Since 2016, after a bumpy fall from Central League One to Central League Two, salons such as Yunnan Flying Tigers, Dalian Beyond, Shanghai Shenxin, Liaoning Hongyun and Beijing Renhe have all disappeared from the Chinese professional soccer scene. Among them, the fall of Shenxin, Liaozhu and Renhe is particularly sobering. They used to be the best in the top league, Liao Football was once dominant in the Asian football world, Shenxin also repeatedly in the Chinese Super League and the FA Cup to play the dark horse. Beijing Renhe has won the AFC Cup twice and has participated in the AFC Champions League many times. As for Xinjiang Tianshan Snow Leopard, they were relegated to the first division, while Hunan Xiangtao is still struggling to survive in the second division.
In contrast, Qingdao Hainiu, like Parma, Fiorentina and other centuries-old giants in the European league, have weathered the storms, but have always stood firm. Under the right conditions, they can be quickly revitalized and return to the center stage. Nothing is more popular than the inspiring story of Parma's return to Serie A in just a few years after bankruptcy. Similarly, the "Purple Lilies" of Fiorentina went bankrupt in 2002, and two months later, the locals set up a new salon, and a year later bought back the rights to the name and shirt design of the original salon, and revitalized it.
Qingdao Sea Cow's performance has been up and down in recent years, but the team's passion for soccer has never waned. You can feel this passion when you walk into the training base of Sea Cow. Even though it is winter in Qingdao in November, the turf of the training ground is still lush, and the training conditions and facilities of this B team are not inferior to those of the Chinese Super League giants.
What's more, it's worth mentioning that Hainiu's investment in youth training in recent years has even surpassed that of some of the Chinese Super League giants who are eager to make profits. This season, Qingdao Hainiu is featured in both the U21 and U19 age groups in the National Football Association Youth Super League. They are the only Chinese B salon participating in these two levels of the Youth Super League. Qingdao Hainiu also participated in all the national leagues in the U17, U15 and U13 age groups.
Interestingly, when Qingdao Hainiu signed up for the tournament, there were also high-level salons asking the FA why they let the China B salons compete. The FA's reply was, "They've been competing for over a decade, haven't they?"
Qiao Weiguang's Persistence and Legacy
Qingdao Manatee has been able to hold on for 28 years without becoming one of the front waves in the long river of Chinese professional soccer without the contribution of Qiao Weiguang, investor of Salon and chairman of Zhongneng Group. It is his unique sentiment for soccer that has brought Salon to where it is today. At the same time, Qiao Weiguang's persistence has also made Salon take youth training as the center of competitive business no matter which league it is in.
Although they have left the top league for 8 years, Qingdao Sea Cow still builds their team and develops youth training according to the standard of Chinese Super League. Since 2011, Hainiu's youth training has been based on the campus layout, forming partnerships with more than 120 schools in Qingdao, and more than 40 youth coaches have built a solid youth training foundation. Among them, many of them, such as Jiao Chunben, Cai Jun, Xu Xiang, etc., have been the best players in professional league matches.
Not only that, Salon also has five foreign coaches, including foreign youth training director Dragan, a Serbian who has coached in Iceland for seven years, as well as in Asian countries such as Singapore and Kuwait.
On May 10th, 2021, Qingdao Manatee held a grand ceremony for the new season, which was called "Heritage, Greetings, Wishes". The ceremony reviewed the 28-year history of Qingdao Hainiu and witnessed the inheritance from Shandong Economic and Trade Commission to Yizhong Tobacco to Zhongneng Group. Qiao Weiguang said emotionally at the scene: "We get together because of the manatee complex, soccer can best reflect our city, our business, our Qingdao people a persistent perseverance, upward spirit, insist on 17 years I have no regrets."
At the moment of success in the first division on November 14, Qiao Weiguang personally opened the champagne and the wine smelled good. He filled his glass and drank it all. "Surfing for the first division is not our goal," he said, "Returning to the top league is our ultimate goal."
After 17 years of carrying the banner, Qiao Weiguang will continue to carry it. This is the harsh winter of gold dollar soccer, but the soccer people rooted in youth training firmly believe that spring will not be far away.
