Coach Seo Jung-won is in trouble, beating Shanghai to become the first team in China's first division… I can see the conquest
May 03, 2025
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Chengdu won 1-0 at home in the 10th round of the 2025 Chinese Super League (first division) against Shanghai at Wu Langye Sports Center Stadium in Chengdu, China on the 2nd (Korea time) thanks to the first goal scored by Romulo 'K-League native' in the 27th minute of the first half.
With this victory, he brought down the leader, Shanghai Shenhua, and regained the lead. It tied Shanghai Shenhua with 7 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss with 23 points, but was one goal ahead of the goal difference and reached the top of the league ladder.
According to the Chinese portal 'Sohu Dotcom', it is the first time that Chengdu, who was first promoted to the first division of the 2022 season under coach Seo's leadership in 2018, has ranked first in the Super League for four years.
The fact that Chengdu topped the Super League for the first time in history clearly shows Chengdu's powerful power. In particular, Chengdu today handed Shanghai Shenhua its first loss of the season' Shanghai Sunhwa is led by coach Leonid Slutzky, who was in charge of the Russian national team and Rubin Kazan.
Coach Seo said, `I think today's game was like 'War'. We struggled with a tight schedule and a lot of away games in April, but we are enjoying the joy of winning back-to-back games in May. The players persevered until the end, despite being a little tired, and showed their best performance to the home fans," he said.
As for being in the lead, "We've only played 10 games yet. There is still much room for improvement. You shouldn't be complacent or complacent about winning against strong teams. You have to be humble and take it seriously every game," he stressed the need to maintain composure.
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Chengdu beat Shandong Taishan, led by head coach Choi Kang-hee, 3-0 in the fourth round, and defeated Shanghai Sanggang 3-1 in the last eight rounds. He has won three games in a row and eight consecutive games (6 wins and 2 draws).
Coach Seo led the team's rise with a stable defense, which was led by `Gwangju native" center back Timo, China's rising national full-back Huo Tao, and Chinese national team veteran goalkeeper Liu Dianzuo, who joined Chengdu this year, forming a defense team and dedicating only six league goals.
Striker Felipe from Gwangju has three goals and two assists, and Homulo, a playmaker from Busan, is leading the team's attack with two goals. In particular, Romulo is regarded as the best technician in the Chinese league, comparable to Oscar (São Paulo), who played in Shanghai Sanggang until last year.
Coach Seo took the helm in 2021 and led him to the first division promotion in a year, and led him to fifth place in 2022 and fourth place in 2023, before proving his leadership by ranking third last year, the highest in the club's history.
In Chengdu, a city with a population of 20 million, the name Seo Jeong-won goes beyond 'Excellent Coach' and is 'City Hero'.
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Crucially, the 'money problem' that has been going on since last year has not been solved so far. When Chengdu originally signed a contract with coach Seo, he promised an automatic three-year renewal and bonus when he entered the ACL. However, coach Seo has entered the new season without hearing any news about re-signing and bonuses from the club yet. Players are stamping their feet due to unpaid portrait rights, which can be seen as part of their annual salary. Some domestic agents who manage Chengdu are dissatisfied with not receiving the brokerage fee set by FIFA. Some agents have already filed lawsuits with FIFA and the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The amount of damage reportedly ranges from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of won. Chengdu also reportedly failed to pay the balance of the winter training brokerage fee held on Jeju Island last year.
In such a difficult situation, Korean coaches such as coach Seo and Kim Hyung-il and Ha Dae-sung finally led the team to the lead. Can Seo become the first Korean leader to defeat China in 14 years after former coach Lee Jang-soo, who led Guangzhou Hengda in 2011 and won the Super League?
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
