2020 Dalian Professional F.C. season

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On 21 January 2020, Wanda Group announced officially switched to new team name Dalian Professional Football Club (Chinese: 大连人职业足球俱乐部), or Dalian Pro F.C. (Chinese: 大连人队), and came up with a new emblem design featuring a vintage Dalian Wanda F.C. logo.^[1] On the final day of the winter transfer window, Yannick Carrasco rejoined Atlético Madrid on loan until the end of the La Liga season.^[2]

In February, the start of the 2020 Chinese Super League season was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Dalian Pro was in Murcia, Spain at the time for pre-season and were forced to extend their stay within Spain as ll travel to China was suspended.^[3][4] In March, as the coronavirus began spreading through Spain and the rest of Europe, Dalian Pro managed to fly back to China.^[5][6] Benitez with two new signings Sam Larsson and Marcus Danielson flew to Hong Kong for visas but they were initially unsuccessful and the two players went back to Sweden to train with IFK Göteborg and Djurgårdens IF respectively.^[7][8][9]

On 30 May, Tao Qianglong went out for drinking with 5 other players when training with China U-19 national team, which broke the national team regulation. All six players received 6-month suspensions from club games, and were each banned from China national teams.^[10] Dalian Pro downgraded him to the reserve team.^[11]

On 11 June, Dalian Pro became the first CSL team to obtain visas for foreign players after the ban.^[12]

On 1 July 2020, Chinese Football Association announced the 2020 season to resume on 25 July. Teams were divided in two groups to compete in two cities, Dalian and Suzhou, while audiences were not allowed. Dalian Sports Center, Jinzhou Stadium and Dalian Pro Soccer Academy Base were selected as hosting stadiums.^[13]

During the first match against Shandong Luneng, Rondon scored the first goal in this season, and Danielson had his debut goal, but Dalian was still defeated by a Marouane Fellaini hat-trick.^{[citation needed]}

As the first cycle of the regular season finished by the end of August, Dalian Pro could not acquire a single win out of 7 games, resulting 3 draws, 4 losses, 10 goals scored, and 14 conceded. Ten of the fourteen goals allowed were conceded after the 70th minute of matches.^{[citation needed]}

The club's first victory of the season came on 29 August against Shandong Luneng with Lin Liangming scoring the only goal of the game.^[14] This was also Dalian's first win without Carrasco in the starting eleven since 2018 (five matches in 2018, five in 2019, and seven in 2020).^{[citation needed]}

Danielson's head was lacerated against Guangzhou R&F. His absence brought another two losses, which locked Dalian Pro down at 7th position, to compete in the relegation stage.

For the October FIFA calendar, Hamsik left the team to join the Slovakia national team.^[15] As the strict quarantine policy for foreigners entering China was still active, he might miss most secondary stage matches upon his return, so Dalian Pro removed him from the squad, and signed Jailson instead.^[16] Rondon, however, stayed with the team. He was called up by the Venezuela national team, and he intended to leave, too. But FIFA continued the policy that allowed clubs to not release the player just before his departure,^[17] while Dalian Pro and Benitez relied heavily upon his attacking role, so he eventually stayed.^[18]

Dalian Pro Women's F.C. completed 2020 season at 3rd place in the Chinese Women's Football League.^[19]

Dalian Pro overpowered the first opponent Shijiazhuang Ever Bright in the relegation stage by 3-2 aggregate. Sun Guowen scored in the first loss, while Lin Liangming and Wang Yaopeng both scored decisive header in the second leg. Dalian Pro ensured a position above 12th, that the team were safely prevented from relegation. Rondon returned to Venezuela after this match to prepare for incoming national team games.^[20]

Dalian acquired an easy win from Guangzhou R&F. Danielson was called up by Sweden national team, and left the team after this match.^[21] Larsson would also enjoy his early vacation, as he got his fourth yellow card before the last match. With only two foreign players against four, Dalian shamefully lost by 4–3 in aggregate eventually. Local media described this loss ironically as a "Reversed Miracle of Istanbul".^[22]

Dalian Pro registered more young players than other teams, and put multiple experienced elder players in the reserves, which was considered "youth storm" by most media. However, the newly registered young players seldom gained chances to play. Throughout the season, Tong Lei and Lin Liangming had impressive performances as under-23 players, but for other young players under 23, only those with previous appearances in the 2019 season were occasionally used as substitution. On one hand, the team was under the pressure of relegation, a risky situation to use young players. On the other hand, the special season allowed teams to use up to 4 foreign players, which further seized playing time of domestic players. Anyway, this situation was often criticized by local media, especially when the team faced difficulties or had unsatisfactory results, and had to use elder players like Zhao Xuri, Zheng Long and Sun Bo.^[23] However, Benitez explained his point of view in many press conferences and his personal blog, that result of the 2020 season was unimportant, and that young players needed time to gain experience.^[24]

