Zhejiang Professional F.C.
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| Full name | Zhejiang Greentown FC 浙江绿城足球俱乐部 | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Greentown 绿城 Green Giants 绿巨人 Team Zhejiang 浙江队 | ||
| Founded | 14 January 1998 | ||
| Ground | Hangzhou Huanglong Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 52,672 | ||
| Owner | Song Weiping | ||
| Manager | Sergi Barjuán | ||
| League | China League One | ||
| 2017 | League One, 9th | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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Zhejiang Greentown Football Club (simplified Chinese: 浙江绿城; traditional Chinese: 浙江綠城; pinyin: Zhèjiāng Lǜchéng) is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the China League One division (second division) under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang and their home stadium is the Hangzhou Huanglong Stadium that has a seating capacity of 52,672. The club's main investor is the Zhejiang-based Greentown China Holdings Limited company, which is owned by real estate tycoon Song Weiping. Greentown became the first sports club from Hangzhou with 1 million followers on Weibo.
The club was founded on January 14, 1998 and they made their debut in the third tier of China's football league pyramid in the 1999 league season. On November 23, 2000 the club bought the first team of Jilin Aodong as well as their position in the second division for 25 million Yuan. They have subsequently won promotion to the top tier after finishing runners-up in the 2006 league season and the highest position they have ever finished is fourth in the 2010 Chinese Super League season.
History
Zhejiang Greentown Football Club Co., Ltd. was officially established on January 14, 1998 with a capital of 16,000,000 Yuan and Zeng Leming was appointed as their general manager. Greentown Real Estate Company, Hangzhou Qiantang Real Estate Company, Zhejiang University and Zhejiang Provincial Football Association all participated in the creation as well as the registration of the club.[1] The company would go on to form a youth team before finally creating a senior team on January 22, 1999 to take part in the third tier with Bao Yingfu as their first head coach. They wouldn't wait long to show their ambition when they would make the play-offs in 2000 before losing to Tianjin Lifei.[2] Still determined to win promotion the club decided to buy the first team of Jilin Aodong as well as their position in Chinese Football Association Jia League on November 23, 2000 for 25,000,000 Yuan, in time for the beginning of the 2001 league season. Under the new general manager Shen Qiang the club brought in new sponsors and Gu Mingchang as the new Head coach, however during this period the club couldn't win promotion to the top tier and the Chairman Song Weiping expressed his disappointment of the team. Song Weiping would soon discover that the reason for his clubs disappointing results when it was discovered that several of his players and coaches were taking bribes, with a 6–0 defeat against Changchun Yatai in the 2001 league season being highlighted, which saw the offending participants banned for a year while the club had three months to reform and re-apply for a CFA playing license.[3] This would see the club would go through several management changes as well as a significant ownership shift, which saw Song Weiping's company Greentown China Holdings Limited take a 96% share of the team for 20,000,000 Yuan in 2005 while Zhejiang University held on to 4%.[1]
Under Wang Zheng as their Head coach the team would start to generally push for promotion, eventually achieving it at the end of the 2006 league season when they came second in the division.[4] The club often found themselves fighting off relegation and would bring in several managers to alleviate the problem, however this wasn't enough during the 2009 league season and the club found themselves in the relegation zone at the end of the season. Surprisingly the club were allowed to stay within the 2010 Chinese Super League after it was discovered that Chengdu Blades and Guangzhou FC were guilty of match-fixing.[5] After gaining a reprieve from relegation the club went on a spending spree by signing several established Chinese internationals such as Du Wei, Li Yan and Wang Song.[6] The signings seemed to work and the clubs results significantly improved throughout the 2010 league campaign, which saw the club achieve their best ever finish of fourth and a chance to play within the AFC Champions League for the first time.[7]
This club is known for its outstanding football academy and youth training facilities. However, they were relegated to the China League One after getting second-to-last place in the 2016 Chinese super League because of their bad performances for the season with only 8 wins and 32 points, struggled in demotes.[8]
Aimed to take the crown in the football competition of 2017 National Games of China, Hangzhou Greentown adopted a risky youngster-first policy which was more radical than ever. But good wishes were all vain. In 2017, the team struggled near the relegation zone in their first season of China League One while the youngsters who formed the Team Zhejiang watched the championship slipped away in the final. Young trainer Xu Lei filled in manager Hong Myung-bo’s shoes and the team finally ranked 9th in the league. Meanwhile, former player and veteran Jiao Fengbo also returned as the new general manager.
