Dalian Professional Football Club () is a professional Chinese
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club based in
Dalian
Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...
,
Liaoning
Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...
, that participates in the
China Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...
under licence from the
Chinese Football Association
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) is the governing body for association football, beach soccer and futsal in People's Republic of China (Mainland China). The CFA organizes the men's and women's national teams and administers the country's ...
(CFA). Their home stadium is
Dalian Sports Centre Stadium
Dalian Sports Centre Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Dalian, Liaoning province, China. The stadium has a maximum capacity of 61,000. The stadium was built for the 2013 National Games of China, and switched to other purposes, mainly footba ...
with a capacity of 61,000.
The club was refounded on September 20, 2009, by Dalian Aerbin Group Company, Ltd., and started from the third tier of the Chinese football pyramid, the
China League Two
The Chinese Football Association Division Two League (Simplified Chinese: 中国足球协会乙级联赛), or China League Two, is the third tier league of the People's Republic of China. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football As ...
. Winning two consecutive league titles in the second and third tier professional football leagues, they were promoted to the top tier in
2012 Chinese Super League
The 2012 Chinese Super League was the ninth season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League, the nineteenth season of a professional football league and the 51st top-tier league season in China. It began on March 10, 2012 and ended o ...
season where they experienced their highest ever placing of fifth in the same season. In 2014, they were relegated from the Chinese Super League. In December 2015, they were renamed Dalian Yifang Football Club. In October 2017, they won the Chinese League One championship and successfully upgraded. On May 25, 2019, Dalian Yifang Football Club was renamed Dalian Professional Football Club, with new logo unveiled on January 21, 2020.
History
Club history
Dalian Aerbin (2009–2014)
On September 20, 2009, Dalian Aerbin Group Co. Ltd. established a new professional football club named Dalian Aerbin () and hired former
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
footballer Li Ming to become the club manager. The club's name Aerbin comes from the
Manchu language
Manchu (Manchu:, ) is a critically endangered East Asian Tungusic language native to the historical region of Manchuria in Northeast China.
As the traditional native language of the Manchus, it was one of the official languages of the Qing dyn ...
meaning ''a place with water'', which is also the name of a small town in
Jinzhou District
Jinzhou District () is one of the seven districts of Dalian, Liaoning province, People's Republic of China. It is located about northeast of the city centre and facing the Bohai Sea to the west as well as the Korea Bay to the east and has a long ...
of Dalian where Dalian Aerbin Group Co. Ltd is located. They would soon move into the Dalian University Stadium in the
Dalian Development Area
Dalian Development Area (DDA; KaiFaQu ) is located in Jinzhou District, Dalian, Liaoning province, China as the first Economic and Technological Development Zones nationwide in 1984.
History
Kaifaqu was established in September, 1984 under the fo ...
and bring in
Chi Shangbin
Chi Shangbin (; 19 September 1949 – 6 March 2021) was a Chinese football player and coach.
As player, he spent his whole career playing for Liaoning, and also represented China at international level. As manager, he was best known for his re ...
as their co-manager and Sun Xianlu as their Head coach. Starting in the third tier league, the club made their debut in
2010 China League Two
The 2010 China League Two season is the 21st season since its establishment. League kicked off on 9 May 2010.
Group Stage Standings North Group
* Round 1: Dalian Yiteng 2-2 Liaoning Tiger , Panjin Mengzun 0-1 Dalian Aerbin (9 May)
* Round 2: ...
season. The club brought in established top tier
Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...
players such as Guo Hui, Chang Lin and Yang Lin. The quality of these players helped the club win their regional division section and later the league title over
Tianjin Songjiang
Tianjin Tianhai F.C. (; ;) was a Chinese football club. The team was based in Tianjin.
History 2006-2010: Formation and League Two
On June 6, 2006 the Tianjin Binhai Holdings Limited company would form a new football team based in Hohhot call ...
as the club won the championship.
In the following season, the club hired its first foreign coach, Bulgarian manager Aleksandar Stankov. Dalian Aerbin F.C. set up a surprising winning streak and won the
2011 China League One
The 2011 China League One is the eighth season of the China League One, the second tier of the Chinese football league pyramid, since its establishment. It began on 26 March 2011 and ended in October 2011.
