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49-463: The club was founded in 1954, and won several second tier titles before turning professional in 1993. Their results improved, leading to a runners-up spot in China's top tier. Unable to improve upon these results, the club went through a period of stagnation and decline before they experienced a brief revival, when they won the 2007 second division. In 2009, the club was embroiled in a match-fixing scandal and

98-416: A brief period during the 1998 season, both teams were in the top tier with Matsunichi finishing higher than Guangzhou FC; however, the rivalry would reach its peak and subsequent conclusion during the 2000 season with both clubs in the second tier fighting relegation. On 15 July 2000, Guangzhou FC won 3–1 against Matsunichi which inevitably helped lead to Matsunichi's relegation, causing Matsunichi to disband at

147-753: A large-scale 2009–2013 investigation of football betting , bribery and match-fixing ( Chinese : 中国足坛反赌风暴 ; lit. 'Chinese football anti-betting storm' ). The scandals were first made public in October 2009. Instead of being led by General Administration of Sport of China or Chinese Football Association like previous investigations , this investigation was led by the Ministry of Public Security . Xie Yalong, Nan Yong and Yang Yimin, who are all former vice presidents of Chinese Football Association, along with Zhang Jianqiang and some other CFA officials were arrested and removed from their posts. Shanghai Shenhua

196-780: A lot of sporting potential and both would join then graduate from the Guangzhou Apollo youth team. After breaking into the Guangzhou Apollo senior team, Weiguo would quickly become an integral member of the team and then rise to prominence during the 1994 league season when he was named as their captain then lead them to a runners-up position as well as personally winning the Golden Ball award. Known for his brutal soccer style he controversially fouled and seriously hurt promising soccer star Zhang Haitao , which ultimately caused Zhang Haitao to retire. Peng Weiguo remained with Guangzhou until

245-421: A meal together instead of watching the second derby in 2012, which Guangzhou R&F also won. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Source: All-time honours list, including those achieved during the club's semi-professional period. No league games in 1959, 1966–1972, 1975, and 1976; Guangzhou did not enter

294-404: A reported operating loss of over US$ 200 million in 2015. In June 1954, the local Guangzhou sports body founded Guangzhou Football Team to take part in the newly formed Chinese national football league. They entered the club in the 1955 league season and named Luo Dizhi as their first manager. He guided them to an eighth spot finish in their debut campaign. The league had grown to incorporate

343-427: A runners-up position within the league and a runners-up spot against Shanghai in the 1991 Chinese FA Cup . After his exit, the club were unable to replicate the same results. When influential international footballers Peng Weiguo and Hu Zhijun left the club, the team went into free fall and were relegated at the end of the 1998 league season. With the management concerned about the team's performance, an investigation

392-619: A second tier and their debut season performance final standing relegated them to the second division. Guangzhou won the division championship, however the Chinese Football Association decided to restructure the league at the beginning of the 1957 season and Guangzhou were denied promotion. Despite this, Luo Rongman managed the team to win the 1958 second division title; however, the club were unable to gain promotion because this time they went into receivership. They were not re-established until April 1961 and were allowed to take part in

441-583: A total of eight Super League championships, including seven consecutive titles from 2011 to 2017. Ahead of the 2021 season, the team was renamed Guangzhou FC due to the Chinese Football Association's request for "neutral" names that would omit references to the investors and companies that own the club. In the same year, the Chinese financial crisis and the problems of the Evergrande Group caused

490-615: The 2013 FIFA Club World Cup , entering in the quarter-finals, beating the African champions Al-Ahly 2–0. In the semi-finals, they were defeated by the European champions Bayern Munich 3–0. In the third place match, the club lost against the South American champions Atlético Mineiro 3–2 and finished in fourth place. Guangzhou won its fourth and fifth consecutive Chinese Super League titles in 2014 and 2015 , respectively. On 21 November 2015,

539-590: The Chinese Super League . In February 2010, Guangzhou was relegated back to the China League One in the fallout of a match-fixing scandal despite having achieved a ninth-place finish in the 2009 season . The match in question was the 19 August 2006 league game against Shanxi Wosen Luhu , which Guangzhou won 5–1 when they were still playing in the China League One. It was discovered by the police that

