On the evening of January 16, 2023, Guangdong Sports Channel presented a documentary film on the rebirth of Guangzhou team against all odds, recording in detail the whole process from September 2021, when Guangzhou team suffered a huge change, to January 4, 2022, when the Chinese Super League finale was held.
Looking back at the end of the first phase of the Chinese Super League (CSL) last season, Guangzhou was on the verge of collapse due to the debt crisis of its parent company. Player Zhang Linpeng was overwhelmed with emotion: "I didn't expect it to come to this, I suddenly learned the news when I was playing abroad, the coach had left the team, we didn't even know if we could continue to train and play, it was all too sudden."
However, in the face of adversity, Guangzhou players did not give in, but organized their own training. Yan Dinghao recalled: "One day we organized our own training, Zheng Zhi (Zhi) also joined us, we built a group, every day training will report, he is responsible for the organization. Initially there were only six or seven of us, then including the reserve team players joined together, and gradually developed to more than twenty people, and slowly formed a team to participate in the second stage of the game."
Zhang Linpeng said, "After Cannavaro took over, many veteran players were given the opportunity. This club experience made them realize that playing for such a great team is also an honor. We feel from the bottom of our hearts that this team is touching, we haven't been paid for months, and under these circumstances, we still go all out, fighting for every ball and trying to win every game."
Talking about the future of the team, Zhang Linpeng slightly sad: "like such a team has created countless splendor, come to this point, no one expected. Liu Dianzuo's eyes were moist when he left that day, as if he was saying goodbye, the feeling that we were about to part. For so many years, we have been fighting together every day, I have been in Guangzhou for eleven years, and basically have made this my home. Now, suddenly to leave home, the heart is still very bad."
Guangzhou team has been through various trials and tribulations, 20 years ago they nearly lost the qualification of professional league, 11 years ago they were forced to be relegated, and now they are standing at the crossroads of their life once again, and the future is full of unknowns. But the players and fans have kept their faith with practical actions.