Benitez switched to 4-defender based tactic in this season with the signing of Marcus Danielson. In most conditions, a 4-5-1 formation would be used, with Rondon serving as the single striker. Great improvements on passing and crossing could be seen comparing with last season, especially Tong Lei's long passes and crosses.^[25] Sam Larsson was considered a downgraded replacement for Carrrasco at first due to the new restriction of transfer fee, but he displayed various skills and strong spirit, and proved to be a worthy foreign player for the team. Together with Danielson, they were described to have "continued the impressive tradition of Swedish players in club history". In the first stage, the team covered more distance in total,^[26] while Hamsik and Rondon topped player running distance.^[27] On the other hand, the team relied heavily on Rondon, Larsson and Hamsik, and lacked other scoring tactics when either of them was absent.

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As of 5 October 2020

No.	Name	Nat.	Place of birth	Date of birth (age)	Joined	From	Ends	Note
Goalkeepers
1	Zhang Chong		Dalian	(1987-11-25)25 November 1987 (aged 32)	2013	Dalian Shide	Dec 2021
19	Xue Qinghao U21		Qingdao	(2000-09-26)26 September 2000 (aged 19)	2020	Liaoning
23	Li Xuebo		Dalian	(1999-11-15)15 November 1999 (aged 20)	2019	Atlético Madrid B	Dec 2022
32	Xu Jiamin		Shanghai	(1994-04-11)11 April 1994 (aged 26)	2020	Beijing Renhe
Defenders
3	Shan Pengfei		Dalian	(1993-05-07)7 May 1993 (aged 27)	2012	Dalian Yifang youth
4	Li Shuai		Shenyang	(1995-06-18)18 June 1995 (aged 25)	2016	Mafra	Dec 2023
11	Sun Guowen		Dalian	(1993-09-30)30 September 1993 (aged 26)	2013	Dalian Shide	Dec 2021
13	Wang Yaopeng		Dalian	(1995-01-18)18 January 1995 (aged 25)	2014	Liaoning youth	Dec 2021
14	Huang Jiahui		Bozhou	(2000-10-07)7 October 2000 (aged 19)	2019	Dalian Yifang youth	Dec 2023
16	Tong Lei		Quzhou	(1997-12-16)16 December 1997 (aged 22)	2020	Zhejiang Greentown	Dec 2022
18	He Yupeng		Anshan	(1999-12-05)5 December 1999 (aged 20)	2019	Dalian Yifang youth	Dec 2023
22	Dong Yanfeng		Dalian	(1996-02-11)11 February 1996 (aged 24)	2016	Liaoning youth	Dec 2021
25	Li Jianbin MI		Binzhou	(1989-04-19)19 April 1989 (aged 31)	2019	Shanghai Shenhua	Dec 2020
30	Marcus Danielson		Eskilstuna	(1989-04-08)8 April 1989 (aged 31)	2020	Djurgårdens IF
33	Wang Xianjun		Dalian	(2000-06-01)1 June 2000 (aged 20)	2020	Dalian Pro youth
36	Zhou Xiao U21		Nanchong	(1999-05-17)17 May 1999 (aged 21)	2019	Atlético Astorga	Dec 2023
37	Yang Haoyu MI		Kunming	(2000-07-31)31 July 2000 (aged 20)	2020	Hubei Chufeng United	Dec 2020
60	Yang Pengju U21		Guiyang	(2000-06-06)6 June 2000 (aged 20)	2020	Dalian Pro youth
Midfielders
5	Wu Wei		Xinxiang	(1997-02-05)5 February 1997 (aged 23)	2020	Tianjin Tianhai	Dec 2025
7	Zhao Xuri		Dalian	(1985-12-03)3 December 1985 (aged 34)	2019	Tianjin Quanjian	Dec 2021	Vice-Captain
10	Sam Larsson		Gothenburg	(1993-04-10)10 April 1993 (aged 27)	2020	Feyenoord
12	Jailson Siqueira MI		Caçapava do Sul	(1995-09-07)7 September 1995 (aged 25)	2020	Fenerbahçe
20	Wang Jinxian		Wuhan	(1996-01-12)12 January 1996 (aged 24)	2014	Dalian Yifang youth	Dec 2021
26	Cui Ming'an		Dalian	(1994-11-15)15 November 1994 (aged 25)	2014	Dalian Yifang youth
27	Cheng Hui		Dalian	(1997-08-02)2 August 1997 (aged 22)	2019	Lleida Esportiu B	Dec 2023
28	Lin Liangming		Shantou	(1997-06-04)4 June 1997 (aged 23)	2020	Gondomar	Dec 2020
29	Sun Bo		Dalian	(1991-01-22)22 January 1991 (aged 29)	2011	Shandong Luneng youth
31	Zheng Long		Qingdao	(1988-04-15)15 April 1988 (aged 32)	2019	Guangzhou Evergrande
35	Zhang Jiansheng MI		Xingtai	(1999-12-30)30 December 1999 (aged 20)	2020	Dalian Pro youth
40	Zhu Jiaxuan U21		Dalian	(1999-04-13)13 April 1999 (aged 21)	2020	Dalian Pro youth
42	Wang Tengda U21		Dalian	(2001-02-18)18 February 2001 (aged 19)	2020	Dalian Pro youth
50	Wang Zhen'ao U21		Wuhan	(1999-08-10)10 August 1999 (aged 20)	2020	Dalian Pro youth
17	Marek Hamšík MO		Banská Bystrica	(1987-07-27)27 July 1987 (aged 32)	2019	Napoli	Dec 2021	Captain
Forwards
9	Salomón Rondón		Caracas	(1989-09-16)16 September 1989 (aged 30)	2019	West Bromwich Albion	Dec 2022
21	Emmanuel Boateng		Accra	(1996-05-23)23 May 1996 (aged 24)	2019	Levante	Dec 2022
39	Shan Huanhuan		Pingdingshan	(1999-01-24)24 January 1999 (aged 21)	2019	Vitória Guimarães B	Dec 2024
41	Zhao Jianbo U21		Dalian	(2001-05-07)7 May 2001 (aged 19)	2020	Dalian Pro youth

