Wuhan Yangtze River F.C.
Wuhan Yangtze River Football Club, formerly Wuhan Zall Football Club[1][2] (simplified Chinese: 武汉长江; traditional Chinese: 武漢長江; pinyin: Wǔhàn Chángjiāng), is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Wuhan, Hubei and their home stadium is the Dongxihu Sports Centre that has a seating capacity of 30,000.[3] Their current majority shareholder is the investment company Wuhan Zall Development Holding Co. Ltd.
| Full name | Wuhan Yangtze River Football Club 武汉长江足球俱乐部 |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Han Army |
| Founded | 17 February 2009 |
| Ground | Dongxihu Sports Centre |
| Capacity | 30,000 |
| Manager | Li Jinyu |
| League | China League One |
| 2022 | Super League, 16th of 18 (relegated) |
The club was founded in 2009 after the withdrawal and then dissolution of its predecessor Wuhan Optics Valley from the league after the club had a dispute with the Chinese Football Association over their on-field behaviour. The Hubei Province soccer association decided to help form a new team with players mainly from the former Wuhan Optics Valley and Hubei youth teams. They entered at the start of the 2009 league campaign at the bottom of the professional Chinese football league pyramid in the third tier. The team won promotion to the 2013 Chinese Super League after coming runners-up in the 2012 China League One division and spent only one season in the top flight before being relegated back down. In 2018, the team won the League One again and earned their second season in the top flight. They stayed there until the 2022 Super League, where they were once again relegated to League One after finishing 16th.
History
2009–2011: Hubei Luyin
Hubei Luyin was founded in February, 2009 after its predecessor Wuhan Optics Valley withdrew from the top tier because of its controversial punishment in October 2008 after the club had a dispute with the Chinese Football Association over the club's on-field behaviour against Beijing Guoan in a 27 September 2008 league game.[4] Due to their withdrawal they were unable to register and participate in any professional Chinese tournaments, however the Hubei Province football association decided that due to the lack of representation of any Hubei teams within the Chinese football league system they would help create a new team to represent Hubei and use the Wuhan U-19 team as well as the Hubei youth team as the foundation for the squad. This saw the establishment of a new football club on the 26 February 2009 when the Hubei Luyin officially registered itself within the Chinese Football Association and start at the bottom of the professional football system in the third tier.[5] The club would show their unusual strength in depth when they would breeze through the regional section of the league campaign and enter into the play-off finals where they lost their only game of the season Hunan Billows F.C. in a penalty shoot out. Despite the defeat the club would win promotion to the second tier and to strengthen their team they bought back the contracts of several Wuhan Optics Valley players who were not permanently sold off.
2011–2018: Wuhan Zall
With the club in the second tier they would go through a period of joint investment from several parties until 14 December 2011 saw the Zall Group take ownership of the club and rename them Wuhan Zall Football Club as well as changing the team's colours back to orange, which was the club's predecessor's main colours.[6] Initially the new owners saw the team struggle throughout the 2012 league season and decided to sack the existing manager Jose Carlos de Oliveira and replace him with Zheng Xiong on a caretaker basis.[7] As the season went on the results considerably improved under Zheng Xiong who was given a full-time contract before guiding Wuhan Zall to second within the league and promotion to the Chinese Super League. The club's start in the 2013 league season was not a success and when the team went six games without a win, Zheng resigned.[8] The former Shandong Luneng Head coach who had won the Chinese Super League, Ljubiša Tumbaković was brought in to manage the team, however despite his experience in the league he was unable to help the club avoid relegation and he was sacked before the season was finished.[9] In 2015 the football club was sold to a private company Wuhan Zall Development Holding Co. Ltd. under the ownership of their chairman Yan Zhi and his relatives, for RMB 20,630,000.[10]
2019-Present: Super League
After several seasons within the second tier, the club brought in Li Tie as the Head Coach, a manager who had previously guided Hebei China Fortune F.C. to the top tier.[11] In his debut season Li Tie was able to guide Wuhan to the victory of the division championship and promotion back into the Chinese Super League at the end of the 2018 league season.[12]
During the 2022 season Wuhan Yangtze River F.C. lost 3-1 to Chengdu Rongcheng which resulted in Wuhan being relegated to China League One for the 2023 season.