The size of the league expanded from 13 ...
championship. With their meteoric rise to the Super League, the club decided to use the 30,775 seater
Jinzhou Stadium
Jinzhou Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Jinzhou District, Dalian, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, China. Currently it is mostly used for association football, football matches. The stadium holds 30,776 people and was built in 1997. ...
as its home stadium and shared it with their local rival
Dalian Shide
Dalian Shide was a professional Chinese football club based in Dalian, Liaoning province, China who played in China's football league system between 1955 and 2012. Their home stadiums were the 55,843 capacity Dalian People's Stadium and then lat ...
as well as signing a more experienced manager in Chang Woe-Ryong who had previously managed in the Chinese Super League with
Qingdao Jonoon
Qingdao Hainiu Football Club (, known as Hai-niu or literally Sea Bull) is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the China League Two division under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is b ...
. The club initially struggled in the league and the club brought in
Aleksandar Stanojević
Aleksandar Stanojević ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Станојевић, ; born 28 October 1973) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player.
Playing career
Stanojević started his playing career in Partizan youth squad. F ...
as the head coach. By July 11, 2012 Dalian Aerbin brought in a marquee player in former
Barcelona F.C.
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Founded i ...
midfielder
Seydou Keita
Seydou Keïta (; anglicised to Keita; born 16 January 1980) is a Malian former footballer. A versatile midfielder, he operated as both a central or defensive midfielder.
Keita most notably played for Lens (five seasons) and Barcelona (four), w ...
who departed the Spanish team on a free transfer and helped ensure Dalian Aerbin remain within the league. At the end of the 2012 league season Stanojevć managed to not only avoid relegation but actually guided the club to fifth within the league.
On 30 November 2012, Aerbin Group acquired the local rival
Dalian Shide F.C.
Dalian Shide was a professional Chinese football club based in Dalian, Liaoning province, China who played in China's football league system between 1955 and 2012. Their home stadiums were the 55,843 capacity Dalian People's Stadium and then late ...
by taking on responsibility of their 330 million
RMB
The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022. ...
debt after Dalian Shide's chairman
Xu Ming
Xu Ming (; April 1971 – 4 December 2015) was a Chinese entrepreneur and billionaire. He was the founder of the conglomerate Dalian Shide Group, and the chairman of Dalian Shide F.C., China's top football club in the 2000s. In 2005, ''Forbes ...
was arrested for bribing and corruption. In hopes of bringing in a harmonious merger of the two teams, former Dalian Shide manager
Xu Hong
Xu Hong (; born May 14, 1968, in Dalian) is a retired Chinese football player and football manager. He was most recently the manager of Chinese Super League team Dalian Aerbin F.C. for 63 days before he had to resign on February 19, 2013, be ...
was brought in for the start of the
2013 Chinese Super League
The 2013 Chinese Super League was the tenth season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League, the 20th season of a professional football league and the 52nd top-tier league season in China. Guangzhou Evergrande won their third consecuti ...
. However, after only 63 days in charge he had to resign after the
Chinese Football Association
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) is the governing body for association football, beach soccer and futsal in People's Republic of China (Mainland China). The CFA organizes the men's and women's national teams and administers the country's ...
found that he manipulated a match while as a manager at
Sichuan First City
Sichuan First City () is a defunct Chinese football club, which was located in Chengdu, Sichuan where they played in the Chengdu Sports Centre. They were founded in 1953 and spent a large part of their history within the top tier of Chinese footb ...
and was given a 5-year suspension from all football activity, which forced Li Ming to start the season as their caretaker manager. Chinese Football Association called off this merger according to regulations, and decided that former Dalian Shide players should join the free market, while Dalian Aerbin could only sign them through normal transfer, 5 at most, instead of taking over the whole team. This incident caused Aerbin to face some serious financial problems, being unable to pay the salaries, bonuses, or even maintenance of the stadium. At the end of
2014 Chinese Super League
The 2014 Chinese Super League was the eleventh season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League, the 21st season of a professional Association football league and the 53rd top-tier league season in China. Guangzhou Evergrande won their ...
, Aerbin was relegated to
China League One
The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League.
