are plenty of people expecting Yanbian to struggle in their first top flight season since 2000 and it’s easy to see why. Only five of their regular starting line-up this season is different from the squad that was relegated to the third tier just one year ago and the amount of investment enjoyed by the club pales in comparison to any other CSL clubs.
However, a look at some of their performances against League One’s wealthier clubs this season proves that the team is not easily overawed and can take it to squads that are considered stronger than their’s on paper. It’s also worth noting that their will be off season investment from the Shenzhen based Funde Life Insurance Group, although it will likely be far less than that enjoyed by fellow promoted side Hebei CFFC.
Park Tae-ha has done a remarkable job organising the players into a high-pressing and quick counter-attacking side and the players looked among the fittest in all of China this season, not just the second tier. That being said, the squad certainly needs strengthening, particularly in the central midfield and full back positions.
Ha Tae-goon will be back after signing a two year contract mid-season, and it also looks likely that Jailton Paraiba will return in 2016. The fate of Steve remains uncertain, as he was on a one year loan from Hangzhou Greentown but, either way, Yanbian will have at least two foreign player slots to fill. The key this winter is going to be bolstering the squad without upsetting the system and work ethic which Park has installed.
Hebei CFFC 2015 position -2nd 2014 position – 14th WEF pre-season prediction – 6th
Overview
After finishing one place above the relegation zone in 2014, Hebei Zhongji were bought by wealthy real estate company China Fortune Land and enjoyed heavy preseason investment. Former Barcelona, Real Madrid and Shandong Luneng head coach Radomir Antic was placed in charge and big name domestic and foreign players were introduced in the shape of Miroslav Radovic, Nenad Milijas and former international centre back Du Wei.
Hebei manager Li Tie celebrates promotion with his players
The club also moved from Shijiazhuang to the port city of Qinhuangdao and they were immediately placed among the promotion favourites for the 2015 season. However, Radovic picked up a serious injury early in the season andAntic only lasted 22 games before being let go with the club in fifth in the table.
The veteran Serb manager was replaced by China national team assistant manager Li Tie and the team picked up 22 points from their last eight games as they pipped Dalian Aerbin for promotion with a home win over Shenzhen FC on the final day of the season. An Aerbin supporters group may have alleged foul play surrounding Hebei’s opponents during that run-in, but nothing has been proven and Hebei are set to start 2016 in the Super League just two seasons after winning promotion from League Two.
Defining Game
Hebei won their last seven on the bounce, but they really announced themselves as serious promotion contenders when they grabbed a 2-0 win over Dalian at the beginning of May. Two goals from Milijas were enough to hand Dalian their first defeat of the season and announced that Hebei were to be taken seriously after a slow start to the season. Significantly, though, the result proved pivotal in the end of season shake-up as the Qinhuangdao club finished two points clear of their opponents that day.
Player of the Season
Nenad Milijas (on knees) was instrumental for Hebei this season
12 goals in 15 games suggests that the big money summer signing of Edu to replace the crocked Radovic was vital for Hebei’s late promotion run, but the Brazilian forward only played half the season. Over the course of the entire year, it’s hard to look beyond creative midfielder Nenad Milijaswhen deciding on Hebei’s player of the year.
The 32-year-old former Wolverhampton Wanderers player went missing in some games, but he contributed 13 goals and seven assists throughout the season to guide his side into the top two. On the domestic side, Du Wei received plaudits for his calming presence at centre back, but was prone to the occasional error. It’s also worth noting that under-23 international midfielder Luo Senwen, on loan from Shandong Luneng, looked a cut above the vast majority of his second tier peers.
Looking Ahead
We can expect another summer of massive investment as Hebei look to consolidate during their first ever season in the top flight. Wealthy real estate backers and the presence of former Guangzhou Evergrande assistant manager Li Tie have sparked inevitable comparisons with the five-time Super League champions in the Chinese media, but there’s little chance that Hebei are going to challenge the division’s top sides in their first year.
China Fortune Land will no doubt splash the cash, but their domestic playing staff is currently among the weakest in the top flight and they can only add five names to it. With players apparently reluctant to move to the relative outpost of Qinhuangdao, the owners may struggle to establish the kind of squad which matches their vision.
