In the A-A era, Dalian soccer had numerous glories, but due to a variety of factors, after the A-A was upgraded to the Chinese Super League, Dalian soccer began to gradually decline.
Dalian Shide remained the top team in the league in the early stages of the Chinese Super League, but for reasons well known to all, the club was announced to be dissolved at the end of the 2012 season, and Dalian Albin bought Shide as a whole.
However, due to the club's mismanagement, Dalian Albion's strength could not be compared to Dalian's Shide back in the day.In 2014, Albion entered China A as the second-lowest team in the league, which cost Dalian soccer its first top domestic league team.
In order to revitalize Dalian soccer, Dalian took over Albion in the summer of 2015, but the huge debt left by the previous club has become a big burden for the club. It is reported that Albion's total book and private debts have exceeded 10 billion yuan.
However, Dalian had to start playing in China's first division, carrying that heavy burden. If Wanda Group hadn't returned to Chinese soccer to take over the club in 2018, perhaps Dalian (Dalianjin) would have been playing in China's second division by now.
However, the return of the Wanda Group could not fundamentally save Dalian. The debts accumulated over the years made Wanda's boss Wang feel powerless. Coupled with conflicts with the locals, Wanda Group announced early last year that it would gradually withdraw from the Dalian club.
Although Dalian Ren, who returned to the Chinese Super League last season with funding from Wanda Group, successfully completed relegation, the club's crisis has not been alleviated. According to a number of people in the Dalian soccer circle, Dalian Ren recently received an official letter issued by lawyers commissioned by a number of departing players to claim the club's outstanding wages and award bonuses for the 2021-22 season, and filed a lawsuit with the Chinese Football Association (CFA).
Due to the failure to resolve the previous issue of outstanding wages owed to foreign aiders and coaches, the Dalianese are once again being penalized by FIFA's ban on player transfers in the near future. This will undoubtedly add to the already struggling club's woes.
As things stand, if the Wanda Group stops being generous and helps the club pay off its debts, it is likely that the Dalianese will not be able to submit their injection qualification certificate by the deadline set by the FA, or worse still, the club will announce its dissolution as they will not be able to pay off their debts.
Of course, the dissolution of the Dalian People doesn't mean that Dalian soccer will disappear from domestic soccer from now on. In the past two years, Dalian Read Line and Dalian Jinshiwan have been officially established. Veterans who once reigned supreme in the Chinese Super League, such as Zhou Ting, Yang Yun, Hu Yanqiang, Wang Shouting and Wang Liang, are now playing for these two clubs.
If the Dalian Ren club is dissolved due to unresolved debt issues, the Dalian Ren players, coaches and club administrators can be dispersed to these two teams and return to the professional league on a shell, kicking back to China A and the Chinese Super League from China B step by step.
Although it was recently revealed by many media outlets, the Football Association (FA) will introduce a new policy to limit the number of players over the age of 31 registered in Chinese B clubs. However, this new policy has been opposed by many domestic soccer players. It is believed that it will not be enforced for at least the next two years, which undoubtedly creates favorable conditions for the "rebirth of the shell" of the Dalian people.
For Dalian People's Club, if it can get rid of its heavy debt burden, announce its dissolution and borrow the "shell" of Dalian Yixing or Dalian Jinshiwan for rebirth, why not?