Prior to the formation of ...
.
Dalian Yifang (2015–2019)
With Dalian Aerbin back in the China League One division and with the loss of revenue generated from being in the top tier the club could not afford to maintain their squad, which saw a mass exodus of players.
Mikael Stahre
Mikael Lennart Tage Stahre (; born 5 July 1975) is a Swedish football manager who is currently head coach of Allsvenskan club IFK Göteborg.
Management career
Stahre was appointed as AIK's manager on 10 November 2008 immediately following the ...
was hired as the Head coach at the start of the 2015 league campaign and looked to be pushing for promotion, which saw Dalian Yifang Group Co. Ltd on 8 July 2015 buy majority shares within the club. The purchase was promoted by
Wang Jianlin
Wang Jianlin (; born 24 October 1954) is a Chinese business magnate, investor and philanthropist. He is the founder of Dalian Wanda Group, China's largest real estate development company, and the world's largest movie theater operator. He previo ...
and his
Dalian Wanda Group
Wanda Group (), or the Dalian Wanda Group (), is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded in Dalian, Liaoning and headquartered in Beijing. It is a private property developer and owner of Wanda Cinemas and the Hoyts Group.
With invest ...
who are a main shareholder of the Yifang Group (一方, "one region"), with the investment signalling a return of football ownership from Wang Jianlin who had previously owned Dalian Wanda F.C. The club failed to win promotion back into the top tier after finishing third place at the end of the 2015 season and officially changed their name to Dalian Yifang F.C. () in December 2015. On 10 July 2015 in a press conference to confirm the Yifang Group's investment, the general manager Shi Xueqing () admitted that the club was still losing money.
In the 2017 China League One season Dalian Yifang won the division title and promotion back into the top tier under Head coach
Juan Ramón López Caro
Juan Ramón López Caro (; born 23 March 1963) is a Spanish Association football, football Manager (association football), manager.
He managed Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid and Levante UD, Levante in La Liga, as well as RC Celta de Vigo, Celta and ...
. Despite this success the Dalian Football Association announced he was replaced by Ma Lin, which saw speculation grow that the club were still in financial difficulties and were looking for the local government Dalian Sports Bureau to takeover the club. On 20 February 2018 the Wanda Group took full control on the club after selling their 17% share in
Atlético Madrid
Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...
to Israeli businessman
Idan Ofer
Idan Ofer ( he, עידן עופר; born 2 October 1955) is an Israeli billionaire businessman and philanthropist, with interests in shipping, energy, mining and sports. He is the founder of Eastern Pacific Shipping, and the principal of the Quant ...
on 14 February 2018. The Wanda Group would use the money taken from Atlético Madrid and invest it in bringing in Argentinian international
Nicolás Gaitán
Osvaldo Fabián Nicolás "Nico" Gaitán (; born 23 February 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Portuguese Primeira Liga club Paços de Ferreira.
A product of Boca Juniors, he joined Benfic ...
and Belgium international
Yannick Carrasco
Yannick Ferreira Carrasco (born 4 September 1993) is a Belgian footballer who plays for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Belgium national team as a winger or wing-back.
He began his career with Monaco, where he scored 20 goals in 105 ...
.
The team and the Wanda Group sought further influence in the 2019 season. In February 2019, the club completed another marquee signing from Europe, this time acquiring the services of
Napoli
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
man
Marek Hamšík
Marek Hamšík (; born 27 July 1987) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Süper Lig club Trabzonspor. He formerly captained the Slovakia national team.
After beginning his club career with Slovan Bratislava in 20 ...
, who signed for a reported fee of about €20 million (£18m/$23m). Gaitán left the team to play for the
MLS
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
side Chicago Fire after just one season. The team signed with Korean manager Choi Kang-hee, but had less-than-expected performance as the league went halfways. In July 2019, Dalian Pro ended contract with Choi, while
Rafael Benítez
Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who most recently managed club Everton.
Benítez joined Real Madrid's coaching staff at the age of 26, going on to work as the under-1 ...
was introduced to the team, that he "was impressed by chairman
Wang
Wang may refer to:
Names
* Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname
* Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname
* Titles in Chinese nobility
* A title in Korean nobility
* A title in Mongolian nobility
Places
* Wang River in Thailand ...