Dalian Aerbin 2015 position -3rd 2014 position – 15th (CSL) WEF pre-season prediction – 1st
Overview
Having been narrowly relegated from the Super League the year before, Dalian were justifiably considered among the favourites for promotion prior to this season, but they fell short thanks to a mid-season slump which saw them pick up five points from eight games. Aerbin were still top when they lost to Yanbian Changbaishan in round 11, but by the end of a 0-0 draw with Wuhan Zall in round 18, they were down in sixth and looked to be out of the promotion race.
Dalian players after their disappointing end to the season
They then won nine and drew three of their remaining twelve games, but it wasn’t quite enough as Hebei CFFC finished two points above them to deny them a place in 2016’s Super League. It’s hard to deny that one of the key factors in Dalian’s turnaround was the mid-season investment of the Yifang group who are linked with the city’s successful footballing pastthanks to their connections with Wang Jianlin and the Wanda Group.
The investment came too late for the transfer window, but it prompted dramatically increased win bonuses for the players and swelled the crowd from fewer than 6,000 before to a maximum of 42,591 for a crunch game against Yanbian in round 26. That game ended in a draw and a controversial tie in Harbin the following weekend gave Hebei the initiative which they did not relinquish.
Defining Game
A 4-0 spanking of Xinjiang on the opening day of the season showed that Aerbin meant business, but they couldn’t remain that dominant throughout the year. As we’ve already seen, matches against Yanbian have proved vital for Dalian this year and that 2-0 defeat in Yanji back in May was significant in derailing Dalian’s season.
Not only did it trigger a dreadful run of form, it tipped the division’s balance in favour of the eventual champions. Despite Yifang’s millions, the marker had been set and Dalian’s seemingly easy route to the top flight had been well and truly scuppered.
Player of the Season
Nicklas Backman (3) and Bruno Meneghel (11) both had good years on the northeast coast
One player who was absent from that loss in Yanbian was Bruno Meneghel who proved to be an irreplaceable part of Dalian’s attack. The Brazilian attacker bagged 19 goals and 8 assists during the season which accounted for almost 60% of the northeastern club’s attacking output.
Elsewhere, Swedish centre back Nicklas Backman is worth a mention as he performed excellently after struggling a little in the Super League the year before, and was a key part of the division’s stingiest defense. It’s also worth noting that goalkeeper Zhang Chong’s went on League One record breaking run of 791 minutes without conceding a goal.
Looking Ahead
2016 will be all about promotion as the Yifang Group look to continue their quest to resurrect Dalian football. The rumours are that Backman will be returning to Sweden and centre forward Mathias Ranegie’s loan spell from Premier League Watford is over and unlikely to be extended.
Backman’s loss will be a blow, but it means there is room to bring in new blood. Should the club maintain the services of Meneghel, they will need to bring in more effective attacking players to support him as he can’t do it all on his own.
Dalian will be one of the biggest spending League One clubs of the summer, but the list of players they’ve lost over the last couple of years is quite remarkable. The question is, can the newly christened Dalian Yifang do enough to attract players back to this once powerful footballing city.
Beijing BG 2015 position -4th 2014 position – 4th WEF pre-season prediction – 2nd
Overview
Beijing BG couldn’t consistently win like this in 2015
Despite a lot of investment over the winter from the Beijing Enterprises Group, BG were unable to improve on the fourth place finish they managed in 2014 while they were still the unfashionable Baxy. A string of new editions looked to have strengthened the side enough to push them into the top two, but former Beijing Guo’an manager Aleksander Stanojevic was unable to get the side clicking for any consistent run of games.
While remaining on the fringes of the promotion race throughout the year, BG were never able to put the kind of string of results together that Yanbian Changbaishan, Hebei CFFC and Dalian Aerbin did to propel themselves up the table. A run to the CFA Cup semi-finals, which included a famous fourth round victory over Guo’an, added some gloss to the season, although, a decisive 6-2 aggregate defeat at the hands of Shanghai Shenhua demonstrates that BG still have a lot of work to do before reaching the level of a Super League club.
Defining Game
BG’s season is can be characterised by inconsistency and struggles against weaker teams, with five of their eight league losses in 2015 coming against sides that finished outside of the top six. The most shocking of those came in round 25 when BG were still very much in the thick of the promotion raceand travelled to face a Shenzhen FC side who had won just once in their last sixteen games.