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588-507: The Chinese national team at the 1992 and 1996 AFC Asian Cup . After retiring he moved into coaching and became the assistant coach at Shenzhen Pingan before gaining his first Head coaching position at Shanghai Stars . He has continued with coaching as an assistant with Hangzhou Greentown and China U22 or a reserve team coach with Guangzhou Evergrande . Peng Weiguo is of Hakka ethnicity and his father originates from Jiexi , Guangdong . He and his younger brother Peng Weijun showed

637-478: The FIFA Club World Cup in both years as a result. Between 2011 and 2017, Guangzhou won seven consecutive Chinese Super League titles, and after winning another Chinese Super League title in 2019, the club were relegated after the 2022 season amid financial difficulties. According to a Forbes report from 2016, the team was valued at US$ 282 million, the highest out of all Chinese football teams, with

686-591: The 1997 league season when Chongqing Longxin were willing to pay 2,350,000 Renminbi for him, however despite his high transfer he was unable to live up to expectations and would return to the Guangdong province with Shenzhen Pingan where he was also offered a training position. Originally part of the Chinese youth team he would make the transition to the senior team when he made his debut against Indonesia on April 20, 1992, in an Asian Cup qualifier that China won 2–0. He would immediately become an integral member of

735-555: The 2011 season, Guangzhou Evergrande further strengthened its squad with the purchase of Argentinean Dario Conca and Brazilian Cléo . Although the team was promoted to the Super League in the first year, they clinched the league title in late September 2011 although there were four games yet to play. In March 2012, Guangzhou played and won their first-ever AFC Champions League match, defeating South Korean champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 5–1. In addition, Paraguayan Lucas Barrios left

784-631: The CFA Disciplinary Committee again announced its decision to punish the clubs involved in the match-fixing cases: In addition, punishment was imposed on the individuals involved: Peng Weiguo Peng Weiguo ( Chinese : 彭伟国 ; pinyin : Péng Wěiguó ; born October 3, 1971, in Guangzhou ) is a Chinese football coach and a former international player. As a player he represented Guangzhou Apollo , Chongqing Longxin and Shenzhen Pingan while internationally he represented

833-570: The Chinese football leagues in 1994, it allowed more than one team to play within each region. This saw the establishment of Guangzhou Matsunichi which used to be the youth academy of Guangzhou FC before being sold to Matsunichi Digital Holdings Limited. Direct ties between these two teams also saw them share the Yuexiushan Stadium . In their first meeting in the first round of the 1995 Chinese FA Cup, Matsunichi beat Guangzhou FC 4–3 on aggregate. For

882-471: The Chinese national team captain Zheng Zhi on 28 June 2010. On 30 June 2010, Guangzhou confirmed that they had signed Muriqui on a four-year deal from Campeonato Brasileiro Série A side Atlético Mineiro with a domestic record fee of ¥23 million. On 30 October 2010, Guangzhou became League One champions for the second time and returned to the Super League after a 3–1 win against Hunan Billows . During

931-423: The Chinese team and would play in the 1992 AFC Asian Cup where he aided China to a third-place finish as well as also scoring his first goal against Qatar during the tournament. In the 1994 Asian Games he would continue to aid China to this time a runners-up position, however when it came to the 1996 AFC Asian Cup he was unable to help China improve upon their previous results and China were knocked out during

980-577: The German champions Borussia Dortmund in summer 2012 to join Guangzhou Evergrande. Marcello Lippi replaced Lee Jang-soo as the head coach and brought in South Korean defender Kim Young-gwon and Chinese midfielder Huang Bowen . Guangzhou was knocked out of the 2012 AFC Champions League when they lost 5–4 on aggregate to Al-Ittihad in the quarter-finals. They became the first Chinese side to reach

1029-532: The Guangzhou general manager Yang Xu paid ¥200,000 to the opposing general manager Wang Po to secure a win at home and that Guangzhou's vice presidents Wu Xiaodong and Xie Bin knew about it. With the offending participants sentenced to jail for fraud, the club was put up for sale. On 28 February 2010, Evergrande Real Estate Group took over the club for a fee of ¥100 million. Xu Jiayin, chairman of Evergrande Real Estate Group, said that they would pump more funds into

