Reporter Wang Wei reports On February 28, with the official announcement of the last new signing, Hou Yu, the recruitment of the 2025 winter transfer window of the Guangdong Guangzhou Leopards of the Chinese League has ended. In the new season, the Guangzhou Leopards will set up their home stadium at Yuexiu Mountain Stadium, and at 19:30 on March 15, the first round will face Yanbian Longding team at home.

In the new season, Guangzhou Leopards have brought in 12 new domestic players from other Chinese Super League and Chinese League A teams, as well as 3 Brazilian foreign players. The overall strength of the team has been strengthened, but the Guangzhou Leopards, who participated in the Chinese League for the first time and set their home stadium in Yuexiu Mountain for the first time, still have a lot of work to do, such as fan guidance and deep cultivation of local football culture.

Reinforcements are mainly practical

After the end of the 2024 season, Guangzhou Leopard, which won the championship of the Chinese Second League, has been adjusted, and a total of 15 players who played in the team in the 2024 season have left the team, Shang Yin, Zeng Chao, Cai Haochang, Liang Xueming, Wu Xingyu, Han Xuan, Tu Dongxu, Liu Ziheng, Huang Jiaqiang, Xiao Jiaqi, Chen Junlin and other 11 people have completed the renewal of the new season. Cui Wei, Xia Dalong, and Chen Kanglin, who were loaned to Guangzhou Leopards in the 2024 season, have officially joined this season.

After the opening of the transfer window this season, the club signed goalkeeper Chen Zhao for free, defenders Jiang Jihong, Shan Pengfei, Wang Jianming (Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan players), Chen Guoliang, Yan Zihao, Deng Biao, midfielders Duan Yunzi, Ma Junliang, Hou Yu, Cui Xinglong and striker Yang Hao, and promoted 17-year-old player Wei Wenning from the youth echelon of Guangzhou Leopards.

In terms of foreign recruitment, the free agent signed Brazilian center Carlos, who played for Liaoning Ironman last season, Brazilian striker Rosa, who played for Tianjin Jinmen Tigers and Nantong Zhiyun, and Brazilian midfielder Nikon, who played for Sao Paulo in the Brazilian league.

Judging from the introduction of reinforcements in the winter window, the Guangzhou Leopards, who set the goal of upward impact, did not introduce international-level players or big-name players, and the new signings introduced were more practical, and it was most important to quickly adapt to the Chinese League.

This year, Guangzhou Leopards has a few thoughts on recruitment, first of all, the coaching staff is mainly based on the idea of building the team framework, and the players introduced first have a strong sense of belonging and are willing to grow together with the club. On the whole, it is not just about fame, but ultimately based on the strength of the players. Understand the situation of players in the past few years, and more players who have played steadily in teams above the Central League are mainly introduced.

It is worth mentioning that there are several "captains" among the new signings, such as Carlos, Jiang Jihong, Hou Yu and Shan Pengfei, who have previously served as captains in different teams, which is not only a reflection of competitive strength, but also a proof of leadership and responsibility. The addition of multiple players with such experience will help a lot in the team spirit and support each other on the pitch.

In addition, the club also introduced Wang Jianming, a Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan player with Korean ancestry, from Qingdao Manatee in the Chinese Super League. In the past two and a half years, Wang Jianming has played steadily in Qingdao Manatee, contributing 5 goals and 15 assists. In the 2024 season of the Second League, the Guangzhou Leopards have been looking for suitable players in the left and right full-back positions, and after the season, the club has also introduced Wang Jianming, a free agent, to strengthen the strength of the right side according to the needs of the coaching staff. Judging from the run-in of winter training, Wang Jianming has a certain strength in attack and defense on the right side. At the same time, Wang Jianming has experience in the Chinese Super League, and it is a highlight to dare to fight on the field, and the offensive and defensive speed is also relatively fast. Wang Jianming has played for Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic, while Guangzhou Leopards assistant coach Feng Feng has coached him in Chang'an Athletic, so he is more familiar with his characteristics, which is conducive to his integration into the team.

The introduction of foreign aid does not scratch lottery tickets

The Guangzhou Leopards team has introduced local players such as Ma Junliang and Hou Yu, and Yang Hao, a young player who plays in the Guangzhou team, has also joined the Guangzhou Leopards this season. In addition, Cui Xinglong, who was introduced from Foshan Southern Lions this season, was also cultivated from the youth training in Shenzhen, Guangdong. A number of Cantonese players have joined as part of the Guangzhou Leopards' efforts to build a local football culture.

There are also Liang Xueming, Tu Dongxu, Cai Haochang, Zeng Chao, Liu Ziheng, Huang Jiaqiang, Xiao Jiaqi, and other local players who have been renewed and retained in Guangdong this season, and if you add Jiang Zhiqin, Huang Shenghao, Ai Chuwei, He Jiajun and other players who entered the first team from the echelon last season, there are currently more than half of the local players in Guangdong in the Guangzhou Leopards team.