BG wasted a string of early chances and were punished when their opponents went on to claim a stunning 3-0 victory. The 5-0 pasting in Yanbian two weeks later may have been more spectacular, but this result summarised BG’s ability to shoot themselves in the foot by throwing away games they were expected to win.
Player of the Season
Yan Xiangchuang performed well in his first season back in Beijing
Carmelo Valencia may have finished as the club’s top scorer with fourteen league goals, but the amount of chances the Colombian striker squandered proved costly throughout the season. Meanwhile, Serbian attacker Danko Lazovic chipped in with thirteen strikes of his own and created many of Valencia’s opportunities, but never quite controlled games as much as you would expect a 32-year-old who has Feyenord, PSV Eindhoven, Zenit St Petersburg and the Serbian national team on his CV.
Therefore, Yan Xiangchuang, who bagged six strikes of his own from the wing this season is the selection for player of the year. The former Guo’an and Harbin Yiteng player may not performed to high standards in every game, but he is undoubtedly one of the most talented domestic players in the division and wil be a key part of next season’s promotion push.
Looking Ahead
When the Beijing Enterprises Group took over in the winter, their stated goal was to make it to the Super League within two years. That means the pressure will really be on this season and we can expect the team to strengthen accordingly. It remains to be seen who the cub brings in, but a new goalkeeper wouldn’t go amiss, and it would be no great surprise to see Valencia replaced by a more clinical striker.
Harbin Yiteng 2015 position -5th 2014 position – 16th (CSL) WEF pre-season prediction – 3rd
Overview
Heartbroken: Harbin’s season ended with fan demonstrations and it looks like the club will play elsewhere in 2016
Yiteng’s season has been a mixed bag this year, an encouraging start raised hopes of a return to the top-flight but the season fizzled out into mediocrity, a fifth place finish and, ultimately, with the club’s owners looking to leave Harbin. The main culprit of the unsuccessful promotion bid would be the amount of draws racked up during the season, with just under half the games yielding only one point. The well-reported off field circus that resulted from allegations of match-fixing in a 2-2 draw with Dalian Aerbinwas a disappointing way to finish the year, and Yiteng look set to leave the north-east within the next few weeks.
Defining Game
The two games against north-eastern promotion rivals Dalian Aerbin sum up Harbin’s season pretty well. Both ended in 2-2 draws, reflecting a trend throughout Yiteng’s season. The second game, played at home, will be looked back upon as the beginning of the end for the club. Fans went into the game looking for a win to keep their team in the promotion race, only to leave disappointed and heartbroken at what they believed was a ‘bought-match’.
Player of the Year
Bu Xin provided a rare ray of light in an otherwise disappointing year for Harbin
Although nobody particularly stood out this season, a mention should be given to winger Bu Xin. His six goals may not be a significant contribution (although it does make him the second highest scorer in a goal-shy team), but his pace and constant attacking threat on the wing has been a ray of light in the midst of some of Yiteng’s more disappointing performances. Honorable mention to Colombian strikers Ricardo Steel and summer signing Juan Nunez who were fairly solid and grabbed some important goals throughout the season.
Looking Ahead
Yiteng’s future looks set to be played out in front of a new set of fans in a new city. The fallout from the match-fixing scandal was too damaging and the club have decided to find a new home. Chengdu seems to be the likely destination, with the club submitting an application to the Sichuan Football Association. In terms of recruitment, Yiteng will need to find goals from somewhere. The top two scorers this season only bagged 13 goals between them, and Ricardo Steel, who finished as top scorer with seven strikes, has already left the club.
Hohhot Zhongyou 2015 position -6th 2014 position – 2nd (L2) WEF pre-season prediction – 12th
Overview
Dori celebrates a winning goal against Dalian Aerbin in a season that Hohhot can be proud of
Overall, a fantastic season for Hohhot who secured a top six finish in their first ever season in the second tier. The club, who moved from Taiyuan after finishing runners-up in League Two last season, even looked to be in contention for back-to-back promotions before going winless in their final seven games of the year.
