The 2023 season of the Central League in Dongguan City Sports Center Stadium officially began at 15:30 Beijing time on April 22, for the organization of the opening ceremony ushered in the opening game of the Dongguan Guanlian is very significant.
In the end, Dongguan Guanlian lived up to its name, beating Wuxi Wuhu 1-0 at home to kick off the new season and earn the first win in the club's history in China's first division!
The journey to the Central League, the old and the new are making progress together.
Although the stadium issues prevented them from welcoming tens of thousands of people, there were still a number of loyal fans who came out to cheer on Guanlian's Central League debut.
Before the start of the match, Dongguan League player and former national soccer team captain Feng Xiaoting took the oath as a player representative, and then Sun Wen, vice president of the CFA, announced the official opening of the 2023 China First Division League.
Dongguan Guanlian, as a young Chinese League One newcomer, is led by Wang Hongwei, a former Shenzhen soccer star. This season, the team's lineup can be described as a combination of old and new. As a 37-year-old veteran, Feng Xiaoting captains the backline. 34-year-old Cameroonian veteran Raoul Loei plays in the midfield. Kessel Tursun, Jun Ruan and Zanghar Baishati Khan managed to make their debuts in this Central League debut.
Initially, Feng Xiaoting intended to return to Guangzhou, but he was sincerely invited by Dongguan Union, and he successfully joined and continued his soccer career. The arrival of the former national soccer captain will provide rich soccer experience to the young players of the Dongguan Union and play the role of a mentor.
Unfortunately, Onuebu, the golden boot of the Central League signed by the team last season, did not play in this match. The 37-year-old Nigerian veteran earned 27 goals and 6 assists for Qingdao Hainiu in the Central League last season. I'm sure he will be the centerpiece of the front line for DWU.
Built a solid defense and scored the first goal of the Central League.
Last season, Dongguan Union was the second young team in China's second division. Despite being a young army, it managed to break through to the first division under the leadership of young local coach Wang Hongwei. This season, Dongguan Union continues the tradition of developing young players. More than 10 players on the roster are U21 players, one of the teams with the most U21 players in China's first division this season.
In the first half, the two sides went back and forth, Dongguan Guanlian players with solid defense, excellent implementation of the tactical arrangements of the head coach, the score will be maintained 0-0 to the second half. 7 Kessel Tursun on the pitch is quite eye-catching performance, so that the fans applauded for it.
In the 74th minute, No. 8 Ruan Jun stepped up with a brilliant free kick to break the deadlock on the field. It was the first goal of the new China First Division season and the first goal in the history of Dongguan Guanlian, completing a milestone.
The whole match ended with Dongguan Guanlian defeating Wuxi Wuhu 1-0. Head Coach Wang Hongwei led the team to their first win into the China First Division and a successful start to the new season. The whole team was ecstatic about this first win.
The more cohesive the team is, the stronger the Major is.
Although Guanlian won the first match, the pre-season bonding period was short and the players were unfamiliar with each other. It is believed that under the guidance of 43-year-old head coach Wang Hongwei, the whole team will be able to successfully step on the right track after three to five rounds. His professional ability and equal attitude towards each player convinced the team.
It is worth mentioning that this battle is also the debut of local young coach Wang Hongwei as the official head coach of China's first division team.In the 2014 season, he achieved short-term success in China's first division in terms of relegation by leading the team in a fire-fighting role as the interim head coach of the Shenzhen team. Now, a milestone in his personal coaching career has finally arrived.
A few years ago, Wang Hongwei was the youngest head coach in China's third-tier professional soccer league. Meanwhile, in recent years, he has gone through the grind on his feet in the grassroots leagues and accumulated a wealth of coaching experience. It is for this reason that he has successfully led the League's youth army to complete its run to the first division.
Wang Hongwei often attributes his achievements to the trust of investors, the unity of the club and the hard work of the players, which is the key to the team's long-term stability.
As a professional player, Wang Hongwei gradually grew up in Shenzhen, where his back-end won the team the championship in the first year of the Chinese Super League. Up to now, Wang Hongwei has become a representative of the domestic professional soccer junior coaches, serving as the head coach of the team in Meixian Tiehan Ecological Football Club, Yancheng Dafeng Football Club, Sichuan Jiuniu Football Club and Dongguan Guanlian Football Club, and has led the originally backward team to successfully enter the ranks of the first division on many occasions.
Dongguan Football Prosperity, Dongguan United Flag
2023 Dongguan Municipal Government Work Report put forward "the implementation of cultural strong city action, and strive to enhance the cultural soft power of Dongguan". Subsequently released a cultural city "1 + 8" policy system, emphasizing the full promotion of sports city construction. It is worth mentioning that the game at Dongguan Stadium is also a significant event as Dongguan City is once again hosting a Chinese A-grade game after a lapse of 20 years.
Established in July 2013, Guangdong Dongguan United Football Club, formerly known as Guangdong Lianghetang Football Club, is formed by the only professional soccer club in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, Everbright, Zhongtian, Taihe and Hyde and other local enterprises. With the concept of "cultivating excellent soccer players and revitalizing Chinese soccer", Guanlian has cultivated a number of excellent soccer players. Many of them have been successfully selected for national teams of various age groups, and the club has achieved excellent results in various competitions.
On January 11, 2021, the club officially changed its name to Dongguan United Football Club, which won the 2019 Second National Youth Games, Boys' Football U17-18 Division Championship, the 2020 Chinese Football Association Members' Association Championship League Championship, the eighth place in the 2021 season of the Chinese Football Association's B-League, and the fourth place in the 2022 season of the Chinese Football Association's B-League.
This year is the 10th year since the establishment of Dongguan League. The club has always insisted on cultivating soccer talents and taking the road of sustainable development. In just four years, it has made the leap from Chinese Championship, China B to China A, officially becoming one of the 16 teams in the China A League in 2023. 22 years later, China's second tier of professional soccer has finally welcomed the Dongguan team to fight again.