's passion and future plan on football". Salomon Rondon also joined from
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
, as a response to Benítez's call.
Dalian Professional (2020–present)
On 21 January 2020, Dalian Yifang changed their name to Dalian Professional. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Chinese Super League did not start until July, after when Carrasco decided to leave the team. Dalian Pro and Benitez focused on aggressive promotion of young players, putting older players down to the reserves, as the 2020 league do not have much relegation pressure.
In January 2021, Benítez and Dalian Pro parted ways. Hamsik and Rondon also decided to leave. As the CSL introduced further limit on salary cap and transfer fees, the team seems to reach a post-marquee era, by not introducing new foreign players, and remained low-profile. The team appointed José González, but relegated to China League One after the season.
On 12 March 2022, Dalian Pro announced major changes in its owners. Wanda Group decided to quit, and the team would be taken over temporarily by a government-led reforming work team. Past debts and operating costs of the first team, youth training facilities and projects for the next three years would still be covered by Wanda Group. The Dalian Pro Academy Base was donated to DETA Holdings (), a state-invested company in Dalian.
On 27 May 2022, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced that Dalian Pro, who had been relegated from the top flight at the end of last season, would compete in the 18-team top flight, as a replacement for disbanded club Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic.
Ownership and naming history
Current squad
First team
Reserve squad
''As of 1 March 2019''
Unregistered players
Coaching staff
''As of 16 May 2022.''
Managerial history
Honours
*
China League One
The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League.
Prior to the formation of ...
(Second Tier League)
**Winners (2):
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
,
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
*
China League Two
The Chinese Football Association Division Two League (Simplified Chinese: 中国足球协会乙级联赛), or China League Two, is the third tier league of the People's Republic of China. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football As ...
(Third Tier League)
**Winners (1):
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
Results
All-time League Rankings
: As of the end of 2021 season
* in group stage
* in group stage.
* the
2020 Chinese Super League
The 2020 Chinese Super League, officially known as the 2020 Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League () for sponsorship reasons, was the 17th season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League. The league title sponsor is Ping An ...
was held behind closed doors most of the time, attendance and stadium not applicable.
* the 2021 Chinese Super League was held behind closed doors most of the time, attendance and stadium not applicable.
; Key
* Pld = Played
* W = Games won
* D = Games drawn
* L = Games lost
* F = Goals for
* A = Goals against
* Pts = Points
* Pos = Final position
* DNQ = Did not qualify
* DNE = Did not enter
* NH = Not Held
*- = Does Not Exist
* R1 = Round 1
* R2 = Round 2
* R3 = Round 3
* R4 = Round 4
* F = Final
* SF = Semi-finals
* QF = Quarter-finals
* R16 = Round of 16
* Group = Group stage
* GS2 = Second Group stage
* QR1 = First Qualifying Round
* QR2 = Second Qualifying Round
* QR3 = Third Qualifying Round
Past and present internationals
Had international caps for their respective countries.
China
* Chen Lei (2012–2013)
* Chen Tao (2013–2015)
* Dong Xuesheng (2012–2013)
* He Yupeng (2019–present)
*
Hu Zhaojun
Hu Zhaojun (; ) is a Chinese football player.
Club career
Hu Zhaojun is a defensive midfielder who started his career with Dalian Shide in 1999 where in his debut season he made six appearances. He subsequently established himself as a regular ...
Li Xuepeng
Li Xuepeng (; born 18 September 1988) is a Chinese footballer who currently plays for Guangzhou Evergrande in the Chinese Super League.
Club career
Li Xuepeng started his football career when he was promoted to Dalian Shide's first team in t ...
Tong Lei
Tong Lei (; born 16 December 1997 in Quzhou) is a Chinese football player who currently plays for Chinese Super League club Dalian Professional.
Club career
Tong Lei started his professional football career in 2016 when he was promoted to Hang ...
Wang Wanpeng
Wang Wanpeng (, born June 9, 1982, in Dalian, Liaoning) is a Chinese footballer.
Club career
After playing for various youth teams in Dalian and Shanghai, Wang would settle at Changchun where he would join Changchun Yatai to start his career. ...