Still, with impressive attendances peaking at over 38,000, Wang Bo’s men have nothing to be ashamed of in a season where they surely would have gotten more publicity had it not been for the achievements Yanbian Changbaishan.
Defining Game
Indeed, it was Yanbian who triggered Zhongyou’s poor end of season streak when they travelled to Hohhot and defeated the Inner Mongolians with a stoppage time winner in front of 38,479 fans. The hosts had been 2-0 down within twenty minutes, but had fought back to level things when William Paulista struck his second of the game in the 84th minute.
However, Hohhot finally succumbed to a stoppage time header from Jailton Paraiba that effectively knocked them out of the promotion race. It seems a little unfair to define such a relatively successful season with a defeat, but the fight Zhongyou displayed in this game demonstrates why they were able to finish sixth, while also highlighting that they ultimately just lacked the quality to ascend any higher.
Player of the Season
Jonas Salley provided Hohhot with plenty of experience and steel
Jonas Salley provided Hohhot with plenty of experience and steel
One of the reasons Hohhot’s ascent up the table was such a surprise, is that the backbone of their squad was largely made up of rejects from now relegated Super League side Guizhou Renhe. However, while most of those players were unheard of journeymen domestic players, one of them was fiery Australian Jonas Salley.
The 33-year-old veteran was immediately made captain and his experience while playing at either centre back or as a holding midfielder was vital in anchoring an otherwise inexperienced squad. Elsewhere, Brazilian forwards William Paulista and Dori both managed 10 goals a piece, but neither was able to do it consistently. Once promising young prospect Wang Yunlong managed five goals and five assists in the first ten games before injury derailed his season, while current promising young prospect Guo Sheng showed great potential in a season long loan from Renhe.
Looking Ahead
If this team is to take the next step, they need to strengthen over the winter and there are already signs they are looking to do so. The signing of veteran centre back Cao Huan from Hunan Billows has apparently already been made and there are rumours linking the club to former international midfielder Yang Hao who has just been released by Jiangsu Sainty.
Early indications are that Salley and Dori will return next season, while William Paulista will not be back according to reports from inside the club. Whatever happens, an active winter break will be key to this over-achieving team maintaining and building upon this season’s success.
LEAGUE ONE SEASON REVIEW – PART 2: FIVE MID-TABLE SIDES HEADING IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS
After looking at the division’s top six last weekend, WEF’s 2015 League One review continues by analysing the seasons of the five clubs who finished in mid-table. Like last time, we will give an overview of the season before looking at a defining game, the club’s player of the season and discussing what to expect this winter. Qingdao Jonoon, Xinjiang, Tianjin Songjiang, Wuhan Zall and Qingdao Hainiu may have finished close to each other in the table, but they each had unique seasons and seem to be heading off on very different trajectories.
Qingdao Jonoon 2015 position -7th 2014 position – 5th WEF pre-season prediction – 8th
Overview
Well and truly a season of two halves for Jonoon who found themselves in second place as late as round 18, only to plummet down the table by losing eight of their last twelve matches. That spectacular fall from grace pretty much coincided with the removal of Tomaz Kavcic from the head coaching role and his replacement by 33-year-old rookie coach Dragan Stancic.
Needless to say, the change didn’t work and Jonoon’s hopes of getting back into the Super League at the second time of asking had all but evaporated by mid-August. The club had less off-field problemsthan they did in 2014, but they are in serious decline on the pitch.
Defining Game
There was a big turnout of Jonoon fans to watch the round 2 derby win over Hainiu
Jonoon’s round 20 away encounter with Dalian Aerbin came one week after a surprise 2-0 defeat to Tianjin Songjiang which had knocked them out of the promotion places. Meanwhile, Dalian had just ended a five game winless run the weekend before but remained in sixth, three places below Jonoon.
Jonoon looked to be on course for a hard earned point when Aerbin struck twice in the last 14 minutes to secure a 2-0 victory. The result kick started Dalian’s ultimately unsuccessful promotion push and sent Jonoon into free fall. They were hammered 3-0 at home by Beijing BG the following week and never recovered momentum.
Honourable mentions for their 2-0 win in the Qingdao derby against Hainiu, which attracted over 20,000 fans in round 2, and the humiliating 5-1 home defeat by unfancied Guizhou Zhicheng that came whille Jonoon still looked like serious promotion contenders.
