The most notable event in Chinese soccer last season was the "County Team Miracle" in which amateur team Jingchuan Wenhui knocked out Chinese Super League giants Beijing Guoan in the FA Cup.
This underdog victory over a strong team made Jingchuan Wenhui's reputation after the game, but this team's current ending is breathtaking.
In the second round of last season's FA Cup, Jingchuan Wenhui beat Beijing Guoan 2-2 in regular time before winning 5-3 on penalties to create a miracle amateur team victory over the giants.
After the match, there were various legends about Jingchuan Wenhui. For example, the team's sponsor was a stationery store, owned by the old captain. He spent 5,500 yuan to win the team's title; the team's goalkeeper, a physical education teacher, had his salary docked by the school in order to take time off for the FA Cup.
Most of the rumors on the internet about the Jingchuan Wenhui team are not true. Although this is a team that plays in an amateur league, the players are still paid less than a couple thousand and now they are behind on their paychecks.
Recently, Jingchuan Wenhui player Du Zexin posted online, condemned the club in the "county team miracle" after the players will be displayed and rubbing heat, and said that the award will be given to the players, but the players have not received a penny until now.
Du Zexin was outstanding in that game against Beijing Guoan, as he helped his team score their first goal in the fourth minute.
And Pingliang City, where the Jingchuan Wenhui team is based, gave the club 600,000 yuan after the victory.
Jingchuan County has a household population of 346,500 and a resident population of 215,600. In such a small place, Jingchuan Wenhui Club has 152 registered players, including 70 locals. This shows that the local soccer atmosphere is still quite good.
However, the Jingchuan Wenhui team that appeared in the FA Cup was actually a borrowed Guangxi team. All the players were from Beihai Jichi. Due to the fierce competition in Guangxi soccer, they wanted to borrow a place in Gansu to participate in the Champions League. Therefore, the players' salaries were paid by Beihai Jichi. Of course, their salary is not high. Goalkeeper Cui Tonghui is the top salary of the team, but their monthly salary is only 5000 RMB.
In recent years, salary arrears have been a topic that the Chinese professional leagues can't get away from. I didn't realize that even high-profile, low-cost amateur clubs would default on wages.
This is Chinese soccer, and ultimately, Chinese soccer still lacks the soil to allow a club to run a healthy business.