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1078-488: The National Youth League until 1980 when it was decided that they were mature enough to play in the senior football league pyramid. They started in the recently established third division. The club's youth team development immediately paid off and players such as Mai Chao , Zhao Dayu and later Wu Qunli all rapidly rose into Chinese international footballers. Guangzhou gained successive promotions until they reached

1127-450: The club won its second continental championship, defeating Al-Ahli 1–0 on aggregate in the 2015 AFC Champions League Final . In the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup , Guangzhou won 2–1 against Club América in the quarter-finals before losing 3–0 against Barcelona in the semi-finals. Guangzhou also lost the third place match 2–1 against Hiroshima Sanfrecce , ending up in the same position as in the 2013 edition. By 2020, Guangzhou Evergrande won

1176-456: The end of the season. When Guangzhou R&F moved to the city of Guangzhou , a local derby, often referred to as the Canton derby, was born. The first Canton derby was at Yuexiushan Stadium on 16 March 2012 as Guangzhou Evergrande lost 2–0 against Guangzhou R&F. Relations between the two club owners remain cordial off the pitch and club owners Xu Jiayin and Zhang Li were seen enjoying

1225-480: The final round of the 2003 Jia-A League, Chongqing Lifan would have to lose to Qingdao Etsong Hainiu and hope Shanghai COSCO Sanlin , a title hopeful, could beat (or tie with) Tianjin TEDA . In the match, Chongqing's supporters cheered for the guest team, Qingdao, and Chongqing Lifan successfully lost to Qingdao Etsong Hainiu 1–3. However, Shanghai COSCO Sanlin lost to Tianjin TEDA in a 1–2 blowout. Tianjin TEDA gained

1274-456: The financial collapse of the club. After losing several key players, the team was relegated from the Super League in 2022 , ending their twelve-season stay in the top flight. Before the start of the 2023 China League One season, Guangzhou moved to Yuexiushan Stadium , the former ground of Guangzhou City . Previously, they played their home games at Tianhe Stadium with a capacity for 54,856 spectators. In April 2020, construction work began on

1323-514: The first team in China to win the Super League three times in a row. The club also won the 2013 AFC Champions League by defeating FC Seoul in the final on the away goals rule , after drawing 2–2 in the first leg in Seoul and 1–1 in the second leg in Guangzhou, becoming the first Chinese side to win the tournament since 1990. By winning the AFC Champions League, Guangzhou was assured a place in

1372-453: The four players received 8 million yuan in total. Shen Si was sentenced to six years in prison, the other three were sentenced to five years and six months in prison. Guangzhou Pharmaceutical 's team leader Yang Xu bribed Wang Pu, the general manager of Shanxi Wosen Luhu . With the help of the former CFA League Department official Fan Guangming, and retired Shandong Luneng player Leng Bo and Xing Rui, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical bribed

1421-408: The last seat for the inaugural Chinese Super League and Chongqing Lifan was relegated (although Chongqing was eventually able to qualify for the 2004 CSL by merging with Yunnan Hongta ). Shanghai International finished one point behind the champions Shanghai Shenhua (in 2013, Shenhua were stripped of the title for bribing Lu Jun in the 9 November derby match ). In 2012, it was found that in 2003,

1470-1046: The league in 1960, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, and 1979. ^a No promotion. ^b In final group stage. ^c In Changsha Group (first round). ^d Drawn matches were decided on penalties after 90 minutes. ^e Relegated for match-fixing scandal . ^f In Group A. ^g Lost in the CSL championship final. ^h Not played due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Names in bold indicate players who had international appearances for their countries while playing for Guangzhou. Angola Australia Belarus Brazil Cameroon Canada China PR Colombia DR Congo Honduras Hong Kong Italy Korea Republic Nigeria Paraguay Peru Romania Serbia Trinidad and Tobago Uruguay 2003%E2%80%932009 Chinese football match-fixing scandals The 2003–2009 Chinese football match-fixing scandals were revealed by