Yu Dabao
Yu Dabao (; born 18 April 1988) is a Chinese professional footballer who currently plays for Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan.
Club career
Yu Dabao started his football career playing for second-tier side Qingdao Hailifeng and was soon ...
(2012–2014)
*
Yu Hanchao
Yu Hanchao (; born 25 February 1987) is a Chinese footballer who currently plays for Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua as a right-footed left winger.
Club career
Yu Hanchao started his football career with Liaoning Whowin in 2005 a ...
Zhao Mingjian
Zhao Mingjian (; ; born 22 November 1987) is a Chinese footballer who plays as a right-back or right midfielder for Chinese Super League club Shanghai Greenland Shenhua.
Club career
Zhao Mingjian broke into the senior team of Dalian Shide a ...
(2019)
*
Zhao Xuri
Zhao Xuri (; born 3 December 1985) is a Chinese footballer who currently plays for Sichuan Jiuniu in the China League One division.
Club career
While Zhao Xuri started his football career with second tier side Dalian Sidelong, he did not make ...
(2019–2021)
*
Zheng Long
Zheng Long (; ; born 15 April 1988) is a Chinese footballer who currently plays for Qingdao Hainiu in the China League One.
Club career
Zheng Long started his football career after he graduated from Qingdao Jonoon's youth academy in 2006. T ...
(2019–2021)
*
Zhou Ting Zhou may refer to:
Chinese history
* King Zhou of Shang () (1105 BC–1046 BC), the last king of the Shang dynasty
* Predynastic Zhou (), 11th-century BC precursor to the Zhou dynasty
* Zhou dynasty () (1046 BC–256 BC), a dynasty of China
** West ...
(2017–2020)
* Zhu Ting (2015–2020, 2022–present)
Africa
*
Almami Moreira
Almami Samori da Silva Moreira (born 16 June 1978) is a Guinea-Bissauan retired footballer who played as a midfielder. He also holds Portuguese citizenship.
After starting out at Boavista he went on to represent mainly Standard Liège and Part ...
(2011)
*
Lee Addy
Lee Addy (born 26 September 1985) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a defender. He played for the Ghana national team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Club career
Early career
Addy began his senior career in 2007 playing with Nan ...
(2012)
*
Seydou Keita
Seydou Keïta (; anglicised to Keita; born 16 January 1980) is a Malian former footballer. A versatile midfielder, he operated as both a central or defensive midfielder.
Keita most notably played for Lens (five seasons) and Barcelona (four), w ...
(2012–2013)
*
Peter Utaka
Peter Maduabuchi Utaka (born 12 February 1984) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ventforet Kofu. He is the younger brother of fellow professional footballer John Utaka.
Club career
Early career
Born in Enugu, Ni ...
(2012–2013)
*
Nabil Baha
Nabil Baha (Arabic: نبيل باها; born 12 August 1981) is a retired footballer who played as a striker.
He started playing for Montpellier in 2000 and spent much of his career in the top divisions of Portugal and Spain, with notable stin ...
(2013)
*
Mohamed Bangura
Mohamed Bangura (born 27 July 1989) is a professional footballer from Sierra Leone.
Club career IFK Värnamo
On 19 March 2010, Swedish Football Division 1, Swedish third tier side IFK Värnamo (coached by the former Sweden midfielder Jonas Th ...
(2016)
*
Nyasha Mushekwi
Nyasha Mushekwi (born 21 August 1987) is a Zimbabwean professional footballer who plays for Chinese Super League club Zhejiang Greentown.
Career
Born in Harare, Mushekwi started out playing for CAPS United in his homeland Zimbabwe. He won th ...
(2016–2019)
*
Sekou Oliseh
Sekou Jabateh Oliseh (born 5 June 1990) is a Liberian professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Liberian side LISCR.
Early and personal life
Born in Monrovia, Liberia, Oliseh was adopted by Nigerian former professional footballe ...
Daniel Mullen
Daniel John Mullen (born 26 October 1989) is an Australian soccer player who last played for Wellington Phoenix. He played as a centre back and a right back. Daniel is the cousin of Matthew Mullen and son of Joe Mullen, a former Socceroo.