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  CHN Wang Kailong — GK  CHN Xue Qinghao — GK  CHN Sun Wancheng — DF  CHN Han Peijiang — DF  CHN Li Qinghao — DF  CHN Rong Linchao — DF  CHN Wu Wei — DF  CHN Yang Lei — DF  CHN Yang Pengju — DF  CHN Yang Lei — DF  CHN Zhang Hui — DF  CHN Zheng Bofan

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  CHN Chen Rong — MF  CHN Hu Jiali — MF  CHN Yu Zhen — MF  CHN Kong Yinquan — FW  CHN Bai Yaoxu — FW  CHN Liang Huan — FW  CHN Lü Zhuoyi — FW  CHN Zhang Jiansheng — FW  CHN Zhang Yuhao — FW  CHN Zhang Zimin — FW  CHN Zhu Hui

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  CHN Han Guangxu — DF  CHN Luo Hongshi — FW  CHN Aximu Aini — MF  CHN Yi Tianyu — MF  CHN Tao Qianglong — GK  CHN Gao Tian — DF  CHN Bi Guangfu — MF  CHN Liu Zhipeng — MF  CHN Zhang Jun — MF  CHN Xie Hui

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 6 MF  CHN Zhu Xiaogang 8 DF  CHN Zhu Ting 12 DF  CHN Zhou Ting 35 DF  CHN Yang Shanping

As of 24 July 2020.

Position	Name	Notes
First team
Head coach	Rafael Benítez
Assistant coach	Mikel Antía
Assistant coach	Antonio Gómez Pérez
Fitness coach	Francisco "Paco" de Míguel Moreno
Goalkeeping coach	Joaquín Enrique Valerio
First team coach	Darko Matić
Medical advisor	Song Jinhua
Team doctor	Jan Jungwirth
Team doctor	Yu Jiatian
Physiotherapist	Javier Sagaste
Technical coach	Jiang Zongyan
Reserve and youth teams
Reserve (U-23) coach	David Rivas Martínez
Reserve golkeeping coach	Jorge Bartual
U-19 coach	Lü Gang	[28]
U-17 coach	Liu Yujian	[29]
U-15 coach	Qi Xiaoguang	[30]
U-14 coach	Zou Peng	[31]
U-13 coach	Li Yang	[32]

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Due to the COVID-19, Chinese FA applied for a temporary transfer window, and was approved by FIFA.^[33]

