Shandong Taishan F.C.

Shandong Taishan Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Jinan, Shandong and their home stadium is the Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium that has a seating capacity of 56,808. Their current majority shareholder is Shandong Electric Power Group Corporation, the biggest supplier of electric energy in Shandong province and itself part of the State Grid Corporation of China. "Luneng" is the name of Luneng Group, now another subsidiary corporation of State Grid Corporation of China; "Lu" is a nickname for Shandong, from the ancient state of Lu, while "neng" means "energy." The last part of the club name derives from Mount Tai.
The club's predecessor was called Shandong Provincial team who were founded on April 10, 1956 while the current professional football team was established on December 2, 1993. They were one of the founding members of the first fully professional top-tier league in China. Since then they have gone on to win their first league title in the 1999 league season. They have continued to win domestic silverware with the 2006, 2008, 2010 league titles, making them one of the most successful Chinese football teams.
According to "Forbes", Shandong are the 5th most valuable football team in China, with a team value of $126 million, and an estimated revenue of $24 million in 2015.
History.
Early club era.
The club was founded on 10 April 1956 by the local Shandong Province government, to participate in the recently established and expanding Chinese football league, where the team originally named themselves Shandong Provincial team. Shandong took part in the 1957 league season, where they started within the second tier and finished bottom within the group stages. The following season saw an improvement from the team, finishing third within their group, however participation within the league became sporadic as the management decided to concentrate the team's efforts on the multi-sport event Chinese National Games. Participating within the 1965 Chinese National Games, the club ultimately finished ninth within the tournament. The following season, any attempt to return to the league was halted for several seasons due to the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
When the league started back up again in 1973, Shandong were allowed to be included in the top tier and finished ninth at the end of the campaign. As the seasons progressed, they established themselves as regulars within the league, however the management still wished to compete within the Chinese National Games and entered a team in the 1979 tournament which they won, beating Beijing 3–1 in the final. The success of that tournament acted as a springboard for the team, and Shandong would experience finish as runners-up of the 1981 and 1982 league campaigns. The momentum Shandong showed at the start of the decade quickly faded, and by the end of the decade they had experienced their first ever relegation, finishing in the bottom positions for the 1989 league season. Unfortunately for Shandong, they were once again relegated the following season and sent down to the third tier.
The club's time within the third division did not last very long, and they immediately won the division title and promotion at the end of the 1991 league season. The following campaign saw the Chinese Football Association decide to make Chinese football fully professional, and this seemed to spur on the club, as they came third within the division and guaranteed promotion to the first fully professional top-tier league, the 1994 Chinese Jia-A League. On 2 December 1993, Shandong football club became fully professional, gathered sponsorship and changed their name to Shandong Taishan Football Club. On 29 January 1994, Jinan City, the city government sponsored and participated in the club's management, changing its name to Shandong Jinan Taishan Football Club to accommodate this.
Professionalism.
Shandong would be one of the founding teams to participate within the inaugural fully professional 1994 Chinese Jia-A League season; however, the owners quickly ran into financial problems with the improved player wages and added costs of running a professional club, which saw players often paid late. The lack of funds also saw the club unable to sign any foreign imports, making them one of the few teams in the league without any foreign players within their roster. To add to the club's problems, several veterans who established the club within the league such as Wang Dongning and Leng Bo left the team at the end of the season. On 3 April 1995, the club changed its name to Jinan Taishan Football Club to accommodate their sponsors, however their financial problems still remained the same and they were unable to bring any new players into the squad. Despite this, manager Yin Tiesheng promoted from within, with players such as Li Xiaopeng and Liu Yue given a chance. However, it was the emergence of Su Maozhen and Tang Xiaocheng as the club's strikers which impressed the club's supporters the most, especially once Shandong defeated the recently crowned league champions Shanghai Greenland Shenhua in the 1995 Chinese FA Cup held in Nanjing. After the victory, Shandong General Tobacco (Group) Co., Ltd. became interested in the club and, on 2 March 1996, took control of the team, investing 6.5 million Yuan into the club. With the continued investment from the Jinan City government as well, the club were on a sure financial footing, and with Su Maozhen becoming the league's top goal scorer and the team reaching another cup final again in 1996, things looked to have improved for the team, despite losing the final to Beijing Guoan 4–1 in Beijing.
First foreign coach.