Club ...
(2012–2013)
*
Mile Sterjovski
Mile Sterjovski (born 27 May 1979) is an Australian former football (soccer) player. Sterjovski played mainly as a right winger or as a second striker, but also played as a left winger and central midfielder. He is currently the head coach of Ma ...
(2012)
*
Nashat Akram
Nashat Akram Abid Ali Al-Eissa ( ar, نشأت أكرم عبد علي العيسى) (born 12 September 1984) is a former Iraqi professional footballer. Popularly dubbed "The Maestro" and "The Musician", Akram usually played as a playmaker or as ...
Kiril Kotev
Kiril Kotev ( bg, Кирил Котев; born 18 April 1982) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a defender.
Club career
In his youth years, Kotev started to play football at Vihar Gorublyane. At the age of 16 he moved ...
(2011)
*
Guillaume Hoarau
Guillaume Hoarau (born 5 March 1984) is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Club career
Early career
Hoarau started his football career at JS Saint-Pierroise in his native Réunion. In 1995, Le Havre AC scouts co ...
Niklas Backman
Niklas Alexander Backman (born 13 November 1988) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a centre back.
He played for Skiljebo SK, AIK, Dalian Aerbin, and AGF during a career that spanned between 2005 and 2021. A full inter ...
(2014–2015)
*
Constantin Budescu
Constantin Valentin Budescu (; born 19 February 1989) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a forward for Liga I club Petrolul Ploiești.
He began his senior career at Petrolul Ploiești, amassing over 1 ...
(2016)
*
Mathias Ranégie
Mathias Ranégie (; born 14 June 1984) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Club career Early career
He started his career in Masthuggets BK, but left Sweden to be with his Guadeloupean father in Paris, France, ...
(2016)
*
José Fonte
José Miguel da Rocha Fonte (born 22 December 1983) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Ligue 1 club Lille and the Portugal national team.
Fonte started his professional career with Sporting CP B, moving to ...
(2018)
*
Yannick Carrasco
Yannick Ferreira Carrasco (born 4 September 1993) is a Belgian footballer who plays for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Belgium national team as a winger or wing-back.
He began his career with Monaco, where he scored 20 goals in 105 ...
(2018–2019)
*
Marek Hamšík
Marek Hamšík (; born 27 July 1987) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Süper Lig club Trabzonspor. He formerly captained the Slovakia national team.
After beginning his club career with Slovan Bratislava in 20 ...
(2019–2020)
*
Sam Larsson
Sam Andreas Larsson (born 10 April 1993) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Süper Lig club Antalyaspor.
Club career IFK Göteborg
Born in Gothenburg, Sam Larsson made his first start in the Swedish top-flight, All ...
(2020–2021)
*
Marcus Danielson
Marcus Andreas Danielson (born 8 April 1989) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Allsvenskan club Djurgårdens IF
. A full international between 2019 and 2022, he won 19 caps for the Sweden national team and repres ...
(2020–2021)
*
Borislav Tsonev
Borislav Aleksandrov Tsonev ( bg, Борислав Александров Цонев; born 29 April 1995) is a Bulgarian professional Association football, footballer who last played as a midfielder for Dalian Professional F.C., Dalian Pro. He i ...
(2022–)
South America
*
Fábio Rochemback
Fábio Rochemback (born 10 December 1981) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
At different ends of his career, he represented both ''Grenal'' rivals of his home state of Rio Grande do Sul: Internacional and ...
(2012–2013)
*
Gustavo Canales
Gustavo Javier Canales Bustos (; born 30 March 1982) is a Chilean football coach and former player who played as a forward.
Club career
He began his career at hometown Deportivo Roca in 2004. After his spells at Cipolletti, Aldosivi and Guille ...
(2012)
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Nicolás Gaitán
Osvaldo Fabián Nicolás "Nico" Gaitán (; born 23 February 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Portuguese Primeira Liga club Paços de Ferreira.
A product of Boca Juniors, he joined Benfic ...
(2018–2019)
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Salomón Rondón
José Salomón Rondón Giménez (; born 16 September 1989) is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Venezuela national team, and is currently a free agent.
After starting out at Aragua, he went on to spend most o ...