On 14 January 2018, the club changed their name back to Zhejiang Greentown F.C. for the 20th anniversary of the club.[9]
Name history
- 2002 Renamed Zhejiang Greentown (浙江绿城)
- 2003 Renamed Zhejiang Sanhua Greentown (浙江三花绿城)
- 2004 Renamed Zhejiang Greentown (浙江绿城)
- 2006 Renamed Zhejiang Babei Greentown (浙江巴贝绿城房产)
- 2007 Renamed Zhejiang Greentown (浙江绿城房产)
- 2009 Renamed Hangzhou Greentown (杭州绿城)
- 2010 Renamed Hangzhou Nabel Greentown (杭州诺贝尔绿城)
- 2011 Renamed Hangzhou Greentown (杭州绿城)
- 2012 Renamed Hangzhou 9Top Greentown (杭州九好绿城)
- 2013 Renamed Hangzhou Daikin Greentown (杭州大金绿城)
- 2014 Renamed Hangzhou Greentown (杭州绿城)
- 2018 Renamed Zhejiang Greentown (浙江绿城)
Current squad
As of 2 March 2018 [10]
First team
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 2 March 2018
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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Coaching staff
As of 14 March 2018 [11]
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Team leader |  Rong Yu
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| Head coach |  Sergi Barjuán
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| Assistant coach | Ramón de Quintana Zheng Xiong Wu Wei
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| Goalkeeping coach |  Zdravko Zdravkov
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| Technical analyst | Vicente Fuensalida Gao Rongxin
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| Fitness coach | Jaume Moll
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| U-19 team coach |  Fujio Yamamoto
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| U-19 team assistant coach | Kosuke Yatsuda
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| U-17 team coach | Yasuharu Kurata
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| U-14 team coach | Masahiro Kobe
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| U-11 team coach | Taichi Obata
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| Translator | Yue Zhang Lin Zihe Miao Lixiang
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| Team doctor | Weng Hui Zhang Chengxi Chen Weiwei
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Source: [2]
Managerial history
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Honours
League
- China League One: 2006 (Runners-up)[14]
Youth Team
U-15 Team
- Nike Cup Winners: 2008
Results
All-time League rankings
As of the end of 2017 season.[15][16]
| Year | Div | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pos. | FA Cup | Super Cup | League Cup | AFC | Att./G | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 15 | −3 | 11 | 51 | DNQ | DNQ | – | |||
| 2000 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 231 | 8[17] | DNQ | DNQ | – | |||
| 2001 | 22 | 22 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 33 | 26 | 7 | 28 | 8 | R1 | DNQ | – | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | ||
| 2002 | 2 | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 29 | 33 | −4 | 29 | 7 | SF | DNQ | – | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | ||
| 2003 | 2 | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 27 | 10 | R1 | DNQ | – | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | ||
| 2004 | 2 | 32 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 38 | 39 | −1 | 45 | 8 | R1 | NH | DNQ | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | ||
| 2005 | 2 | 26 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 50 | 23 | 27 | 55 | 3 | R2 | NH | DNQ | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | ||
| 2006 | 2 | 24 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 41 | 18 | 23 | 55 | RU | QF | NH | NH | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | ||
| 2007 | 1 | 28 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 25 | 35 | −10 | 28 | 11 | NH | NH | NH | 19,571 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center Meihu Sports Centre | |
| 2008 | 1 | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 38 | 32 | 6 | 39 | 9 | NH | NH | NH | 12,188 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | |
| 2009 | 1 | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 30 | 43 | −13 | 32 | 153 | NH | NH | NH | 14,790 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | |
