The seeds of collapse: How Chengdu lost the title long before the finish

Much has already been written about the epic collapse of Chengdu Rongcheng, who held a 14-point lead over eventual champions Dalian Yingbo with five rounds remaining, having at one stage enjoyed an advantage of as much as 18 points in their pursuit of a maiden top-flight title.

Chengdu’s performances on the pitch were bereft of ideas or organisation, with an eight-hour goal drought to show for it. A string of fortunate last-minute wins early in the season not only convinced the team of their own invincibility but also deprived bench players of crucial minutes, something that became all too apparent when desperation called for their services.

The team was divided into factions, both in the dressing room and the club’s executive. Celebrations began prematurely in the summer, with players drinking all night before matchdays.

On Monday evening, John Aloisi, the team’s Australian coach best known for scoring the winning penalty against Uruguay to send the Socceroos to the 2006 World Cup, was sacked by the club. The dismissal was entirely understandable, but it carried its own element of suspense.

The club’s management had long been considered to be in the same boat as Aloisi. Indeed, his appointment became possible only when the men in grey suits decided they did not want Seo Jung-won, who had managed the side since 2021, to become an Alex Ferguson-like figure towering over everybody else at the club.

When push came to shove, management dismissed the idea of replacing Aloisi with former China international Hao Junmin, even though, under similar circumstances, Beijing Guo’an acted decisively in 2009 by making a very late coaching change and went on to win their only league title to date.

At this point, I was reminded that at the end of last season, management also thought they had spotted a bargain by signing veteran goalkeeper Liu Dianzuo on a free transfer. In the process, they let go of Zhang Yan, the rambunctious No.1 from the previous season, to Liaoning, who in turn offloaded Liu Weiguo to Dalian. Expectation among local observers was that Dalian would struggle to stay in the top flights, whereas Liaoning were now considered capable of challenging for the title.

In the end, they could not have been more wrong. Liu Weiguo had to wait a few rounds before young goalkeeper Huang Zihao began making mistakes, allowing him to take over between the sticks for Dalian. But Dalian-born Liu Dianzuo, now on the books of Chengdu, again proved himself to be a player with a low ceiling and a floor not much higher.

He even became the subject of a meme, with a photoshopped image showing him saying, “I would do anything to help Dalian win.”

Other players contributed to Chengdu’s slow-motion car crash, too. Wei Shihao, the erratic winger appointed captain at the start of the season, was suspended for the final four games after using discriminatory language in a post-match rally against Henan.

Felipe Silva, the team’s talismanic poacher, was also absent for two games. Romulo, Behram, Han Pengfei and Wellington Silva all had their availability affected by injury or suspension.

When Liao Rongxiang, 22, and Shuai Weihao, 17, were finally given the opportunity to show what they could do, it was all too obvious that the stakes had become too high for them to play naturally.

But player absences and individual underperformance are not problems unique to Chengdu. Dalian’s starting No.9, Cephas Malele, has been out of action since mid-August. Zhu Pengyu and Pedro Delgado, Malele’s direct replacements, were also affected – the former by injury and the latter by what might be called Wei Shihao syndrome.

Zhang Huachen, the Dalian midfielder whose performance in the FA Cup semi-final were nothing short of horrendous, gave Shanghai Port fans a sense of both déjà vu and schadenfreude. The result? He was never seen again except on the bench. In contrast, Chengdu’s error-prone Liu Dianzuo and Wang Dongsheng, were trusted over and over again.

Dalian also made the necessary reinforcements during the summer. Feng Boxuan was signed from Beijing Guo’an. In hindsight, this was a masterstroke given Mao Weijie’s injury and Cao Haiqing’s failure to rediscover his former form. Pedro Delgado did not become more disciplined, but fortunately for Dalian, his latest lapse came in the FA Cup, while he still contributed enough elsewhere to help build the team’s momentum.

Chengdu, meanwhile, were busy designing victory merchandise, which travelled around the country with them, only to add to the workload of street cleaners in Ji’nan.

For Dalian, this is more than just another championship. Once the centre of Chinese football, with eight top-flight titles, the city now has a new expression of its pride in a club founded only five years ago. There is a certain romance in that, even if Beijing Guo’an fans cannot stop mocking all the different incarnations of the city’s leading team.

There is good news for Chengdu, though. Liu Dianzuo’s short but expensive contract is up after all the trauma of this season. Yours truly cannot think of a reason why this isn’t the time for Jian Tao, who has come through Chengdu’s academy system, to be established as the undisputed first choice between the posts. Another attacker capable of making an immediate impact off the bench is needed next year just as much as one was needed throughout this season.

But the real lesson is that, after all the money spent trying to control the club rather than actually improving the squad, management have demonstrated neither the nerve to drop underperformers nor the depth to replace them.

They may soon find themselves following the man they have just been forced to sack.