Player of the Season
Slim pickings in this regard. Foreign attackers Deivdy Reiss and Ismael ‘Beko’ Fofana managed just eleven goals between them and midfielders Jorge Claros and Rogerinho both failed to impress in the first and second halves of the season, respectively.
Zhu Jianrong (7) hugs Ismael Beko Fofana while things were still going well for the club
So, in order to reflect Jonoon’s schizophrenic year, let’s make Zhu Jianrong their player of the season. The 24-year-old centre forward and winger produced a far from earth shattering four goals and two assists across the first fourteen games of the season before his form dipped. Interestingly, he was dropped as a regular in the starting line-up following round 18 which is exactly when Jonoon’s disastrous run began. Coincidence? Probably, but this illustrates how little Jonoon’s players have done to stand out this season.
The only other worth a mention for a memorable performance is former international centre back Zhao Peng who arrived from Super League powerhouses Guangzhou Evergrande prior to the season. On his round 1 debut, the 32-year-old scored an own goal and played an errant back pass which led to his side conceding another in a 4-1 loss to Harbin. He was substituted at half-time and never played again. The veteran has already been released this off-season, bringing to an end what must be the most disastrous playing stint of the League One season.
Looking Ahead
The wheels of change are already in motion thanks to the appointment of Su Maozhen as the club’s new head coach. The 44-year-old local boy made his name as a prolific striker with provincial rivals Shandong Luneng and as Chinese national team’s second highest ever goal scorer.
As a head coach, he cut his teeth at fellow Qingdao club Hainiu, who he guided to promotion from League Two in 2013 before quitting last season following a 6-1 defeat to Hebei CFFC (for more on that, see the Hainiu review below). Su is a popular local figure and did a good job with Hainiu, but he faces a tough task in restoring Jonoon’s top flight status.
Although Jonoon did enough in the opening portion of the season to show that they are a decent team in this league, the club still needs to turn around its perpetual decline. Over the last couple of years, the likes of Zheng Long, Liu Jian, Zou Zheng and Song Wenjie have left without being replaced.
Jonoon’s domestic core needs strengthening and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see three new foreign faces in 2016. Fofana has already left and it remains to be seen whether Rogerinho or Deivdy Reiss will be back.
Xinjiang 2015 position -8th 2014 position – 10th WEF pre-season prediction – 10th
Overview
2015 can no doubt be considered a successful year for Xinjiang as the club secured its first ever top half finish in the second tier and made it to the CFA Cup quarter-final – knocking Guangzhou Evergrande out along the way. Unfortunately, the achievements of Li Jun’s men were overshadowed late in the season when top goal scorer Cristian Danalache pulled out of a game against Hebei CFFCjust two hours before kick-off.
Cristian Danalache in CFA Cup fourth round action against Tianjin TEDA
The Romanian cited a nagging injury, but the club suspected foul play and the 24-goal striker was accused of faking, with the suspicion being he had been incentivised not to turnout by Xinjiang’s promotion chasing opponents. Nothing has been proved, of course, but the incident left a sour aftertaste to what had otherwise been a great year for the club.
On paper, Xinjiang’s playing staff is among the weakest in the division, but the key to their success is a well organised team and, above all, an excellent home record. Just three teams took more points than Xinjiang on their own soil this season and only champions Yanbian Changbaishan scored more than the Urumqi club’s 31 home goals.
Urumqi’s remote location makes travelling to the city a labourious and tiring process and Xinjiang have reaped the benefits against their visitors this season. However, Xinjiang also boast the worst away record in the division and won just once on the road in 2015.
Climatic considerations meant Xinjiang had to start the season with a run of away games to avoid playing in Urumqi’s frigid conditions. It’s no coincidence then, that the club were flirting with relegation until mid-way through the season when a run of consecutive home games helped them bolster their points haul and solidify their mid-table status.
Defining Game
Another one from round 20 where Xinjiang secured a comfortable 2-1 home victory over Wuhan Zall. This match was the last in a run of five straight home clashes and was Xinjiang’s fourth win during that stretch.
