In the annals of soccer history, 45-year-old skipper Li Guoxu can be called the witness and inheritor of Dalian soccer. Back in 1997, the 19-year-old wore the No. 19 uniform and stepped into the Dalian Wanda first team. Under the command of famous coaches such as Chi Shangbin and Xu Genbao, Li Guoxu quickly rose to prominence and became the center of attention. In order to chase the splendor of Dalian soccer, he resolutely chose to go far away from home, covering Chongqing Red Rock, Shaanxi Guoli, Chongqing Lifan, Boca Juniors, Chengdu Sheffield United and other places.
In 2009, Li Guoxu stepped down and returned to his hometown of Dalian to join the fledgling coaching staff of Dalian Albion, a position he had long been accustomed to. Faced with the challenge of promotion and breakthrough, he has long been accustomed to it. 2012, Li Guoxu shoulders the heavy responsibility, became the assistant coach of the Chinese Super League newcomer Albin and the head coach of the reserve team, and then served as China U19 youth team assistant coach, Dalian beyond the first team head coach and Dalian reserve team head coach.
In the past three years, Li Guoxu led the team to start from zero, like a broken bamboo straight to the clouds, and realized a magnificent turn from the Championship to the Central League.
Dalian Yingbo started the new season with a thrilling victory in the Central League. In the first match against Qingdao Red Lion, the team won the opening goal with Fei Yu's goal. In the second match against Suzhou Dongwu, Lv Peng's precise assists and Yan Peng's winning strike sealed the victory for the team. The third round of home matches, facing last year's fourth in the Central League of Guangxi Pingguo, 38-year-old veteran Yan Xianggong stepped forward, a winning goal to help Dalian Yingbo continue to maintain undefeated gold.
The first home game attracted a large number of enthusiastic fans and ticket sales were exceptional. The original plan was to open only one stand, but a large number of fans were unable to grab tickets. Under the strong request of the fans, the club finally decided to open part of the second floor stands, and eventually 23,118 fans flocked to the stadium to witness this wonderful game.
After three rounds of matches, Dalian Yingbo became the only team among the 16 teams in the Central League to keep a clean sheet and concede zero goals. Lv Peng, Fei Yu, Sun Bao and Yan have replicated the classic Dalian lineup in the midfield, while 41-year-old goalkeeper Sui Weijie has become more and more solid, and young players and Xiaoqiang, who are on loan from Guoan, have taken over the starting wingback positions.
With the dissolution of Dalian People, Dalian Yingbo carries the hope of Dalian soccer. In the Dalian U19 ladder team warm-up match in preparation for the 2025 National Games, former Dalian Wanda No. 10 player Shi Lei and Dalian Shide captain Zhang Yaokun were on hand, while Zhou Ting took over the coaching whip of Dalian Yingbo U19 team.
Dalian Yingbo is moving steadily along the path of Dalian Albin's promotion. The team's investment and staffing gives fans reason to believe that Dalian soccer's return to the Chinese Super League is just around the corner.