No.	Pos.	Name	Age	Moving from	Type	Transfer fee	Date	Notes	Ref.
—	DF	Liu Yingchen	26	Shanghai Shenxin	Loan Return	—	31 December 2019
—	MF	Yuan Hao	22	Shanghai Shenxin	Loan Return	—	31 December 2019
—	DF	Yin Jiahao	19	Shenzhen Pengcheng	Loan Return	—	31 December 2019
—	DF	Zheng Jianfeng	29	Dalian Chanjoy	Loan Return	—	31 December 2019
—	MF	Gao Mingxin	19	Dalian Chanjoy	Loan Return	—	31 December 2019
—	MF	Han Peijiang	20	Dalian Chanjoy	Loan Return	—	31 December 2019
—	MF	Ren Jiawei	19	Dalian Chanjoy	Loan Return	—	31 December 2019
—	MF	Duan Yunzi	22	Sichuan Longfor	Loan Return	—	31 December 2019
—	DF	Wang Liang	30	Dalian Chanjoy	Loan Return	—	31 December 2019
—	MF	Li Yuqiu	21	Yinchuan Helanshan	Loan Return	—	31 December 2019
16	DF	Tong Lei	22	Zhejiang Greentown	Transfer	¥13.0M	20 January 2020		[34]
5	DF	Wu Wei	22	Tianjin Tianhai	Transfer	¥20.0M	4 February 2020		[35]
—	GK	Xue Qinghao	19	Liaoning	Transfer	Free	5 February 2020		[36]
40	FW	Wang Zhen'ao	20	Vejle Boldklub	Transfer	Free	26 February 2020		[37]
—	MF	Tao Qianglong	18	Hebei China Fortune	Transfer	¥20.0M	27 February 2020		[38]
28	FW	Lin Liangming	22	Gondomar	Loan	—	27 February 2020		[38]
10	FW	Sam Larsson	27	Feyenoord	Transfer	€5.0M	28 February 2020		[39]
30	DF	Marcus Danielson	31	Djurgårdens IF	Transfer	€5.0M	28 February 2020		[40]
32	GK	Xu Jiamin	26	Beijing Renhe	Transfer	¥8.0M	9 July 2020

No.	Pos.	Name	Age	Moving to	Type	Transfer fee	Date	Notes	Ref.
16	MF	Qin Sheng	34	Shanghai Shenhua	Transfer	Free	24 January 2020		[41]
2	DF	Zhao Mingjian	32	Shanghai Shenhua	Transfer	Free	24 January 2020		[42]
10	MF	Yannick Carrasco	26	Atletico Madrid	Loan	Undisclosed	31 January 2020		[2]
—	GK	Chen Zhongyu	20	Meizhou Hakka	Transfer	—	20 April 2020		[43]
—	DF	Yang Zexiang	26	Shanghai Shenhua	Released	Free	19 May 2020
—	FW	Yang Fangzhi	24	Zhejiang Yiteng	Transfer	Free	23 July 2020
19	GK	Yu Ziqian	35	Retired	—	—	9 July 2020		[44]
—	MF	Duan Yunzi	25	Wuhan Three Towns	Transfer	Undisclosed	5 August 2020		[45]
—	MF	Li Yuqiu	25	Qingdao Red Lions	Transfer	—	20 August 2020		[46]
—	DF	Liu Yingchen	27	Beijing Renhe	Loan	—	20 August 2020

No.	Pos.	Name	Age	Moving from	Type	Transfer fee	Date	Notes	Ref.
—	MF	Yannick Carrasco	27	Atletico Madrid	Loan Return	—
12	MF	Jailson Siqueira	25	Fenerbahçe	Transfer	—	18 September 2020		[47]
37	MF	Yang Haoyu	20	Hubei Chufeng United	Loan	—	30 September 2020
28	FW	Lin Liangming	22	Gondomar	Transfer	—	22 September 2020

No.	Pos.	Name	Age	Moving to	Type	Transfer fee	Date	Notes	Ref.
—	MF	Yannick Carrasco	27	Atletico Madrid	Transfer	Undisclosed	8 September 2020		[48]
—	MF	Pang Chuntao	21	Guizhou Hengfeng	Transfer	—	12 September 2020
28	FW	Lin Liangming	22	Gondomar	End of loan	—	22 September 2020

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao	14	11	1	2	31	12	+19	34	Qualification for Championship stage
2	Jiangsu Suning	14	7	5	2	23	15	+8	26
3	Shandong Luneng Taishan	14	7	3	4	19	11	+8	24
4	Shanghai Greenland Shenhua	14	5	6	3	16	15	+1	21
5	Shenzhen F.C.	14	5	2	7	20	20	0	17	Qualification for Relegation stage
6	Guangzhou R&F	14	4	3	7	14	28	−14	15
7	Dalian Pro	14	2	5	7	18	21	−3	11
8	Henan Jianye	14	1	3	10	14	33	−19	6

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
14	2	5	7	18	21	−3	11	0	4	3	8	12	−4	2	1	4	10	9	+1

Fixtures as of 13 July 2020 ^[49]