By that point, both of these sides were pretty much assured of a mid-table finish but this victory took Xinjiang above their foes and into the top half of the table. Danalache scored a brace, his fourth double in a row, to demostrate his importance to the side. It also emphasised how good Xinjiang are at home, a point punctuated when they went on to lose their next three away games in a row.
Danalache’s time in Xinjiang may have ended badly, but his goals will be missed next year
Player of the Season
Despite the late season shenanigans, it is impossible not to give this to Danalache. The centre forward’s 24 league goals accounted for 56% of Xinjiang’s total and he may well have held off the challenge of Yanbian Changbaishan’s Ha Tae-goon to finish League One top scorer had he not missed the final three games of the season. On top of that, he scored both the winning goals against Super League opposition in Xinjiang’s CFA Cup run.
Looking Ahead
With a relatively modest budget and an unglamorous playing staff, consolidation will be the name of the game as Xinjiang prepare for next season. The biggest headache facing Li Jun is how to replace Danalache’s goals now that the Romanian has been cast out by the club.
Brazilian attacker Rafael wasn’t the answer. Although he doubled his season tally with a hat-trick in the final game of the season, the former DC United player never made his mark in Urumqi and reports are that he won’t be back in 2016. With few other goals in the side, it’s important that the Xinjiang are able to find a reliable striker to fill at least one of those two vacant foreign player slots.
The club hasn’t been hugely active in the domestic transfer market over the last couple of seasons and that could remain the case this year, too. It would be nice to see some of the young Uighur players who comprise the bulk of the reserve squad break through into the first team.
Tianjin Songjiang 2015 position -9th 2014 position – 7th WEF pre-season prediction – 9th
Overview
Songjiang had a roller coaster year with the club going from being rock bottom relegation candidates to 2016 promotion favourites in just a few months. After losing six of their first eight games, Goran Tomic replaced Drazen Besek as head coach with the remit to save the club from relegation.
Goran Tomic celebrates Mario Lucio’s (10) goal in his first game in charge
The Croatian did that by guiding the club to a respectable ninth place finish, but his achievements in the second half of the season were largely overshadowed by the circus surrounding new owners Quanjian. Afterwithdrawing investment from Super League club Tianjin TEDA, Quanjian brought Songjiang and immediately began spouting rhetoric about guiding the club to AFC Champions’ League glory.
With Songjiang’s transfer quota for 2015 already used up, though, Quanjian’s massive wealth had no impact on improving Tomic’s squad as the former Beijing Baxy boss quietly went about leading them to safety. Only five teams earned more points than Songjiang over Tomic’s 22 games in charge and, with six games of the season remaining, he was rewarded by the new owners by being told that he was going to be replaced by former Brazil and Real Madrid manager Vanderlai Luxemburgo in 2016.
Defining Game
The weekend before Quanjian’s takeover was officially announced, Songjiang were still bottom of the table with sixteen games to go. Tomic’s first five games in charge had produced one win and four draws, but the Croatian had just fallen to his first defeat in Xinjiang the weekend before.
In round 15, fourth placed Dalian Aerbin came to the Tuanbo Stadium along with Quanjian’s owners who were spotted watching the game. An early Mario Lucio penalty was cancelled out by Aerbin’s Bruno Meneghel, but debuting Englishman Franck Nouble struck the winner which pulled Songjiang out of the relegation zone.
Songjiang would remain above the safety line for the rest of the season and soon all the stories surrounding the club would be about lavish banquets, helicopters and big name Brazilians. None of which would have been possible if Tomic hadn’t started steering the team away from the obscurity of League Two.
Player of the Season
Much of Songjiang’s resurgence was built on squeezing results out of tight games and, to that end, Colombian centre back Juan Bolanos played a key role in organizing the defence as team captain for much of the season. Songjiang’s player of the year, though, has to be Mario Lucio whose play on the left-wing provided creativity to what was otherwise a largely functional side.
The Brazilian contributed ten goals and five assists which accounts for over half of Songjiang’s meagre 28 strikes in 2015. He also worked hard defensively, although a lack of discipline saw him dismissed a league leading three times over the course of the season.
