China’s most successful club side Dalian Shide (大连实德) will be
fielding a team in Singapore’s NTUC Income – YEO’S S.League for the
2008 season. Dalian will take the place of Liaoning Guangyuan
(辽宁广原足球俱乐部) as the 12th team in the S.League and they will play
their home matches at Queenstown Stadium.
Dalian comes with a strong reputation in Chinese football,
having been crowned champions on eight occasions in the past 14
years.
China internationals who have hailed from Dalian Shide include
the likes of Sun Jihai and Dong Fangzhuo who are both currently
plying their trade in the English Premiership with giants
Manchester City and Manchester United respectively.
One of China’s best ever strikers – Hao Haidong – played for
Dalian for nine years (1996-2005) where he won seven league titles,
three Super Cups and two FA Cups. He won more than 90 caps for
China and was instrumental in them qualifying for their first World
Cup Finals appearance in 2002.
Dalian Shide’s model in the S.League will be similar to that of
Albirex Niigata who will be embarking on their fifth season in
Singapore’s professional league. The team will be made up mainly of
young upcoming players on the fringes of Dalian’s first team
supplemented by several experienced players.
Says S.League CEO Winston Lee, “We’ll like to welcome Dalian
Shide to the S.League. They are a well-known football brand in Asia
and they come with a good reputation and track record in China. We
are impressed with their football and management capabilities as
well as their plans and ambitions. I will like to wish them all the
best in the coming season."
Says Dalian Shide General Manager, Li Ming, “Singapore football
is constantly improving and the S.League is one of the best leagues
in Asia. We are delighted to be accepted to play in the S.League.
We are looking forward to the challenge and we know it will not be
easy in our first season. We will do our best and we want to bring
the Dalian brand of football to entertain the fans in
Singapore.”