On 4 December 1997, the club held a consultation with the Shandong Electric Power Group Corporation and, on 5 January 1998, Shandong Electric Power Group Corporation became the majority shareholders of the club and changed the club's name to Shandong Luneng Football Club. While the Jinan City government still had significant shareholdings within the club, the new majority shareholders decided that the team needed a new direction and brought in the club's first ever foreign coach in Kim Jung-Nam at the beginning of the 1998 league season, after Yin Tiesheng wasn't able to improve upon the previous season's results. Kim came into Shandong with a reputation of having led South Korea into the 1986 FIFA World Cup, their first World Cup in over 32 years. He dramatically changed the team's style of play and emphasized attacking football, and new signing Deng Lejun from Beijing Guo'an thrived on this, scoring seven goals. Kim's style, however, didn't bring the team many wins, and he resigned later in the season, while Yin Tiesheng returned to manage the team away from relegation.
First league title.
On 25 December 1998, former Yugoslavian national team coach Slobodan Santrač joined Shandong as their new manager for the start of the 1999 league season. With key foreign signings in Serbian goalkeeper Saša Petrović, striker Luis Romero combining with now established Chinese international Su Maozhen along with the emergence of Li Xiaopeng, Shandong had the backbone of a team that surprised many to go on to the final day of the season and defeat Chongqing Longxin 5–0 to claim their first ever league title. Several days later, the club would achieve their first ever domestic cup double when they beat Dalian Wanda 4–3 on aggregate to clinch the 1999 Chinese FA Cup, which resulted in Santrač personally being awarded the Chinese Coach of the Year award. The 1999 FA Cup victory would unfortunately be tainted by controversy when, on 18 February 2013, it was confirmed by the Chinese police that former Chinese football association Head of refereeing Zhang Jianqiang was paid 400,000 Yuan by the club to select the referees for their fixtures in the tournament. Shandong would later be fined one million Yuan by the Chinese football association for this transgression.
For the start of the 2000 league season, striker Casiano Delvalle and midfielder Charles Wittl were brought in to replace the exiting Luis Romero. Unfortunately for Shandong, they got off to the worst possible start to the season by losing their first game of the new campaign to the newly promoted side Yunnan Hongta 1–0. The club continued to struggle with defending their title and by the 16 July clash with Qingdao Yizhong Hainiu, the pressure had already seen Santrač refuse to speak to the media despite Shandong actually winning the game 4–2. With the title already gone from Shandong and Santrač appearing to have lost control of the team he was forced to resign on 13 September 2000, while youth team coach Đoko Koković temporarily took over the team for the remainder of the season.
Dong Gang.
In preparation for the 2001 league season, speculation grew as to who the new manager for the team would be, with former Croatian coach Miroslav Blažević linked with the club until the club's general manager Shao Kenan step-down, with Dong Gang replaced him on 2 November 2000. Gang decided to hire Russian coach Boris Ignatiev. With Casiano Delvalle being the previous season's top goal scorer with 15 goals and the introduction of experienced foreign internationals in Gabriel Mendoza, José Oscar Herrera and Serhiy Nahornyak expectations were high for Shandong. Once again the club did not have an ideal start to the season, facing newly promoted side Shaanxi Guoli in their opening game of the season and losing 1–0. Results under Ignatiev did not improve and the team experienced their toughest defeats in the continental 2000–01 Asian Club Championship on 23 March 2001, where they lost to Júbilo Iwata 6–2, followed by a 6–0 defeat to Suwon Samsung on 25 March 2001, with both games held in Makassar, Indonesia. These two games were the first real humiliating defeats in club history on the international stage, and became known to Chinese football fans as "the Massacre of Makassar", haunting the team for months in their domestic competitions. In the summer, Shandong signed Nii Lamptey, and later that year Márcio Santos, in an effort to halt the losing streak. Lamptey was instrumental in helping the team regain the lost confidence, and they finished the remaining games strongly with nine wins and one draw, including seven straight wins toward the end of the 2001 season.
