Zhejiang Professional F.C. – Wikipedia
Chinese football club
Football club
Zhejiang Professional Football Club (simplified Chinese: 浙江职业足球俱乐部; traditional Chinese: 浙江職業足球俱樂部; pinyin: Zhèjiāng Zhíyè Zúqiú Jùlèbù), commonly referred to as Zhejiang FC or simply Zhejiang, is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under license 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 51,971. The club’s main investors are the Zhejiang-based Greentown China Holdings Limited company and Zhejiang Energy Group.
The club was founded on January 14, 1998, named as Zhejiang Green Town F.C. 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 playing right for Chinese Football Association Jia League as well as 32 players from first team of Yanbian Funde F.C.(Then 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 Chinese Super League season. It still remains the top football club in Zhejiang.
History[edit]
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]
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] 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 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 after getting second-to-last place in the 2016 CFA 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.
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.
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 share holders, while Song Weiping officially quit the club.[10]
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]
Name history[edit]
| Period | Club Name | First Team Name | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–2001 | Zhejiang Green Town FC | 浙江绿城 | Zhejiang Green Town | 浙江绿城 |
| 2001–04 | Zhejiang Sanhua Green Town (Sponsor Name) | 浙江三花绿城 | ||
| 2004–09 | Zhejiang Babei Green Town (Sponsor Name) | 浙江巴贝绿城 | ||
| 2009–10 | Hangzhou Greentown FC | 杭州绿城 | Hangzhou Greentown | 杭州绿城 |
| 2010–12 | Hangzhou Nabel Greentown (Sponsor Name) | 杭州诺贝尔绿城 | ||
| 2012–13 | Hangzhou 9Top Greentown (Sponsor Name) | 杭州九好绿城 | ||
| 2013–14 | Hangzhou Daikin Greentown (Sponsor Name) | 杭州大金绿城 | ||
| 2014–18 | Hangzhou Greentown | 杭州绿城 | ||
| 2018–20 | Zhejiang Greentown FC | 浙江绿城 | Zhejiang Greentown | 浙江绿城 |
| 2020–21 | Zhejiang 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 |
Current squad[edit]
First team[edit]
- As of 16 February 2023[12]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Reserve team[edit]
- As of 26 August 2022
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan[edit]
- As of 17 May 2022
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Notable players[edit]
Coaching staff[edit]
As of 18 May 2022
Managerial history[edit]
- As of Beginning of 2022 Chinese league season[13][14]
Grounds[edit]
Records[edit]
Honours[edit]
Major[edit]
League[edit]
Cup[edit]
Minor / Reserve / Youth[edit]
Results[edit]
All-time League rankings
As of the start of 2022 season.[16][17]
| Season | Division | Pts | Pos. | FA Cup | Other | Att./G | Stadium | Top league scorer(s) | Scores | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | did not enter league system | DNQ | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||
| 1999 | Yi | 1st Stage
Group B |
10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 15 | −3 | 11 | 5 | Final 17 | DNQ | – | Unknown | Zhejiang Stadium | Yao Changming
Qin Peng |
3 |
| 2000 | Yi | 1st Stage
Group C |
10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 4 | 16 | 23 | 1 | Final 8[18] | DNQ | – | Unknown | Zhejiang Stadium | Yao Changming | 12 |
| 2nd Stage
South Region |
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 13 | −2 | 7 | 4 | |||||||||
| 3nd Stage
1st Round |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | −5 | lost | – | – | tournament (Wuhan) | |||||||
| 2001 | Jia B1 | 22 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 33 | 26 | 7 | 28 | 8 | R1 | – | 24,182 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | Adolfo Valencia | 12 | ||
| 2002 | Jia B | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 29 | 33 | −4 | 29 | 7 | SF | – | 16,364 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center
Meihu Sports Centre |
Bertin Tomou | 7 | ||
| 2003 | Jia B | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 27 | 10 | R1 | – | 11,615 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | Adolfo Valencia | 14 | ||
| 2004 | CL | 32 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 38 | 39 | −1 | 45 | 8 | R1 | – | 3,625 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | Shen Liuxi | 10 | ||
| 2005 | CL | 26 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 50 | 23 | 27 | 55 | 3 | R2 | – | 14,917 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | Bertin Tomou | 11 | ||
| 2006 | CL | 24 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 41 | 18 | 23 | 55 | RU | SF | – | 25,500 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | Alex Chandre de Oliveira | 15 | ||
| 2007 | CSL | 28 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 25 | 35 | −10 | 28 | 11 | NH | – | 19,571 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center