Name history
- 2009–2010: Hubei Luyin F.C. (湖北绿茵)
- 2011: Hubei Wuhan Zhongbo F.C. (湖北武汉中博)
- 2012–2020: Wuhan Zall F.C. (武汉卓尔)
- 2021: Wuhan F.C. (武汉)
- 2022–: Wuhan Yangtze River F.C. (武汉长江)
Current squad
First team
- As of 1 September 2022[13]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve squad
As of 1 March 2019
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Unregistered players
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Retired numbers
8 retired for the legend, Yao Hanlin.[14]
Coaching staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Li Jinyu |
| Assistant head coach | Zheng Bin |
| Assistant head coach | Ma Yongkang |
| Head goalkeeping Coach | Sun Minghan |
| Physio | Xue Shen |
| Team doctor | Huang Zhuping |
| Team doctor | Kang Kebao |
Source: sina.com
Managerial history
- Li Jun (2009–10)
- Li Xiao (2011)
- Jose Carlos de Oliveira (2011–12)
- Zheng Xiong (24 April 2012 – 21 April 2013)
- Ljubiša Tumbaković (22 April 2013 – 18 August 2013)
- Wang Jun (19 August 2013 – 10 December 2013)
- Dražen Besek (11 December 2013 – September 2014)
- Zheng Bin (September 2014 – 17 July 2015)
- Zheng Xiong (17 July 2015 – 26 June 2016)
- Ciro Ferrara (July 2016 – 20 March 2017)
- Tang Yaodong (30 March 2017 – 9 July 2017)
- Chen Yang (9 July 2017 – 10 November 2017)
- Li Tie (16 November 2017 – 2 January 2020 )
- José Manuel González López (4 January 2020 – )
Results
All-time League Rankings
| Year | Tier | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pos | Cup | AFC | Att./G | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 3 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 16 | 2 | +14 | 24 1 | 2 | NH | DNQ | Xinhua Road Sports Center | |
| 2010 | 2 | 24 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 30 | 24 | +6 | 37 | 5 | NH | DNQ | ||
| 2011 | 2 | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 26 | 28 | −2 | 33 | 7 | R1 | DNQ | ||
| 2012 | 2 | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 40 | 29 | +11 | 54 | 2 | R2 | DNQ | 6,701 | |
| 2013 | 1 | 30 | 3 | 7 | 20 | 24 | 58 | −36 | 16 | 16 | R3 | DNQ | 14,403 | Wuhan Sports Center Stadium |
| 2014 | 2 | 30 | 18 | 3 | 9 | 46 | 31 | +15 | 57 | 3 | R2 | DNQ | 8,457 | Xinhua Road Sports Center |
| 2015 | 2 | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 31 | 30 | +1 | 36 | 10 | R2 | DNQ | 5,300 | |
| 2016 | 2 | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 31 | 33 | −2 | 43 | 6 | R2 | DNQ | 4,853 | |
| 2017 | 2 | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 47 | 40 | +7 | 47 | 5 | R2 | DNQ | 13,525 | Wuhan Sports Center Stadium |
| 2018 | 2 | 30 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 60 | 25 | +35 | 63 | 1 | R4 | DNQ | 6,884 | Zhongnan University of Economics and Law Stadium |
| 2019 | 1 | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 44 | 6 | R4 | DNQ | 20,484 | Wuhan Five Rings Sports Center |
| 2020 | 1 | 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 25 | 15 | - | DNQ | N/A | |
| 2021 | 1 | 22 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 23 | 30 | -7 | 20 | 14 | QF | DNQ | ||
| 2022 | 1 | 34 | 8 | 4 | 22 | 34 | 71 | -37 | 19 2 | 16 | R2 | DNQ |
- ^1 in group stage
- ^2 Wuhan Yangtze River had 3 points deducted due to unpaid salaries on 5 November 2022 and had 6 points deducted due to unpaid salaries on 23 November 2022.
Key
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See also
References
- ^ 关于中甲联赛版权声明及正确使用中甲联赛名称的函 fa.org.cn 2015-04-16 Retrieved 2016-03-04
- ^ "官方：武汉卓尔正式更名为武汉队". Dongqiudi. 15 February 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
- ^ 卓尔新赛季主场场地将迁至武汉体育中心 (in Chinese). Changjiang Times. February 9, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ "Wuhan ejected from football league". english.people.com.cn. 10 November 2008. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
- ^ "湖北绿茵足球俱乐部"注册成功 参加中乙成定局 (in Chinese). sports.sohu.com. 2009-02-28. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
- ^ 武汉中博易主卓尔集团接手 湖北首富入主成老板 (in Chinese). sports.enorth.com.cn. 2011-12-14. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
- ^ 卓尔宣布卡洛斯正式下课！高层称赞敬业精神可嘉 (in Chinese). sports.sina.com.cn. 2012-04-24. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
- ^ 武汉卓尔董事长宣布图拔任主帅 曾执教鲁能夺五冠 (in Chinese). sports.sina.com.cn. 2013-04-22. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
- ^ 武汉卓尔宣布与主帅图拔科维奇解约 同时撤换队长 (in Chinese). sports.sina.com.cn. 2013-08-18. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
- ^ (PDF) (in Chinese). Zall Group. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
- ^ 武汉卓尔官宣李铁成为新帅 新赛季全力冲击中超 (in Chinese). sports.sina.com.cn. 2017-11-16. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
- ^ 2018中甲联赛积分榜 (in Chinese). sports.sina.com.cn. 2018-03-10. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
- ^ "武汉长江2022赛季大名单：无蒿俊闵，10位00后球员在列". Dongqiudi (in Chinese). 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "最高敬意！武汉队将永久封存8号球衣，以此向姚翰林致敬". Dongqiudi. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ "China – List of Champions". rsssf.com. 10 Oct 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
- ^ "武汉卓尔". sodasoccer.com. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
External links
- Wuhan Yangtze River at ESPN