1519-403: The match that the total number of goals would be at least four, Qingdao Hailifeng's chairman, Du Yunqi, asked the team for another goal into either net. Due to Sichuan's defensive effort, Qingdao was unable to score another goal. In the last minutes, Qingdao players tried three chip shots into their own goal. However, due to the goalkeeper Mou Pengfei 's two saves on his teammates' shots and with

Guangzhou F.C. - Misplaced Pages Continue

1568-534: The new 100,000-capacity Guangzhou Evergrande Football Stadium . Completion was scheduled for December 2022, in time to host the opening ceremony of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup . However, due to the Chinese property sector crisis , sparked by the Evergrande Group , the project was cancelled in mid-2022. On 29 February 2024, Guangzhou announced a move to the Huadu Stadium . When professionalism was established within

1617-487: The players of Zhejiang Green Town , Shen Liuxi and Hu Minghua, with a total amount of 1.5 million yuan. Chengdu Blades general manager Xu Hongtao and deputy general manager You Ke offered Qingdao Hailifeng with 300,000 yuan and free winter training for a month at Chengdu's base, in exchange with Chengdu's victory of the match. In a 2009 match against the bottom-of-the-league Sichuan F.C. , Qingdao Hailifeng were leading 3–0 with 20 minutes left. But having bet before

1666-514: The quarter-finals since 2006. During the 2012 season, Guangzhou won the league for the second time in a row, becoming the first team in China to win the Super League title twice in a row, while also securing the Chinese FA Cup to become double winners for 2012. In the 2013 season, Guangzhou Evergrande strengthened their squad by signing Chinese goalkeeper Zeng Cheng and Brazilian Elkeson . This proved to be beneficial to Guangzhou as they became

1715-603: The quarter-finals. Unable to help China qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup Peng Weiguo would play his last international game in the final game of qualifying. Peng Weiguo would leave his training position at Shenzhen Pingan in 2001 and move away from football to start several business ventures. He would return to football in July, 2006 when he registered to take a Chinese Soccer association level B training class in management. He would quickly achieve his certificate and on January 5, 2007, he would be offered his first head coach position at

1764-460: The second-tier club Shanghai Stars to replace resigning manager Shen Si , however, he would have a difficult start to his reign and Cao Xiandong was brought into the club as head coach. Peng Weiguo would then move to Hangzhou Greentown on April 29, 2008, as an assistant until September 22, 2009. On 1 December 2009 top tier football club Guangzhou Pharmaceutical officially announced Peng Weiguo as their caretaker head coach. On 25 March 2010, it

1813-539: The team to distance themselves from the bad publicity. The club went through a tough transitional period until the Sunray Cave Group took over the club in 2004 and started to invest money in hopes of pushing for promotion. When the Guangzhou Pharmaceuticals group took over the club in 2006, they were able to realize the ambition of gaining promotion. The club won the 2007 second division title and entry to

1862-504: The then vice president of the Chinese Football Association, Nan Yong, did not want Chongqing Lifan to "lose and qualify" and make the CFA rules a laughing stock. With Nan Yong's help, Tianjin TEDA's club manager, Zhang Yifeng, was able to contact Shanghai International and China national football team player Shen Si , who then contacted club and national teammates Jiang Jin , Qi Hong and Li Ming . After Shanghai COSCO Sanlin lost to Tianjin TEDA,

1911-517: The third attempt going wide, the match ended 3–0. The match was known as " Chip Shot Gate (吊射门)" in China. In 2010, CFA revoked Qingdao Helifeng's league registration. In 2012, Du Yunqi was sentenced to seven years in prison. On February 21, 2010, the CFA Disciplinary Committee made preliminary punishment decisions for clubs identified by the Ministry of Public Security Gambling Task Force as being involved in match-fixing cases. On February 18, 2013,

1960-607: The top tier. At the end of the 1982 league season Guangzhou were relegated again. They returned to the top division at the end of the 1984 season via the Chinese FA Cup . Guangzhou also became the first Chinese team to gain sponsorship when the Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Factory signed a $ 200,000 annual deal with the club. Throughout the 1990s, the Chinese Football Association were demanding more professionalism from their football teams. Guangzhou