Meihu Sports Centre |
Alex Chandre de Oliveira | 5 | ||
| 2008 | CSL | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 38 | 32 | 6 | 39 | 9 | NH | – | 12,188 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | Erivaldo Antonio Saraiva | 10 | ||
| 2009 | CSL | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 30 | 43 | −13 | 32 | 152 | NH | – | 14,790 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | Erivaldo Antonio Saraiva | 13 | ||
| 2010 | CSL | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 38 | 30 | 8 | 48 | 4 | NH | – | 14,550 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center
Meihu Sports Centre |
Luis Alfredo Ramírez | 14 | ||
| 2011 | CSL | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 28 | 32 | −4 | 39 | 8 | QF | ACL Group | 8,586 | Meihu Sports Centre
Jiaxing Stadium |
Luis Alfredo Ramírez | 7 | ||
| 2012 | CSL | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 34 | 46 | −12 | 36 | 11 | QF | – | 10,563 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | Wang Song
Renatinho |
8 | ||
| 2013 | CSL | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 34 | 42 | −8 | 34 | 12 | QF | – | 14,164 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | Davy Claude Angan | 9 | ||
| 2014 | CSL | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 43 | 60 | −17 | 32 | 12 | R4 | – | 13,766 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | Anselmo Ramon | 16 | ||
| 2015 | CSL | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 27 | 35 | −8 | 33 | 11 | R4 | – | 12,566 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | Anselmo Ramon | 12 | ||
| 2016 | CSL | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 28 | 37 | −9 | 32 | 15 | R4 | – | 11,723 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center
Jinhua Sports Center |
Anselmo Ramon | 7 | ||
| 2017 | CL | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 31 | 39 | −8 | 36 | 9 | R4 | – | 4,881 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center
Jinhua Sports Center Zhoushan Sports Center |
Anselmo Ramon | 6 | ||
| 2018 | CL | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 53 | 38 | 15 | 51 | 3 | R3 | – | 8,717 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center
Zhoushan Sports Center |
Dino Ndlovu | 19 | ||
| 2019 | CL | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 49 | 40 | 9 | 51 | 6 | R4 | – | 8,678 | Yellow Dragon Sports Center | Dino Ndlovu | 17 | ||
| 2020 | CL | 1st Stage
Group B |
10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 2 | RU3 | R2 | – | – | tournament (Meizhou) | Nyasha Mushekwi | 7 |
| 2nd Stage
Group D |
5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 2 | tournament (Chengdu) | ||||||||
| 2021 | CL | 34 | 22 | 8 | 4 | 69 | 28 | 41 | 74 | 34 | R4 | – | – | tournament (Meizhou) | Nyasha Mushekwi | 23 | ||
| 2022 | CSL | 34 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 64 | 28 | 36 | 65 | 3 | F | – | 3,500 | Huzhou Olympic Sports Center
tournament (Haikou, Round 1-10) |
Nyasha Mushekwi | 18 | ||
^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
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Feeder teams[edit]
- 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]
- Wenzhou Provenza (2011) [U19 team of Hangzhou Greentown FC]
International friendlies[edit]
- 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.
International results[edit]
Kit history[edit]
| Season | Kit manufacturer | Colour (H) | Sponsor (H) | Colour (A) | Sponsor (A) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1999 | Adidas | Blue | Green Town | 绿城 | Red | Green Town | 绿城 |
| 2000 | |||||||
| 2001 | Ucan | White | Green Town (Round 1) | 绿城（第1轮） | Blue / Red | Green 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） | ||||||
| 2002 | Blue | Sanhua | 三花 | White / Green | Sanhua | 三花 | |
| 2003 | Green | White | |||||
| 2004 | White | Babei | 巴贝 | Green / Yellow / Red | Babei | 巴贝 | |
| 2005 | Umbro | Green / Yellow / Blue / Red | |||||
| 2006 | Kika | Red | |||||
| 2007 | Asics | Black | |||||
| 2008 | Kappa | Green | |||||
| 2009 | Nike | Green | CIMIC (from Round 10) | 斯米克 | Black | CIMIC (from Round 10) | 斯米克 |
| 2010 | Green & White | Nabel | 诺贝尔瓷砖 | White | Nabel | 诺贝尔瓷砖 | |
| 2011 | Green | ||||||
| 2012 | Daikin | 大金空调 | Daikin | 大金空调 | |||
| 2013 | 500.com | 500.com | 500.com | 500.com | |||
| 2014 | Toshiba | Toshiba（第1-6轮） | Toshiba | Toshiba（第1-6轮） | |||
| Toshiba 东芝空调（第7-30轮） | Toshiba 东芝空调（第7-30轮） | ||||||
| 2015 | Toshiba 东芝空调 | Toshiba 东芝空调 | |||||
| 2016 | |||||||
| 2017 | Panasonic | Panasonic 松下洁乐 | Panasonic | Panasonic 松下洁乐 | |||
| 2018 | Anta | Panasonic 松下洗碗机 | |||||
| 2019 | Panasonic 松下卫浴 | Panasonic 松下卫浴 | |||||
| 2020 | Kelme | Panasonic 松下电器 | Panasonic 松下电器 | ||||
| 2021 | |||||||
| 2022 | Nike | ||||||
| 2023 | |||||||
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, such as Shanghai Zhongyuan and Shanghai Shenhua.
References[edit]
External links[edit]
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