Jump to content

Zhejiang Professional F.C.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Zhejiang Greentown)
Zhejiang F.C.
浙江 F.C.
Full nameZhejiang Professional Football Club
浙江职业足球俱乐部
Nickname(s)Green Giants (绿巨人)
Founded14 January 1998; 26 years ago (1998-01-14) (as Zhejiang Green Town)
GroundYellow Dragon Sports Center, Hangzhou
Capacity51,971
OwnerGreentown China (50%)
Zhejiang Energy Group (50%)
ChairmanZhang Weidong
ManagerJordi Vinyals
LeagueChinese Super League
2023Chinese Super League, 3rd of 16
WebsiteClub website

Zhejiang Professional Football Club (Chinese: 浙江职业足球俱乐部; pinyin: Zhèjiāng Zhíyè Zúqiú Jùlèbù), commonly referred to as Zhejiang FC or simply Zhejiang, is a Chinese professional football club based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, that competes in the Chinese Super League, the top tier of Chinese football. Zhejiang plays its home matches at the Yellow Dragon Sports Center, located within Xihu District. The club's main investors are the Zhejiang-based Greentown China Holdings Limited company and the Zhejiang Energy Group.

The club was founded on January 14, 1998 as Zhejiang Green Town F.C., making 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 playing right for Chinese Football Association Jia League as well as 32 players from first team of Jilin Aodong 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 third in the 2022, 2023 Chinese Super League seasons.

History

Zhejiang Green Town 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 playing right for Chinese Football Association Jia League as well as 32 players from first team of Yanbian F.C.(Then Jilin Aodong) 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 club's 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]

Hangzhou Greentown

In 2009, The club renamed itself to Hangzhou Greentown Football Club.

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 CFA Super League after it was discovered that Chengdu Blades and Guangzhou GPC were guilty of match-fixing.[5]

AFC Champions League debut

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 club's 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 2011 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 2017 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 in 30 games.[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 while the youngsters who formed the Team Zhejiang watched the championship slip 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.

Zhejiang Greentown

On 14 January 2018, the club changed their name to Zhejiang Greentown F.C. for the 20th anniversary of the club.[9] The same season they reached third place in the China League, one place away from returning to the CFA Super League.

Zhejiang Energy Greentown

In September 2020, the team changed their name to Zhejiang Energy Greentown F.C., as Zhejiang Energy Group stepped in as one of the major shareholders, while Song Weiping officially quit the club.[10]

Rebrand to Zhejiang

On 26 February 2021, According to the requirements of non-corporate change of club name by the Chinese Football Association, after several rounds of discussion and reported to the relevant provincial departments and the Chinese Football Association for review and approval, the club's name changed to Zhejiang Professional Football Club.[11]

Return to the AFC Champions League

Zhejiang finished third in the 2022 Chinese Super League season, which is their highest position they have ever finished in the top tier of the Chinese league saw them qualified for the 2023–24 AFC Champions League group stage after 12 years.

Name history

PeriodClub NameFirst Team Name
1998–2001Zhejiang Green Town FC浙江绿城Zhejiang Green Town浙江绿城
2001–04Zhejiang Sanhua Green Town (Sponsor Name)浙江三花绿城
2004–09Zhejiang Babei Green Town (Sponsor Name)浙江巴贝绿城
2009–10Hangzhou Greentown FC杭州绿城Hangzhou Greentown杭州绿城
2010–12Hangzhou Nabel Greentown (Sponsor Name)杭州诺贝尔绿城
2012–13Hangzhou 9Top Greentown (Sponsor Name)杭州九好绿城
2013–14Hangzhou Daikin Greentown (Sponsor Name)杭州大金绿城
2014–18Hangzhou Greentown杭州绿城
2018–20Zhejiang Greentown FC浙江绿城Zhejiang Greentown浙江绿城
2020–21Zhejiang Energy Greentown FC浙江能源绿城Zhejiang Energy Greentown浙江能源绿城
2021–Zhejiang Professional FC浙江职业Zhejiang浙江

Crest history

  • Zhejiang Green Town logo used between 1998 and 2000
    Zhejiang Green Town logo used between 1998 and 2000
  • Zhejiang Green Town logo used between 2001 and 2002
    Zhejiang Green Town logo used between 2001 and 2002
  • Hangzhou Greentown logo used between 2003 and 2018
    Hangzhou Greentown logo used between 2003 and 2018
  • Zhejiang Greentown logo used between 2019 and 2021
    Zhejiang Greentown logo used between 2019 and 2021
  • Zhejiang Professional logo used since 2022
    Zhejiang Professional logo used since 2022