2009-532: The top tier. Back within the top division Guangzhou often struggled within the league and were again relegated to the second tier at the end of the 1963 league season. They remained there until 1966 when the Cultural Revolution halted football in China. When the Chinese football league restarted, Guangzhou took the unusual step of abstaining from the competition and instead on 26 October 1977 brought Luo Rongman to manage their youth team. The team played within

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2058-500: The top two teams. In 2013, Shanghai Shenhua was stripped of its 2003 title . Lu Jun , once nicknamed "Golden Whistle" (金哨), was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison for fixing the results of the Shanghai derby and six other league matches. The CFA stipulated that the result of "the 2002 Jia-A League rank * 0.5 + the 2003 Jia-A League rank" will be used to determine the teams participating the newly created Chinese Super League in 2004 . In

2107-492: The transfer market. His first act was to sign in Chinese national team striker Gao Lin from Shanghai Shenhua for a reported fee of ¥6 million. Then, he replaced the head coach Peng Weiguo with former Beijing Guoan manager Lee Jang-soo with no indication. In the 2010 summer transfer window, the club signed Sun Xiang , the first Chinese footballer to play in the UEFA Champions League with PSV Eindhoven , and

2156-408: Was announced that manager Peng had been relieved of his duties, with Korean manager Lee Jang-Soo put in charge. He became the manager of Guangzhou F.C. Youth Team . On 22 September 2011, Chinese Football Association announced Peng as the assist coach of China U22 . On 21 May 2012, he became the reserve team coach of Guangzhou Evergrande , just a few days after Marcello Lippi took over as

2205-530: Was fined 300,000 RMB. Their club managers were "seriously warned". In 2006, Liaoshen Evening News report match-fixing event to the Chinese Football Association . Xie Yalong, Nan Yong and Yang Yimin replied "the CFA will carefully study the evidence and quickly request judicial intervention. Please report to us again next time." It was revealed in 2011 that the referee Lu Jun and CFA official Zhang Jianqiang received bribes totaling 700,000 yuan from Shanghai Shenhua before this Shanghai derby match between

2254-702: Was launched which discovered that Wen Junwu and three other players were in collusion with gambling groups and were immediately expelled from the club. In 2001, the Guangzhou Sports Bureau took over the club again. With significant investment coming from the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd it was hoped that the club could push for promotion. The division was rocked by a match-fixing scandal involving Changchun Yatai , Chengdu Wuniu , Jiangsu Sainty , and Zhejiang Greentown . Guangzhou's new sponsors Geely immediately pulled their funding from

2303-465: Was one of the first fully professional football clubs in China after the Apollo Group took over the club on 8 January 1993. The investment aided the manager Zhou Sui'an to help create a competitive squad. Hu Zhijun won the top goalscoring award. Guangzhou were able to gain a runners-up spot in the 1994 league season . The following season Zhou Sui'an left the team after having twice guided the club to

2352-681: Was stripped of their 2003 Chinese Jia-A League title. Lu Jun , the only Chinese referee in the history of FIFA World Cup , and China national football team players Shen Si , Jiang Jin , Qi Hong and Li Ming were arrested and sentenced to 5.5 years or 6 years in jail. In the aftermath of the 2001 Chinese football match-fixing scandal , referee Gong Jianping was jailed and died in the prison. Other team managers, referees and officials were not subject to any criminal prosecution. Shandong Luneng Taishan , Shanghai Shenhua and Zhejiang Green Town were fined 800,000 RMB , Jiangsu Sainty and Dalian Shide were fined 500,000 RMB, Qingdao Etsong Hainiu

2401-536: Was subsequently relegated. In 2010, the Evergrande Real Estate Group decided to purchase the club and pumped significant funds into the team. They immediately won promotion and gained their first top tier title in the 2011 season . Guangzhou are the most successful Chinese football club in continental competitions, winning the AFC Champions League twice, in 2013 and 2015 , and participating in

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