2021 Dalian Professional F.C. season

Dalian Pro regrouped on 18 January for winter training at the team base.^[1] The original training plan was to train in Guangzhou, but could not be carried on as the manager yet decided to return.

The 2021 CSL saw growing pressure from three aspects. Firstly, strong COVID-prevention policies remained active, that foreign players and staff had to follow quarantine rules when entering or re-entering the border, and that teams would be concentrated into one or more cities for an enclosed, COVID-safe league.^[2] Secondly, teams participating the 2021 CSL must have neutral club names, which resulted in far less sponsorship income. Strict salary limitation was also adopted in this season.^[3] Although Dalian Pro had already switched to neutral name in the previous season, the team was still vulnerable against other policies, as football stars and manager decided to leave. On 23 January, Benitez announced through his personal website that he had parted ways with Dalian Pro.^[4] On 15 February, Rondon was loaned to CSKA Moscow until the end of the 2020-21 RPL season.^[5] On 9 March, Hamsik signed with IFK Göteborg.^[6]

Dalian Pro had a short break for the Spring Festival, and regrouped on 16 February. Since February, the team stayed in Dalian for training and friendly matches with nearby teams, Liaoning football team for the 2021 National Games of China and Shenyang Urban. The team would move to Guangzhou on 23 March for further friendly matches against other CSL teams.

On 1 April, the 2021 CSL fixtures and details were confirmed and published. League would be divided to 3 phases. Phase 1 begins from 20 April until 17 May, then pause to prepare for the World Cup Qualification. P2 would be from 21 June to 5 August, and P3 from 24 October to 1 December.

The squad and manager of Dalian Pro was officially made public on 18 April, although sources had already reported the major changes.^[7] The team arrived in Suzhou the same day. As of April, Danielson was the only foreign player in squad, although the team registered all of them. Boateng did not return in time due to visa issues after his national team matches. Jailson, like a few other Brazilian players, had difficulties acquiring visas due to the pandemic situation in Brazil.^[8] Swedish media reported rumors between Larsson and IFK Göteborg,^[9][10] but he later clarified personally that he was affected by COVID-19, and was unable to return to China at the time.^[11]

The team struggled with single foreign player Danielson, and saw their first win on 11 May against Tianjin with his precious subsequent shot during a corner.

Boateng finally arrived in China in June. He would join the team in July after quarantine.^[12]

Stage 2 matches were due to begin on 22 June after the World Cup qualification second round. As the matches were unexpectedly rearranged to the Emirates instead of China due to multiple reasons,^[13] the league reached a consensus to postpone the schedule, as national players had to follow quarantine rules after travelling abroad.^[14]

In July, the fixtures were revised and shortened to 22 rounds. The 2021 CSL would finish its Stage 1 on 12 August, then enter an unprecedented 4-month sacrificial pause for the World Cup qualification third round,^[15] and conduct its Stage 2 from 1 December until January 2022.^[16]

Although it was widely believed that Rondon would leave after he returned from loan, Dalian Pro surprisingly registered for him before the summer transfer window closed. Nevertheless, he rejoined Benitez at Everton right before the summer window closed.^[17][18]

The team kept struggling at the bottom of the group. Although Lin Liangming emerged as the best scorer in squad, and Danielson returned from the UEFA Euro on time, the team still suffered from lack of foreign players, and entered the relegation group without much surprise. The only good news was that, Larsson, after a few months of recovery, gained access for travelling back to China.^[19]

Wang Jinxian's goal against China U-20 in the FA cup was recognized as the club's 500th goal in history.^[20]

Lin Liangming had a rib fracture during the training, causing him to miss the rest of the season.^[21]

Larsson scored a free kick in the first match upon his returning, making a good start for the team in the relegation group.^[22] In the following matches, multiple players suffered from injuries, and Dalian Pro fell behind to 15th after 3 consecutive losses. Although Dalian achieved the biggest win this season by 4–1 against Qingdao, they still finished the season at 15th, and eventually beaten by Chengdu Rongcheng in the relegation playoff.

Dalian Pro struggled throughout this season due to a lineup too thin to withstand fragmented but intense schedules.

During the first stage, Danilson was the only foreign player in squad. Shan Huanhuan's contribution was not enough for the team's offensive side, resulting only 2 wins out of the total 14. Boateng returned in June, but his support could not make much difference. On the other hand, Lin Liangming's performance was beyond expectation, scoring 5 goals out of total 12. However, he suffered from rib fracture before the second stage, while led to further troubles for Dalian Pro.

As the second stage draws near, Dalian Pro could finally come up with 3 starting foreign players, despite the fact that most CSL teams have another for substitution. In the first 4 matches, the team acquired 3 victories by better stamina and spirit than the opponents, that most media believed that Dalian Pro could flee from relegation zone. Desperate time came when intense schedule brought injuries to starting players. Dong Yanfeng, Danielson, Wu Wei and Boateng all had muscle issues, and in the next 3 matches, Dalian Pro was lagged back into the relegation area, and eventually lost in the relegation playoffs.