Another Russian coach, Valeri Nepomniachi, who achieved great success in the 1990 FIFA World Cup with Cameroon, took over the team on 18 December 2001 for the 2002 league season, and under his reign results improved, with the club finishing in an improved fourth place position at the end of the campaign. On 8 February 2003, it would be discovered by the Chinese football association that the general manager Dong Gang was paying referees to be biased towards his team in a scandal named "black whistle" by the Chinese media, which saw Shandong given an 800,000 Yuan fine while Dong Gang escaped with a warning. Nepomniachi decided to stay with the club. The scandal however severely affected the team and they struggled throughout the season, finishing in 12th position at the end of the 2003 league season. Despite being named in the "black whistle" scandal, Dong Gang remained as the team's general manager and hired Ljubiša Tumbaković, before leaving the club on 22 November 2005, to take a position with the Shandong Electric Power Group Corporation, with Kang Mengjun replacing him as the club's general manager.
Ljubiša Tumbaković.
On 7 January 2004, Ljubiša Tumbaković was brought in as head coach for the rebranded 2004 Chinese Super League and, with the signing of Chinese international striker Li Jinyu along with the emergence of Han Peng, the club were able to win the 2004 FA Cup by beating Sichuan Guancheng in the final. With the continued investment coming from the signing of another Chinese international in Zheng Zhi, Shandong looked to provide a better showing in the club's second outing in the 2005 AFC Champions League, where they reached the quarter-finals before being humbled by eventual winners Al-Ittihad (Jeddah) 8–3 on aggregate. The capitulation against Al-Ittihad, which saw Tumbakovic and players Zheng Zhi as well as Predrag Pazin sent off for abusive and violent conduct, would ultimately affect the team's performance within the league, and see them lose the 2005 league title, eventually coming third.
In the 2006 Chinese Super League campaign, Tumbaković looked to overcome the disappointment of the previous season, and with the club not in the Champions League Shandong could concentrate on winning a league and cup double. With talented and motivated young players that included Cui Peng, Zhou Haibin and Wang Yongpo (along with Zheng Zhi personally winning the 2006 most valuable player award and Li Jinyu gaining the top goal scorer award), Shandong breezed to the title with several games remaining and, at the time, the highest points and goal total in Chinese football league history. After gaining his MVP title, Zheng Zhi would interest then-top tier English club Charlton Athletic, who he initially joined on loan before making his move permanent. His departure would see Shandong struggle in the 2007 AFC Champions League, and they couldn't improve upon their previous ACL results; despite gaining 13 points they were knocked out of the competition in the group stage by Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, who finished above them on goal difference. The continental exit would once again repercuss into the league and see Shandong unable to defend their title. Without the Champions League to contend with, Tumbaković was able to regroup his team again and win the 2008 league campaign on the final day of the season when a 0–0 draw against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical was enough to clinch the title.
On 7 February 2009, the team's Chinese international footballer Zhou Haibin signed for top tier Dutch club PSV Eindhoven on a free transfer. His sudden departure gave Shandong a confusing and difficult pre-season preparation, which saw them start the 2009 AFC Champions League with a 3–0 defeat to Gamba Osaka on 10 March 2009. This detrimental start would ultimately see the club unable to reach the knockout stage once again under Tumbaković. The club's league form also suffered, and after the team came fourth in their attempt to defend their title, the Shandong management decided to let Tumbaković go.
Sun Guoyu.
On 21 November 2009, Sun Guoyu came in as the new general manager of the club, and his first assignment was to hire Branko Ivanković on 16 December 2009 as the club's new head coach. Established Chinese international player Deng Zhuoxiang joined the team before the start of the 2010 league campaign in hopes of revitialising the team's midfield. Once again Shandong's continental campaign saw them knocked out in the group stage of the 2010 AFC Champions League; however, unlike previous seasons, Shandong were able to recover from this disappointment, and with the inclusion of Julio César de León during the season, were able to win the league title. The club's defence of their league title saw promising youngster Zhang Chi seriously injured in the first game of the 2011 league season. The repercussion of his injury saw Shandong have a slow start to the season and on the verge of being eliminated once again in the group stage of the Champions League, which resulted in Ivanković resigning on 5 May 2011, two days after losing 2–1 to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Rajko Magić took on the helm of head coach, however he was sacked after a series of losses and replaced by the head coach of the club's football school Manuel Barbosa on a caretaker basis, where he guided the team to a runners-up spot in the 2011 Chinese FA Cup.
