Qingdao, April 4 (Reporter Bian Liqun) "It has been 27,3464 days since the last time I watched your Chinese Super League match at home. ”

As is customary, the official social accounts of the Chinese Super League combed the number of days between Qingdao Manatee's return to home after the game.

Unlike other Chinese Super League teams, Qingdao Manatee waited extraordinarily long. If you count complex numbers on a year scale, it is 9 years.

Relegated from the Chinese Super League to the Chinese Second Division, and then "climbed" back to the Chinese Super League, Qingdao Manatee has a rare experience in domestic football clubs.

On the evening of the 25th, sitting in the brand new home Qingdao Youth Football Stadium, Qingdao Manatee defeated Beijing Guoan 3:1, winning the first victory in the Chinese Super League in an extremely "explosive" way.

Perhaps it was fate, and it was also Beijing Guoan who personally sent them downgraded 9 years ago.

Qingdao Manatee and Beijing Guoan pre-match entrance ceremony. China News Network reporter Bian Liqun

9 years

Round and round... The game entered more than 80 minutes, and the excited Qingdao fans played the crowd, and the momentum did not abate after 4 turns.

In the sound of the team's counterattack, the wave of people in lap 5 was gradually washed away.

On an ordinary weekday night, 24865,<> fans witnessed Qingdao Manatee win their first home victory back in the Chinese Super League, so this day is no longer ordinary.

After the game, the lights of Qingdao Youth Football Stadium were briefly extinguished, and in the "sea of stars" lit up by fans, the whole scene sang "True Heroes", announcing that Qingdao Manatee returned after 3464 days.

Qingdao fans celebrate the victory after the game. Photo by China News Network reporter Bian Liqun

Back on November 2013, 11, it's a completely different scene.

At the Beijing Workers Stadium, Qingdao Zhongneng (Qingdao Manatee) lost 0:1 to Beijing Guoan, and suffered relegation in the final round of the season.

After the game, the Qingdao team players knelt on the working lawn and cried, and the team investor Qiao Weiguang on the sidelines had already cried into tears. Qingdao fans who followed the team's expedition shouted "Come back next year".

"Come back next year" is the consensus of the club and fans. However, under the impact of the Jinyuan football wave, the Qingdao team with limited investment is getting farther and farther away from the Chinese Super League arena. After two years of dormancy, in 2016 they fell into the middle B again.

Data map: In the final round of the 2013 season, Qingdao Zhongneng (Manatee) was relegated, and club investor Qiao Weiguang cried. Image source: Osports All Sports Images

Often the story comes to this point, and the fate of most domestic clubs is "goodbye".

For example, the disappeared Hebei team, Wuhan Yangtze River, Qingdao Huanghai, Beijing Ren, Guizhou Hengfeng... They all chose to disband and quit after the relegation of the Chinese Super League or the relegation of the Chinese League One. In Chinese football, this has become almost routine.

But Qingdao can choose to persevere. In 2021, the Qingdao team, which returned to the neutral name of "Manatee", was promoted to the Chinese League One after 5 years. The following year, they returned to the long-lost Chinese Super League.

This bumpy journey lasted for a total of 9 years, and it also clearly recorded the ebb and flow of the golden yuan era of Chinese football.

Qingdao Manatee and Beijing Guoan competition site. Photo by China News Network reporter Bian Liqun

19 years

Like Beijing Guoan, Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Shenhua, Qingdao Manatee is also a full-fledged "time-honored brand" in Chinese football, and the club dates back to December 1993, 12.

At the end of 2004, Zhongneng Group took over the team, and since then Qingdao Manatee has entered the era of Zhongneng . As a small-cost club, Qingdao spent most of its time hovering around the relegation zone. Although the process is difficult, it can always complete the relegation, hence the title of "immortal bird".

But with the rise of Jinyuan football, Qingdao Manatee did not escape the fate of relegation at the end of the 2013 season.

Talking about the scene of the downgrading that year, Zhang Dong, general manager of Qingdao Manatee Club, remembers it vividly. "At that time, it was always felt that a downgrade was an unlikely thing. [After relegation] there was a blank mind, and until the referee blew the final whistle, he didn't expect relegation. ”

Data map: In the 2016 season, Qingdao Zhongneng (Manatee) was relegated from the Central A to the Central B. Image source: Osports All Sports Images

In Middle A and Middle B, Qingdao manatees lay dormant for 9 years. In Zhang Dong's words, the club survived with feelings and responsibilities. "This team has a long history, we are also one of the founding clubs of the professional league, it would be a pity and not very responsible for such an established club to dissolve."

It has been 2004 years since Qingdao Manatee entered the era of Chinese energy – the Chinese Super League has only entered its 19th season, and Chinese football has been professionalized for only 20 years.

Before the match against Beijing Guoan, the home fans unfurled a huge Tifo in the stands to thank the club's investor Qiao Weiguang for his 19 years of perseverance.

A huge Tifo in the home stands of Qingdao Manatee. Photo by China News Network reporter Bian Liqun

future

2023 is the year of a new start for Chinese football. Qingdao Manatee, which has returned to the Chinese Super League, is also standing at a new starting node.

Zhang Dong, general manager of Qingdao Manatee Club, revealed that the club will make efforts in product promotion and business in the future.

"The club must first have the ability to make money to survive, and blindly relying on the feelings of the government or the owner is not long-term."

"In recent years, we have been seeking to integrate the club into the lives of Qingdao people, let football into everyone's lives, and integrate into the city. For example, on match days, we will set up activities to interact with the players, local performances, markets and other down-to-earth things. Zhang Dong said.

After the 3:1 victory over Beijing Guoan, Qingdao Manatee soldiers and fans celebrated the victory. Photo by China News Network reporter Bian Liqun

Standing at a new starting point, Zhang Dong believes that this year is a good opportunity for the club's development. "On the basis of the bottoming out of Chinese football, if you can set the right direction of development and do some good guidance, and the game can be more exciting, fans will gradually be attracted to the stadium."

"Our biggest vision is to want the club to become a symbol of Qingdao. When you mention Qingdao, you can think of the team Qingdao Manatee. Zhang Dong said. (End)