The undefeated legend at the top of the plateau
Amidst the heat of the arena, the story of Yunnan Yukun blossomed with undefeated glory like a resilient flower on the plateau. Following a 2-0 win over Dalian Yingbo, the team's undefeated streak at home for two consecutive seasons has become a unique sight. Last season, Yunnan Yukun won 7 games and drew 4 at home in the League B, and this season's record has skyrocketed to 12 wins and 3 draws. This series of remarkable achievements not only attracted the fervent support of Yuxi fans, but also evolved the game watching into an attitude of life. Yuxi, a sub-highland city at an altitude of about 1,700 meters, makes Yunnan Yukun's home stadium particularly spectacular due to its unique geographical environment. A club source once said, "At an altitude of 100 to 200 meters above sea level, we are competing at home."
Another Yunnan team, Yunnan Hongta, with the advantage of Kunming's 1,800-meter altitude, has created a daunting "devil's home field" and become a powerful force in the league. Now, Yunnan Yukun is also making full use of the geographical advantage. So, can they continue to maintain the myth of undefeated at home next season? The players responded with confidence: "The strength of the Chinese Super League team is certainly powerful, but we will defend the honor of the home field."
However, the players also admitted that there is still a significant gap between them and the veteran teams in the Chinese Super League as newcomers. Next season, the team's goal is to secure a foothold in the Chinese Super League. In order to achieve this goal, the team and the club must be fully upgraded. I'm afraid it's hard to support the team with only the highland home field. In the past two seasons, although Yukon was undefeated at home in the league, they lost both AFC Cup matches to Chinese Super League teams, and were eliminated by Shenhua in 2023, and defeated by Jinmen Tigers in a penalty shootout in 2024.
The dream of the Chinese Super League, to be fully upgraded
This season, Yunnan Yukun invested more than 120 million yuan, which is called "giant" in the A-class league. But in the Chinese Super League, such a scale of capital may only be able to relegate. Recently, the club's investors have been actively negotiating with the local government, aiming to develop a detailed budget plan for the team's Super League journey.
For the players, all foreign aid slots will be full next season. This season's three foreign aiders and top scorer Mu Xiekui will stay with the team, and midfield core Jonicha is expected to continue to play in the Chinese Super League. The team will also bring in new foreigners in the center back and forward lines. As for local players, some experienced Chinese Super League veterans are also being approached by the team. Yukon's stable club environment and good team culture are attractive to many Chinese Super League players who have been in arrears for a long time.
Head Coach Anderson has entered the state of preparation for the Chinese Super League in advance after winning the Central League. He has not only watched a number of Chinese Super League matches, but also analyzed next season's opponents in advance. Anderson believes that the technical and tactical styles of the Chinese Super League are extremely diverse, which makes him look forward to next season.
Guo Guangqi, the club's general manager, emphasized that the level of training is the key to the team's foothold: "We must ensure that the team reaches the level of the Chinese Super League in winter training, including personnel adjustments and training." Therefore, before the end of the league, Yukun has already made a preliminary preparation plan for the coming year. The team will take a three-week vacation after the end of the China A-League, followed immediately by winter training.
In addition, the team will refer to the Chinese Super League entry standards, and will upgrade the youth ladder from level 5 to level 6. They are also exploring the formation of a women's soccer team with Yunnan Normal University and Yunnan Agricultural University. In terms of stadium hardware facilities, the club is expanding the Yuxi Highland Sports Center, increasing the seating capacity from 25,000 to 30,000 and optimizing the flow of home matches.
In order to facilitate the fans in neighboring cities to watch the games, Yukon Club has communicated with the competition management department of the CFA, hoping to arrange the home matches of the Chinese Super League on Fridays, Saturdays or Sunday afternoons, so as not to affect the work on Mondays. It is calculated that if Yukon's home matches are arranged on Fridays and Saturdays as much as possible, the number of spectators will increase by at least 3,000-5,000 per match.