On 6 January 2012, Dutch coach Henk ten Cate was appointed as the new manager of the team. It was hoped that with his experience in previously managing Ajax, the birthplace of total football, he would enforce a faster, more free-flowing playing style. However, Henk ten Cate experimented with youth and alienated experienced regulars in Han Peng, Wang Yongpo and Liu Jindong, while the youngsters became overwhelmed with the increase of competitiveness. With the club's playmaker Roda Antar out injured, the management decided to sign experienced players in Du Wei, Simão Mate Junior, José Ortigoza and Leonardo Pisculichi. Henk ten Cate would eventually call back Wang Yongpo and Han Peng into the team, however by then the club were flirting with relegation and had been knocked out of the FA Cup. Henk ten Cate would resign on 6 September 2012, and was replaced by Chinese coach Wu Jingui, with Ten Cate stating he had left for personal reasons, with the monotonous daily life in Taishan and living separated from his family being the main signifiers.
Controversies off the field would ultimately summarize Sun Guoyu's reign as general manager when on 6 October 2010 the Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China would confirm the arrests of former Chinese Football Association vice chairman Xie Yalong for accepting bribes as well as his knowledge match-fixing during his tenure. While under arrest he would claim that Shandong paid him 200,000 Yuan to select the referee for the 26 August 2006 league game against Beijing Guoan, played at Shandong's home stadium in a match they won 1–0 on their way to clinching the 2006 league championship. The former Head of Refereeing at the Chinese FA, Zhang Jianqiang, would corroborate this story and also claimed that he was paid 400,000 Yuan as a "thank you" from the club for his previous refereeing selections during his tenure. On 18 February 2013, the Chinese Football Association disciplinary committee found Shandong guilty of violating the regulations of the sport and fined them one million Yuan. On 25 December 2013, Sun Guoyu was replaced by Liu Yu as the new general manager of the team.
Cuca.
On 22 December 2013, Shandong Luneng announced that Brazilian former footballer Cuca would become the new coach of the team. In 2013, Shandong was eliminated in the AFC Champions League group stage and finished fourth in the Chinese Super League. On 22 November 2014, Ryan McGowan's last-gasp header helped the team defeat Jiangsu Sainty and win the Chinese FA Cup in dramatic fashion, entering next year's Champions League. In 2015, Cuca's team failed to qualify from the group stage of the Champions League again, but finished third in the domestic league, earning the chance to participate in the 2016 AFC Champions League qualification stage.
Mano Menezes.
In December 2015, former Brazil national team manager Mano Menezes became the new head coach of Shandong Luneng. Li Xiaopeng was appointed the new vice manager of the club.
On 21 April 2016, with a 1–0 victory over Japanese side Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Shandong Luneng returned to the knockout stage of the AFC Champions League after an 11-year absence, with one match of the group stage still remaining. On 25 May, Shandong Luneng defeated Sydney FC, entering the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Because of bad results in the domestic league, on 7 June 2016, Shandong announced that Mano Menezes had resigned for personal reasons and that he was no longer the manager of the team. On 8 June 2016, famous German manager Felix Magath officially became the new head coach of the team.
Li Xiaopeng Era.
In 2017, Li Xiaopeng became the new manager after Magath was dismissed. Li would lead the club to several years of contention. This included a third-placed finish in the 2018 Chinese Super League and two Chinese FA Cup finals, winning the trophy in 2020 and finishing as runner-up in 2019.
Kit manufacturers.
With the start of professionalism in the 1994 league season Shandong were allowed to now gain sponsorship and foreign investment. Adidas would provide their kit from 1994 until 2001 until Mizuno took over from 2002 until 2004. Nike started to provide the kits from 2005 and in 2011 they extended their association with the club along with the Chinese Super League when they signed a 10-year deal to provide all the apparel for the whole league.
Affiliated clubs.
Shandong Luneng Taishan FC signed a 'sister' club relationship in 2013 with São Paulo.
Shandong Luneng Taishan FC signed a 'sister' club relationship in 2008 with Adelaide United FC. This contract was signed with Adelaide United Director Mel Patzwald in Beijing at the International Football Arena conference.
Shandong Luneng Taishan FC signed a 'sister' club relationship in 2005 with Jubilo Iwata.
Current squad.
Reserve squad.
"As of 1 March 2019"
Retired numbers.
12 – Club Supporters (the 12th Man) retired in February 2017.
Coaching staff.
On neutral venue Shandong score is counted first
International players.
China PR
AFC
CAF
CONCACAF
CONMEBOL
UEFA