As time passes, we have gone through 26 years of spring and autumn, and those veterans and rookies who used to sweat on the field, no matter if they are the captains who have been in the field for a long time or the young players with dreams, have all gone their own way.
In 2017, Zhou Ting, the son of Dalian, returned to his hometown and joined the Dalian team, playing for his hometown for the first time. The veteran helped the team rise to the top, but experienced ups and downs in the 2018 season and was eventually relegated.In 2019, despite being over 40 years old, Zhou Ting is still sticking to the Chinese Super League (CSL), becoming the only post-70s player in the CSL. After his retirement, Zhou Ting made a brief comeback to Dalian Jinshiwan FC as both a coach and a player, and then moved to Dalian Professional Football Club's U19 ladder team as a member of the coaching staff. Now, he has taken on the responsibility of being the head coach of the U19 team of Dalian Yingbo Football Club.
Most of Zhou Ting's former teammates are now involved in soccer-related fields, so let's take a look and see where these former comrades are now!
Sun Jihai, who made his debut in the A-League in 1995, quickly became a stalwart of the team. Not only has he achieved the highest level of success among these players, but he is also one of the most prominent study abroad players in Chinese soccer history. One of them is deeply cooperating with his hometown of Dalian's Jinpu New District and is fully committed to youth training.
Players such as Wang Peng, Wu Jun and An Qi have been playing for the first team since 1996, and they co-founded the youth-focused Moonbird Football Club, which is dedicated to bringing fresh blood to Dalian soccer. An Qi now plays for Chinese First Division side Shijiazhuang and was acting coach last season.
Goalkeeper Chen Dong joined the Dalian Wanda first team in 1996 as Han Wenhai's right-hand man. He has played twice as a starting goalkeeper for Dalian Shide and is now the general manager of Dalian Yingbo Football Club.Li Guoxu, who joined the first team in 1997, has now been promoted to head coach of Dalian Yingbo's first team.
Liu Hongyi, who joined Dalian Wanda's first team in 1998, was once the team's main striker, scoring his first career goal in a 7-0 away win over Wuhan Yaqi (Wuhan Cardinal K). However, due to injuries, he retired early and turned to soccer-related work. He has worked for Dalian Beyond, Shaanxi Daqin Zhishui, and Hohhot, and successfully passed the CFA Level D Coaching Instructor Exam.
Wang Feng, who joined the first team in 1996, suffered a major setback in his career when he was involved in the 11.2 match-fixing controversy in 2000, which ended his soccer career prematurely. In recent years, Wang Feng has gradually faded from the public eye.
Zhang Gang, who once played for Dalian Wanda's first team, is now involved in promoting soccer in schools.