As of 16 April 2021^[23]

No.	Name	Nat.	Place of birth	Date of birth (age)	Joined	From	Note
Goalkeepers
1	Zhang Chong		Dalian	(1987-11-25)25 November 1987 (aged 33)	2013	Dalian Shide
12	Xu Jiamin		Shanghai	(1994-04-11)11 April 1994 (aged 27)	2020	Beijing Renhe
32	Kudirat Ablet		Yining	(1997-02-05)5 February 1997 (aged 24)	2021	Gondomar
36	Wang Jinshuai		Dalian	(2001-01-09)9 January 2001 (aged 20)	2021	Dalian Pro youth
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
11	Sun Guowen		Dalian	(1993-09-30)30 September 1993 (aged 27)	2013	Dalian Shide
13	Wang Yaopeng		Dalian	(1995-01-18)18 January 1995 (aged 26)	2014	Liaoning youth
14	Huang Jiahui		Bozhou	(2000-10-07)7 October 2000 (aged 20)	2019	Dalian Yifang youth
16	Tong Lei		Quzhou	(1997-12-16)16 December 1997 (aged 23)	2020	Zhejiang Greentown
18	He Yupeng		Anshan	(1999-12-05)5 December 1999 (aged 21)	2019	Dalian Yifang youth
22	Dong Yanfeng		Dalian	(1996-02-11)11 February 1996 (aged 25)	2016	Liaoning youth
30	Marcus Danielson		Eskistuna	(1989-04-08)8 April 1989 (aged 32)	2020	Djurgårdens IF
33	Wang Xianjun		Dalian	(2000-06-01)1 June 2000 (aged 20)	2020	Dalian Pro youth
35	Wan Yu		Heze	(2002-06-20)20 June 2002 (aged 18)	Mid 2021	Dalian Pro youth
37	Yang Haoyu		Kunming	(2000-07-31)31 July 2000 (aged 20)	2020	Hubei Chufeng United
Midfielders
5	Wu Wei		Xinxiang	(1997-02-05)5 February 1997 (aged 24)	2020	Tianjin Tianhai
7	Zhao XuriC		Dalian	(1985-12-03)3 December 1985 (aged 35)	2019	Tianjin Quanjian
10	Sam Larsson		Gothenburg	(1993-04-10)10 April 1993 (aged 28)	2020	Feyenoord
20	Wang Jinxian		Wuhan	(1996-01-12)12 January 1996 (aged 25)	2014	Dalian Yifang youth
24	Tao Qianglong		Fuyang	(2001-11-20)20 November 2001 (aged 19)	2020	Hebei China Fortune
25	Jailson Siqueira		Caçapava do Sul	(1995-09-07)7 September 1995 (aged 25)	2020	Fenerbahçe
26	Cui Ming'an		Dalian	(1994-11-15)15 November 1994 (aged 26)	2014	Dalian Yifang youth
28	Lin Liangming		Shantou	(1997-06-04)4 June 1997 (aged 23)	2020	Gondomar
29	Sun Bo		Dalian	(1991-01-22)22 January 1991 (aged 30)	2011	Shandong Luneng youth
31	Zheng LongVC		Qingdao	(1988-04-15)15 April 1988 (aged 32)	2019	Guangzhou Evergrande
34	Wang Zhen'ao		Wuhan	(1999-08-10)10 August 1999 (aged 21)	2020	Dalian Pro youth
39	Wang Tengda		Dalian	(2001-02-18)18 February 2001 (aged 20)	2020	Dalian Pro youth
40	Zhu Jiaxuan		Dalian	(1999-04-13)13 April 1999 (aged 22)	2020	Dalian Pro youth
66	Wang Yu		Dalian	(2002-04-28)28 April 2002 (aged 18)	Mid 2021	Dalian Pro youth
Forwards
9	Shan Huanhuan		Pingdingshan	(1999-01-24)24 January 1999 (aged 22)	2019	Vitória Guimarães B
15	Zhao Jianbo		Dalian	(2001-05-07)7 May 2001 (aged 19)	2020	Dalian Pro youth
21	Emmanuel Boateng		Accra	(1996-05-23)23 May 1996 (aged 24)	2019	Levante
Un-registered during the season
2	Yang Lei		Handan	(2000-02-22)22 February 2000 (aged 21)	2021	Dalian Pro youth	Reserved
17	Zhang Jiansheng		Xingtai	(1999-12-30)30 December 1999 (aged 20)	2020	Dalian Pro youth	Loaned out
23	Li Xuebo		Dalian	(1999-11-15)15 November 1999 (aged 21)	2019	Atlético Madrid B	Loaned out
27	Yang Pengju		Guiyang	(2000-06-06)6 June 2000 (aged 20)	2020	Dalian Pro youth	Loaned out
38	Kong Yinquan		Guangzhou	(2000-09-23)23 September 2000 (aged 20)	2021	Dalian Pro youth	Reserved

As of 16 April 2021^[23]

Position	Name	Notes
First team
Head coach	José González
Assistant coach	Alfonso Cortijo
Goalkeeping coach	Jorge Bartual
Medical advisor	Song Jinhua
Physiotherapist	Javier Sagaste
Team doctor	Jia Shunhao
Team doctor	Alberto Fernández Morán
Technical coach	Jiang Zongyan
Reserve and youth teams
Reserve (U-23) coach	David Rivas Martínez
U-21 coach	Liu Yujian	[24]
U-21 assistant coach	Zhou Ting
U-19 coach	Sun Wei
U-17 coach	Zhang Yaokun
U-17 assistant coach	Zou Peng
U-17 assistant coach	Li Wenbo
U-15 coach	Zhao Peng
U-15 assistant coach	Chi Yaojun
U-14 coach	Li Yang
U-15 assistant coach	Zou Jie
U-13 coach	Wang Zhaochen

Preseason

Interval 1

Interval 2