| 2010 | 1 | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 38 | 30 | 8 | 48 | 4 | NH | NH | NH | 14,550 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | |
| 2011 | 1 | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 28 | 32 | −4 | 39 | 8 | QF | NH | NH | Group | 8,586 | Meihu Sports Centre Jiaxing Stadium |
| 2012 | 1 | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 34 | 46 | −12 | 36 | 11 | QF | DNQ | NH | 10,563 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | |
| 2013 | 1 | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 34 | 42 | −8 | 34 | 12 | QF | DNQ | NH | 14,164 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | |
| 2014 | 1 | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 43 | 60 | −17 | 32 | 12 | R4 | DNQ | NH | 13,766 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | |
| 2015 | 1 | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 27 | 35 | −8 | 33 | 11 | R4 | DNQ | NH | 12,566 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | |
| 2016 | 1 | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 28 | 37 | -9 | 32 | 15 | R4 | DNQ | NH | 11,723 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | |
| 2017 | 2 | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 31 | 39 | -8 | 36 | 9 | R4 | DNQ | NH | 4,881 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | |
| 2018 | 2 | 30 | R3 | DNQ | NH | Yellow Dragon Sports Center |
- ^1 In group stages. ^2 Buy the first team of Jilin Aodong as well as their position in second tier. ^3 Two Super League clubs were involved in match-fixing scandal and relegated to League One, so Hangzhou could stay at top level.
Key
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International friendlies
- On 26 July 2009, Manchester United visited the Dragon Stadium and played a friendly against Hangzhou Greentown as part of their pre-season Asian tour.[18] Manchester United won by 8 goals to 2.
- On 16 July 2011, Arsenal visited the Meihu Stadium and played a friendly against Hangzhou Greentown as part of their pre-season Asian tour.[19] The game was drawn 1–1.
AFC competition records
| Opponent | Season | Home | Away |
| Nagoya Grampus |
2011 AFC Champions League Group stage | 2–0 | 0–1 |
 FC Seoul |
2011 AFC Champions League Group stage | 1–1 | 0–3 |
 Al Ain FC |
2011 AFC Champions League Group stage | 0–0 | 0–1 |
See also
- Yanbian FC
- Hangzhou Sanchao
- Great Wall Cup – China's largest international youth football tournament
References
- ^ a b "绿城介绍". GreenTown Football Club Inc. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ "China League Tables 2000". rsssf.com. 19 Jun 2003. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ "China League Tables 2001". rsssf.com. 19 Jun 2003. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ "China League Tables 2006". rsssf.com. 8 Mar 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ "天上掉馅饼重庆力帆偷着乐 狂喜之外更感到自身差距". sports.sina.com.cn. 24 Feb 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ "陕西队长李彦加盟杭州 五大国字号有望齐聚绿城". sports.sohu.com. 11 Feb 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- ^ "China League Tables 2010". rsssf.com. 10 Dec 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- ^ "中超赛季回顾之杭州绿城——降级中寻弊端". sports.sohu.com/20161126/n474236173.shtml. Retrieved 30 Nov 2016.
- ^ "里程碑!绿城迎20周年庆典 正式更名为浙江绿城". Sina. 2018-01-14. Retrieved 2018-01-16.
- ^ 2018赛季中甲联赛16强全名单 sports.sina.com 2018-03-02 Retrieved 2018-03-05
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Hangzhou Greentown » Manager history". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
- ^ "Hangzhou Greentown". footballzz.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
- ^ "CHINA LEAGUE ONE – 2006". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
- ^ "China League History". rsssf.com. 22 Oct 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
- ^ "杭州绿城". sodasoccer.com. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
- ^ 2000年中乙联赛决赛阶段比赛名次 fa.org.cn 2013-04-30 Retrieved 2016-12-20
- ^ "China friendly announced". Manutd.com. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- ^ "Arsenal announces pre-season game in China". Arsenal.com. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2012.