Current squad

First team

As of 27 February 2024[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos. NationPlayer
19FWChina CHNDong Yu
20MFChina CHNWang Dongsheng
21GKChina CHNFan Jinming
22MFChina CHNCheng Jin
23MFChina CHNWu Yuhang
26DFChina CHNSun Guowen (on loan from Shandong Taishan)
27MFChina CHNZheng Xuejian
28DFChina CHNYue Xin
29MFChina CHNZhang Jiaqi
31MFChina CHNGu Bin
32GKChina CHNXu Zhenyao
33GKChina CHNZhao Bo
36DFBrazil BRALucas Possignolo
39FWChina CHNWang Yudong
45FWBrazil BRALeonardo (on loan from Shandong Taishan)

Reserve team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos. NationPlayer
—DFChina CHNXu Jizu
—MFChina CHNXu Yike
24DFChina CHNYe Daoxin
25MFChina CHNXu Junchi
26MFChina CHNYin Jie
37MFChina CHNNing Fangze

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Notable players

Coaching staff

As of 18 May 2022

PositionStaff
ManagerSpain Jordi Vinyals
Team leaderChina Li Lei
Press officerChina Yang Zheng
Assistant managerSpain Javier Almarza
First-team coachChina Tan Yang
China Shen Kui
Goalkeeping coachSpain Salvador Miracle
Fitness coachSpain Adolfo Abad
Technical analystChina Wang Dongliang
Team doctorSpain Daniel Saez Irurre
China Weng Hui
Epidemic prevention officerChina Zhang Chenxi
TranslatorChina Chen Shuo
China Tang Mingming
China Qu Juncheng
Team serviceChina Wang Jian
China Li Zheng
China Zheng Yixin

Source: [1]

Managerial history

As of Beginning of 2022 Chinese league season[13][14]
  • China Bao Yingfu (22 Jan 1999 – Dec 1999) (general coach)
  • China Zhu Haibo (May 1999 – Dec 1999)
  • China Wu Tingrui (Dec 1999 – Jul 2000)
  • China Zhang Jingtian (18 Jan 2000 – 2000) (general coach)
  • China Zhou Chenggui (Jul 2000 – Oct 2000)
  • China Gu Mingchang (23 Dec 2001 – 7 Jul 2001)
  • China Wang Changtai (8 Jul 2001 – 21 Jul 2001) (caretaker)
  • Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Goran Kalušević (24 Jul 2001 – 28 Aug 2001)
  • China Wang Changtai (28 Aug 2001 – 6 Oct 2001) (caretaker)
  • England Bobby Houghton (Jan 2002 – 21 Jul 2003)
  • China Li Bing (21 Jul 2003 – Dec 2003)
  • China Wang Zheng (Dec 2003 – 15 May 2007)
  • China Zhou Suian (15 May 2007 – Dec 2007)
  • China Sun Wei (Dec 2007 – 21 Apr 2008)
  • China Zhou Suian (21 Apr 2008 – 21 Sept 2009)
  • China Wu Jingui (21Sept 2009 – Nov 2011)
  • Team Committee (16 Oct 2011 – Nov 2011)
  • Japan Takeshi Okada (15 Dec 2011 – 5 Nov 2013)
  • China Yang Ji (6 Nov 2013 – 4 Nov 2014)
  • France Philippe Troussier (2 Dec 2014 – 1 Jul 2015)
  • China Yang Ji (1 Jul 2015 – Nov 2015)
  • South Korea Hong Myung-bo (17 Dec 2015 – 25 May 2017)
  • Bulgaria Zdravko Zdravkov (25 May 25, 2017 – Nov 2017) (caretaker)
  • Spain Sergi Barjuán (26 Nov 2017 – 3 July 2019)
  • China Zheng Xiong (3 July 2019 – 31 Dec 2020)
  • Spain Jordi Vinyals (1 Jan 2021 – )

Grounds

GroundLocationTotalCSLJia B / CL1YiCup
Zhejiang StadiumHangzhou1300130
Yellow Dragon Sports CenterHangzhou254122115017
Meihu Sports CentreJinhua1716001
Jiaxing StadiumJiaxing97002
Jinhua Sports CenterJinhua73400
Zhoushan Sports CenterZhoushan20101
Huzhou Olympic Sports CenterHuzhou11000