Looking Ahead
Luis Fabiano uses his left hand to show how many million Euros he will make playing for Quanjian next season
Big things are happening at the Tuanbo Stadium where Luxemburgo has already taken the reins and the club has officially changed its name to Tianjin Quanjian. All indications are that the acquisition of veteran Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano is a done deal, with the former international apparently set to make 5 million Euros next season.
Quanjian are also, at the time of writing, on the verge of completing the 5 million Euro signing of creative midfielder Jadson from Brazilian champions Corinthians. The 32-year-old grabbed twelve goals and provided a league leading thirteen assists this season, prompting South American football expert Tim Vickery to state that he has probably been the best player on the continent this year.
Mario Lucio and Bolanos have already made way and Nouble will likely be replaced by a bigger name in the coming months. Domestically, the only addition so far has been Hong Kong international centre back Jean-Jacques Kilama who came to prominence on the mainland with two fine performances against China in the recent World Cup qualifiers.
The Cameroonian born 30-year-old arrives from Eastern and won’t take up a foreign player slot on account of his Hong Kong passport. We can expect plenty more news coming out of Tianjian this winter as Quanjian splash the cash in their quest to gain promotion at the first time of asking.
Wuhan Zall 2015 position -10th 2014 position – 3rd WEF pre-season prediction – 4th
Overview
Zall were one minute away from the Super League in 2014, but they looked a lifetime away this year. Any optimism that may have been generated by a nervy opening day win over newly promoted Hohhot Zhongyou was quickly dispelled when the Hubei side lost 1-0 at home Tianjin Songjiang in round 2.
Yao Hanlin is about to score in Wuhan’s 6-0 mauling of Shenzhen. The result proved to be a false dawn.
There was a brief revival of excitement in May when the club went on a three game winning streak which culminated in a 6-0 demolition of Shenzhen FC, but that was followed by a run of seven games without victory that knocked Wuhan out of the promotion race and cost head coach Zheng Bin his job. General manager Zheng Xiong took over from his namesake and sidelined many of Zall’s veterans in favour of much younger players.
Zheng Xiong’s team selection made it quite clear that results were no longer the priority and that was just as well as he only won three of his thirteen matches in charge. Just two points from their final five games saw Wuhan drop out of the top half and into a very disappointing tenth place finish.
Defining Game
The aforementioned three game winning streak generated rare levels of excitement among Wuhan fans and, following that 6-0 crushing of Shenzhen, the crowd swelled for the following weekend’s visit by Beijing Institute of Technology. Zall’s opponents had picked up just four points from their last seven games and were runaway holders of the worst defensive record in the division.
The stage was set, then, for another dominant home victory that would continue Wuhan’s gathering momentum. The hosts proceeded to squander a string of early chances before finally making the breakthrough midway through the second half when Brice Jovial headed in.
With twelve minutes remaining, BIT were awarded a soft penalty for a handball and Andres Marquez tied the game from the spot. There was a sense of injustice around the Xinhua Road Stadium, but Wuhan’s earlier wastefulness meant they had blown their chance of a fourth straight victory.
Indeed, Wuhan’s next win wouldn’t come for seven more weeks and, by the time it did, a different manager was in the hot seat. This game perfectly sums up what might have been had Wuhan’s players just had that extra bit of edge and confidence.
Player of the Season
On the domestic front, attacking midfielder Yao Hanlin once again impressed, although he was unable to quite reach the heights he did last year. 20-year-old midfielder Cheng Jin, who arrived on mid-season loan from Hangzhou Greentown, is also worth a mention as the most outstanding of the four or five players born in 1995 who regularly featured in Zheng Xiong’s starting line-ups.
Brice Jovial celebrates one of his 13 goals in 2015
Only three teams conceded fewer goals than Wuhan this season and a big reason for that is Ghanaian centre back Randsford Addo who marshalled an often very inexperienced back line with poise. However, despite the fact that Wuhan’s goal scoring ratio was the fourth worst in the division, striker Brice Jovial gets our nod for player of the season.
The one time Guadeloupe international bagged thirteen of Wuhan’s 30 goals this season, but what really made him stand out was his never say die attitude that often roused Zall fans to their feet and was sadly lacking among most of his teammates. The 31-year-old never failed to chase down a lost cause and, while he was far from deadly in front of goal, was the only Wuhan player who consistently looked like a scoring threat.
