Guangzhou, who have experienced eight terms of Chinese Super League glory, unfortunately slipped to the ranks of the Central League last season, but that does not mean they are not going to return to the Chinese Super League stage in the 2023 season.
Recently, Guangdong media have disclosed that Xu Jiayin, the head of Evergrande Group, has not quenched his ambition to revive the Guangzhou team. As the signboard of the group, the value of Guangzhou team to Evergrande Group is self-evident. Even in the First Division, the past ten years of Guangzhou team's glory is still vivid in our minds.
Looking ahead to this season, Evergrande Group will still run the Guangzhou team, but the investment has been scaled down from the past. In the new season, the Guangzhou team will rely on the young talents from the Evergrande Soccer School, supplemented by several veterans, to compete in the league.
Former coach Zheng Zhi has also returned to Guangzhou recently and he will lead the team to start the new season. When Zheng Zhi returns, his veterans who have been playing alongside him for many years will also return to their hometown.
In the last season, players such as Huang Bowen, Mei Fang, Zhang Chenglin and Rong Hao joined Guangzhou again after the last time they joined. Taishan veteran Hao Junmin also made a free transfer to Guangzhou in the second half of the league. More Evergrande veterans are expected to return in the new season, with the first returning player being Zheng Zhi's close friend, former international striker Gao Lin.
Gao Lin, 37, started his career at Shenhua, which began to abandon players in 2009 due to a serious illness. Gao Lin left the team at the end of the season and moved to Guangzhou Evergrande, then in the Central League.
In the 2010 season, Gao Lin scored 23 goals for Evergrande and helped the team win the Central League, which started their legend. In the 11 seasons he played for Evergrande, Gao Lin scored 95 goals and 94 assists, and won many championships such as the Chinese Super League, FA Cup, AFC Champions League and Super Cup.
In the 2020 season, at the age of 34, Gao Lin left Evergrande to join Shenzhen, then a Chinese Super League powerhouse. Despite his advanced age, Gao Lin was still in excellent form, contributing 14 goals and 4 assists for Shenzhen.
With the bursting of the gold dollar soccer bubble, the Shenzhen team fell into a financial crisis, the accumulated debt of up to 3.5 billion, the dissolution of a foregone conclusion, Gao Lin returned to the Guangzhou team is logical.
Another Evergrande veteran Feng Xiaoting is also expected to return in the new season. His contract with Shenhua has expired and he has recently left the team. Although he is already 38 years old, Feng Xiaoting's strength is not to be underestimated with his status as a former captain and center back of the national football team.
Even though it is difficult to play as a starter after his return to Guangzhou, Feng Xiaoting still manages to impart valuable game tips to the younger players through his experienced words and actions.
I believe that with the return of a new wave of veterans, Guangzhou's strength and experience will be further enhanced. Despite not being able to return to the Chinese Super League immediately, they still hope to achieve good results in the 2023 season of the Chinese Super League, and return to the top league stage through unremitting efforts!
