 | |||
| Full name | Sichuan Jiuniu Football Club 四川九牛足球俱乐部 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 5 January 2017 | ||
| Ground | Longquanyi Stadium Chengdu, China | ||
| Capacity | 27,000 | ||
| Owner | Jianteng Fund (53%) City Football Group (47%) | ||
| Chairman | Tang Xigang | ||
| Manager | Jesús Tato (Caretaker) | ||
| League | Chinese Super League | ||
| 2023 | China League One, 1st of 16 (promoted) | ||
|
| |||
| 2008 | Manchester City F.C.* |
|---|---|
| 2009–2012 | |
| 2013 | New York City FC§ |
| 2014 | Melbourne City FC* |
| Yokohama F. Marinos*§ | |
| 2015–2016 | |
| 2017 | Montevideo City Torque* |
| Girona FC*§ | |
| 2018 | |
| 2019 | Sichuan Jiuniu F.C.*§ |
| Mumbai City FC*§ | |
| 2020 | Lommel S.K.* |
| ES Troyes AC* | |
| 2021 | |
| 2022 | Palermo F.C.*§ |
| 2023 | Bahia*§ |
Sichuan Jiuniu Football Club (Chinese: 四川九牛足球俱乐部; lit. 'Sichuan Nine Bulls F.C.') is a Chinese professional football club based in Chengdu, Sichuan, that competes in the Chinese Super League, the top tier of Chinese football. Traditionally, Sichuan Jiuniu had played its home matches at the Longquanyi Stadium, located within Longquanyi District, but currently plays its home matches at the Suining Sports Center in Suining, Sichuan. They are partially owned by the City Football Group.[1]
History
The club was founded on 5 January 2017. They participated in the 2017 China Amateur Football League the same year and managed to advance to the national play-offs, but was eliminated by Zhaoqing Hengtai in the first round. They were ranked 10th and later admitted into China League Two due to the withdrawal of several other teams.
In February 2019, City Football Group, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi United Group, purchased the club.[1][2]
On 23 May 2020, the Chinese Football Association announced that eleven professional clubs across China's top three divisions would have their registration cancelled over a failure to pay player wages.[3] As a result, the CFA announced a reclassification of the teams which would contest their professional divisions. According to this reclassification, Sichuan Jiuniu was promoted to China League One for the 2020 season,[4] which had already been delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 18 October 2023, Sichuan Jiuniu won promotion to the Chinese Super League for the club's first time ever as they beat Wuxi Wugo 4–0 at home. They secured the title in the following matchday on 21 October as they defeated Liaoning Shenyang Urban 1–0.
Stadiums
In Sichuan Jiuniu's existence, the club have used a multiple of stadiums in their climb up the divisions. Their first ground used between 2017 and 2022 was the Chengdu Longquanyi Football Stadium, and in the 2023 season, Sichuan Jiuniu played its home matches at the Shuangliu Sports Centre, the Chengdong Sports Park Stadium, and the Suining Sports Center.
Players
Current squad
- As of 8 February 2023[5]
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
Source:[6]
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Vacant |
| Assistant coach |  Jesús Tato |
| Fitness coach | Manuel Sayabera |
| Goalkeeper coach | Juan Maria Cruz Arias |
Managerial history
Zhai Biao (2006–2008)- Sun Bowei (caretaker; 2008)
- Xu Jianye (2009–2010)
- Zhao Lei (2010)
- Sun Bowei (2011–2017)
- Cheng Liang (31 December 2017 – 30 May 2018)
Dario Dabac (7 June 2018 – 11 January 2019)- Wang Hongwei (27 February 2019 – 18 May 2020)
- Li Yi (22 July 2020 – 25 December 2021)
- Sergio Lobera (19 January 2022 – 21 April 2023)
Honours
League
- China League One
- Champions: 2023
Results
All-time League Rankings
As of the end of 2023 season.[7]
| Year | League | Stage | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pos. | FA Cup | Super Cup | AFC | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | China Amateur Football League | Second round | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 6 | Qualified | DNE | DNQ | DNQ | Chengdu Longquanyi Football Stadium |
| Knockout stages | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −3 | n/a | k/o (R16) | ||||||
| 2018 | China League Two | Regular season | 28 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 24 | 27 | −3 | 28 | 24th (of 28) | QF | |||
| 2019 | 30 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 47 | 27 | 20 | 56 | 8th (of 32) | R2 | |||||
| 2020 | China League One | Regular season | 10 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 12 | −4 | 9 | 5th (of 6) | R2 | |||
| Relegation stage | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 3rd (of 6) | ||||||
| 2021 | Regular season | 34 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 34 | 27 | 7 | 52 | 8th (of 18) | R2 | ||||
| 2022 | 34 | 18 | 3 | 13 | 40 | 30 | 10 | 51 | 6th (of 18) | R2 | |||||
| 2023 | 30 | 22 | 3 | 5 | 51 | 19 | 32 | 69 | 1st (of 16) | R3 | |||||
| 2024 | Chinese Super League | Regular season | 30 | TBD (of 16) | TBD |
Key
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References
- 1 2 "Manchester City hail purchase of Chinese club as 'exciting new chapter'". The Guardian. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- ↑ "Man City buy stake in third-tier Chinese club Sichuan Jiuniu FC". 20 February 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ↑ "关于取消相关职业足球俱乐部注册资格的通知" [Notice on disqualification of relevant professional football club registration]. CFA (in Chinese). 23 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ↑ "关于公布2020赛季中国足球协会三级职业联赛俱乐部参赛名单的通知" [Notice regarding the announcement of the entry list of the third-level professional league clubs of the Chinese Football Association in the 2020 season]. CFA (in Chinese). 23 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ↑ "四川九牛新赛季大名单：3外援领衔，赵旭日、邹正、王楚在列". Sohu (in Chinese). 6 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ↑ "关于聘任塞尔吉奥·洛贝拉先生担任四川九牛队主教练的公告". Dongqiudi (in Chinese). 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
- ↑ "四川九牛" [Sichuan Jiuniu] (in Chinese). sodasoccer.com. Retrieved 2018-07-22.