Records

Honours

Major

League

Cup

Minor / Reserve / Youth

Results

All-time League rankings

As of the start of 2024 season.[16][17]

SeasonDivisionPldWDLGFGAGDPtsPos.FA CupOtherAtt./GStadiumTop league scorer(s)Scores
1998did not enter league systemDNQ-----
1999Yi1st Stage

Group B

103251215−3115Final 17DNQ-UnknownZhejiang StadiumYao Changming

Qin Peng

3
2000Yi1st Stage

Group C

1072120416231Final 8[18]DNQ-UnknownZhejiang StadiumYao Changming12
2nd Stage

South Region

62131113−274
3nd Stage

1st Round

200205−5lost--tournament (Wuhan)
2001Jia B122610633267288R1-24,182Yellow Dragon Sports CenterAdolfo Valencia12
2002Jia B228592933−4297SF-16,364Yellow Dragon Sports Center

Meihu Sports Centre

Bertin Tomou7
2003Jia B266911393902710R1-11,615Yellow Dragon Sports CenterAdolfo Valencia14
2004CL32129113839−1458R1-3,625Yellow Dragon Sports CenterShen Liuxi10
2005CL261745502327553R2-14,917Yellow Dragon Sports CenterBertin Tomou11
2006CL24174341182355RUSF-25,500Yellow Dragon Sports CenterAlex Chandre de Oliveira15
2007CSL28610122535−102811NH-19,571Yellow Dragon Sports Center

Meihu Sports Centre

Alex Chandre de Oliveira5
2008CSL30912938326399NH-12,188Yellow Dragon Sports CenterErivaldo Antonio Saraiva10
2009CSL3088143043−1332152NH-14,790Yellow Dragon Sports CenterErivaldo Antonio Saraiva13
2010CSL30139838308484NH-14,550Yellow Dragon Sports Center

Meihu Sports Centre

Luis Alfredo Ramírez14
2011CSL30109112832−4398QFACL Group8,586Meihu Sports Centre

Jiaxing Stadium

Luis Alfredo Ramírez7
2012CSL3099123446−123611QF-10,563Yellow Dragon Sports CenterWang Song

Renatinho

8
2013CSL30810123442−83412QF-14,164Yellow Dragon Sports CenterDavy Claude Angan9
2014CSL3088144360−173212R4-13,766Yellow Dragon Sports CenterAnselmo Ramon16
2015CSL3089132735−83311R4-12,566Yellow Dragon Sports CenterAnselmo Ramon12
2016CSL3088142837−93215R4-11,723Yellow Dragon Sports Center

Jinhua Sports Center

Anselmo Ramon7
2017CL30812103139−8369R4-4,881Yellow Dragon Sports Center

Jinhua Sports Center

Zhoushan Sports Center

Anselmo Ramon6
2018CL301497533815513R3-8,717Yellow Dragon Sports Center

Zhoushan Sports Center

Dino Ndlovu19
2019CL30149749409516R4-8,678Yellow Dragon Sports CenterDino Ndlovu17
2020CL1st Stage

Group B

1054119811192RU3R2--tournament (Meizhou)Nyasha Mushekwi7
2nd Stage

Group D

5311853102tournament (Chengdu)
2021CL3422846928417434R4--tournament (Meizhou)Nyasha Mushekwi23
2022CSL3418115642836653F-3,500Huzhou Olympic Sports Center

tournament (Haikou, Round 1-10)

Nyasha Mushekwi18
2023CSL301677573423553R4ACL Group8,053Huzhou Olympic Sports CenterLéo Souza19
2024CSL30-Yellow Dragon Sports Center

^1 Bought the first team of Jilin Aodong as well as their position in second tier.

^2 Two CSL clubs were involved in match-fixing scandal and relegated to China League, so Hangzhou Greentown could stay at top level.

^3 Failed to achieve promotion in the play-off.

^4 Promotion was achieved via the play-off.