Looking Ahead
It is set to be a winter of massive upheaval in Wuhan as Zheng Xiong has already expressed his desire to make major changes before the coming season. It has already been announced that Jovial, Addo and Rafa Jorda won’t be back for second seasons, and the club may well take their replacements from Argentinian side San Lorenzo who announced a partnership with Zall towards the end of last season.
The Chinese playing staff looks set for an overhaul too, as Zheng has also stated he plans to use all five domestic transfers plus the extra three clubs are allowed to make for young players. This suggests there will be a total of eleven new faces in the squad next March, which could also mean the departure of some of the club’s veterans.
Centre back Ai Zhibo and midfielders Li Hang and Song Zhiwei all under performed this season and found their playing time increasingly limited as Zheng introduced more young players. It remains to be seen whether they return in 2016.
It will also be interesting to see whether Zheng will keep faith with many of the young players who were given opportunities towards the end of the season. Aside from midfielder Long Wei, who started to look more accomplished in the last few games, only Cheng Jin and Yue Xin looked ready to start at this level and they were both on loan from Hangzhou Greentown with no word on if they will return in 2016.
With Addo gone, the club also looks decidedly lightweight on the defensive front. It looks like being a busy winter for Zall, but we probably won’t know whether it has been a successful one until a few games of the 2016 season have been played.
Qingdao Hainiu 2015 position -11th 2014 position – 12th WEF pre-season prediction – 7th
Overview
On the pitch, this was a season of mid-table consolidation for a club that remained between eighth and twelfth in the table from round 3 onward. Off the pitch, though, it was a tumultuous year with Serbian midfielder Goran Gogic tragically passing away following a mid-season training session, andSu Maozhen resigning a few weeks later after a 6-1 hammering by Hebei CFFC.
Hainiu midfielder Goran Gogic passed away halfway through the season
Hainiu were in a season high eighth place when the 29-year-old Gogic suffered a cardiac arrest on the team bus at the end of a light practice. Unsurprisingly, the tragedy profoundly affected the club and, not least, Su Maozhen who, according to reports, was left distraught by Gogic’s passing.
In the month that followed, Hainiu picked up just two points from four games and Su stepped down to be replaced by caretaker Sun Xinbo. With the only manager they had ever had no longer in charge, Hainiu looked in serious danger of slipping into a relegation battle.
In fact, they failed to win any of the nine games which followed Gogic’s death, but they did manage to draw six of them and hard fought victories over promotion chasing sides Harbin Yitengand Hohhot Zhongyou in rounds 24 and 26 were enough to steady the ship and guarantee Hainiu’s safety in their second season since being promoted from League Two.
Defining Game
With Gogic’s death having such a major impact on the club’s season, it’s impossible to look beyond the1-1 draw with Hunan Billows that took place less than 24 hours after it happened. Strangely, the fixture was not postponed, but at least it gave Hainiu a chance to pay tribute to Gogic, which they did by celebrating with his shirt following Gao Xiang’s opener.
Hainiu players honour Gogic’s memory by celebrating with his shirt
Hunan levelled in the first half, but their was another chance to honour Gogic in the second half when Hainiu goalkeeper Liu Peng saved a penalty. On a day when results didn’t really matter, it also seems fitting that this game ended in a draw given that it was Hainiu’s ability to avoid defeat, rather than win games, which ultimately kept them out of trouble.
Player of the Season
Hainiu had few stand out players in 2015, so let’s give this award to Dorde Rakic. The Serbian’s output of ten goals and one assist is far from prolific but he was a close friend of compatriot Gogic and so it’s impressive that he played in the second half of the season at all. The 30-year-old missed three games following Gogic’s passing, but returned and scored five goals in his last eleven appearances.
Looking Ahead
Things have been quiet so far for Hainiu where uncertainty remains over who will take charge in 2016. Sun Xingbo guided the club through their final eleven games of the season, but there is no word yet about whether he will take the job on a permanent basis.
The same goes for the playing staff with little news coming out of the Shandong peninsula of any changes in the offing. A recent high profile deal to open up a football school in conjunction with FC Barcelona is an indication of the club’s ambition, but they will need to strengthen their playing staff this off-season if they are to step above mid-table obscurity.
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