Moreover, the Guangzhou Leopards transferred the striker Wei Wenning, who was born in 2008, to the first team from the youth echelon this year, and Wei Wenning, who is from Foshan, Guangdong, grew up in the Guangzhou football youth training and has won excellent results in the national youth football competition on behalf of the Guangzhou team and the Guangzhou Leopard echelon. These young players still have a lot of room for development and will be the team's future wealth.

According to the introduction of domestic aid in winter training and the existing domestic players, the team takes the introduction of foreign aid on the offensive side as the main direction of attack, and focuses on practical foreign aid to improve the strength of the offensive end of the team. Judging from the foreign players Carlos, Rosa and Nikon introduced by the Guangzhou Leopards this year, they are all Brazilians with the same language, and the three usually have more space to communicate together, and the team also hopes that the combination of these three Brazilian players can produce good chemistry.

Guangzhou Leopards didn't want to "scratch the lottery" when they introduced foreign aid, so they tried to "use it well", winger Rosa and center Carlos both have experience in the Chinese league. Carlos, who has played for many years in Brazil and Portugal, joined Liaoning Iron Man in the summer transfer window last year, making 15 appearances, scoring 8 goals and 2 assists, and was selected as a shortlist for the best player of the year in the Chinese league. Rosa and Carlos have a certain understanding of Chinese football, and the team also has a certain level of understanding of their habits and personalities, which makes it easier for them to integrate into the team more quickly. Former Nikon has played in Sao Paulo, Cruzeiro and other teams in the Brazilian First Division, with excellent foot skills, outstanding dribbling ability, and excellent free kick skills.

The team has been restructured, and the Guangzhou Leopards, who played the first time in the Chinese League, did not adopt a high-investment approach to recruitment, and adopted a suitable way to operate in terms of player introduction and salary level. Guangzhou Leopard last year in the second league there is a way to win the bonus, each game of the winning bonus to maintain a certain level, this year and put forward the whole team "spell" word head, the winning bonus will be a way to motivate the whole team to fight every game.

"Bringing in" fans is also a priority

Nowadays, the Guangzhou Leopards have the only team in Guangzhou, and the new season will be located in the Yuexiushan Stadium, the blessed land of Guangzhou football. In other words, how to guide and attract more Guangzhou and Guangdong fans to support in the new season is quite important for Guangzhou Leopards.

In the first two seasons, Guangzhou Leopards were in the Champions League and the Second Division, and there are still areas that need to be improved in terms of fan guidance and attraction, such as the team's brand awareness is not high, the number of fans watching the game is not large, the fan organization is relatively single, the number of fan clubs is not large, etc., and there is a lack of talent to organize fans.

At the beginning of January 2025, the club will openly recruit talents in charge of fan organizations, and look forward to professionals with experience in fan organizations and feelings for Guangzhou football to join. Recently, the club has also increased the number of fan associations from one to three, aiming to expand the number of fans and increase attendance.

On February 22, the China Football Professional League Federation held a business cooperation conference in Shanghai, and Yang Xu, vice chairman of the Chinese Football Federation, specifically mentioned the importance of professional football brand building, and he summarized the seven key words of the brand concept: brand concept, brand positioning, brand management, brand image, negative list, brand value and brand cooperation.

Yang Xu sees professional football as a public good, and this public good is produced by three types of people: the stage builders, the performers on the stage, and the atmosphere builders around the stage. The builders are mainly the Chinese Football Federation and professional football clubs, the performers are mainly athletes and coaches, and the atmosphere is mainly created by fans.

From the perspective of public goods, performers do not regard their opponents as enemies, even if they are in the same city derby, they are also partners in cooperative performances; The fans in the north and south stands are not hostile to each other, even the fans of the same city derby are not hostile, but to create an atmosphere of love and passion for the city.

Some time ago, the reporter interviewed the opening ceremony of the 2025 Chinese Super League, the match between Shanghai Shenhua and Changchun Yatai and the match between Shanghai Port and Shenzhen Xinpeng City. Compared to Shanghai's ball market, Guangzhou football had the same glory many years ago, but now it is far from it. Therefore, whether it is for Guangzhou Leopard or other professional teams in Guangzhou, doing a good job in the club brand is the core work.

Now, for the warm-hearted service of Guangzhou fans is very important, "come to Guangzhou people, go out is Guangzhou team" has long been more than just a slogan, as long as these work is done, I believe that next, whether it is Yuexiushan Stadium, Huadu Stadium or Zengcheng Stadium, the audience and fans will naturally come.

Judging from the two viewing packages for the new season just launched by Guangzhou Leopard this year, the price is not high, and it gives back to young fans and audiences, which is one of the specific measures made by Guangzhou Leopard.