Key

  • Pld = Played
  • W = Games won
  • D = Games drawn
  • L = Games lost
  • F = Goals for
  • A = Goals against
  • Pts = Points
  • Pos = Final position
  • DNQ = Did not qualify
  • DNE = Did not enter
  • NH = Not Held
  •  – = Does Not Exist
  • R1 = Round 1
  • R2 = Round 2
  • R3 = Round 3
  • R4 = Round 4
  • F = Final
  • SF = Semi-finals
  • QF = Quarter-finals
  • R16 = Round of 16
  • Group = Group stage
  • GS2 = Second Group stage
  • QR1 = First Qualifying Round
  • QR2 = Second Qualifying Round
  • QR3 = Third Qualifying Round

Feeder teams

  • Hangzhou Luyuan (1999–2003) [Youth team of Zhejiang Green Town FC]
    • 2000, 2001 Chinese Yi League
  • Ningbo Huaao (2006) [Youth team of Zhejiang Green Town FC]
    • 2006 China D2 League
  • Wenzhou Provenza (2011) [U19 team of Hangzhou Greentown FC]
    • 2011 China D2 League

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.[19] 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.[20] The game was drawn 1–1.
  • Zhejiang Greentown also played two friendly games at the Mini Estadi in 2017 and 2019, against FC Barcelona B with the Spanish side won 1-0 and 3-1 respectively.

Continental results

SeasonCompetitionRoundOppositionHomeAwayRank
/Agg.
2011AFC Champions LeagueGroup stageJapan Nagoya Grampus
2–0
0–1
4th
South Korea FC Seoul
1–1
0–3
United Arab Emirates Al-Ain
0–0
0–1
2023–24AFC Champions LeaguePlay-off roundThailand Port
1–0
——
Group stageThailand Buriram United
3–2
1–4
3rd
Australia Melbourne City
1–2
1–1
Japan Ventforet Kofu
2–0
1–4

Kit history

SeasonKit manufacturerColour (H)Sponsor (H)Colour (A)Sponsor (A)
1998-------
1999AdidasBlueGreen Town绿城RedGreen Town绿城
2000
2001UcanWhiteGreen Town (Round 1)绿城（第1轮）Blue / RedGreen Town (Round 1)绿城（第1轮）
Sanhua (from Round 2)浙江三花（第2-4轮）Sanhua (from Round 2)浙江三花（第2-4轮）
三花（第5-22轮）三花（第5-22轮）
2002BlueSanhua三花White / GreenSanhua三花
2003GreenWhite
2004WhiteBabei巴贝Green / Yellow / RedBabei巴贝
2005UmbroGreen / Yellow / Blue / Red
2006KikaRed
2007AsicsBlack
2008KappaGreen
2009NikeGreenCIMIC (from Round 10)斯米克BlackCIMIC (from Round 10)斯米克
2010Green & WhiteNabel诺贝尔瓷砖WhiteNabel诺贝尔瓷砖
2011Green
2012Daikin大金空调Daikin大金空调
2013500.com500.com500.com500.com
2014ToshibaToshiba（第1-6轮）ToshibaToshiba（第1-6轮）
Toshiba 东芝空调（第7-30轮）Toshiba 东芝空调（第7-30轮）
2015Toshiba 东芝空调Toshiba 东芝空调
2016
2017PanasonicPanasonic 松下洁乐PanasonicPanasonic 松下洁乐
2018AntaPanasonic 松下洗碗机
2019Panasonic 松下卫浴Panasonic 松下卫浴
2020KelmePanasonic 松下电器Panasonic 松下电器
2021
2022Nike
2023
2024LeapmotorLeapmotor 零跑汽车LeapmotorLeapmotor 零跑汽车

Rivals

Because there are not many football clubs based on Zhejiang in history, Zhejiang FC has rarely been able to have a rival in the province for a long time. In 2017, after being relegated to China League, Hangzhou Greentown briefly had a 2-seasons Zhejiang derby with Zhejiang Yiteng but only won 1 out of 4 matches. More often than not, Zhejiang FC has a stronger rivalry with other teams of the same level in the Wu Chinese region, particularly Shanghai Shenhua, and Shanghai Zhongyuan historically.

References

External links

Retrieved from "https://www.search.com.vn/wiki/?lang=en&title=Zhejiang_Professional_F.C.&oldid=1221750383"
🔥 Top keywords: Main PageSpecial:SearchWikipedia:Featured picturesYasukeHarrison ButkerRobert FicoBridgertonCleopatraDeaths in 2024Joyce VincentXXXTentacionHank AdamsIt Ends with UsYouTubeNew Caledonia2024 Indian general electionHeeramandiDarren DutchyshenSlovakiaKingdom of the Planet of the ApesAttempted assassination of Robert FicoLawrence WongBaby ReindeerXXX: Return of Xander CageThelma HoustonFuriosa: A Mad Max SagaMegalopolis (film)Richard GaddKepler's SupernovaWicked (musical)Sunil ChhetriXXX (2002 film)Ashley MadisonAnya Taylor-JoyPlanet of the ApesNava MauYoung SheldonPortal:Current eventsX-Men '97