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 (è¾½å®�广原足ç�ƒä¿±ä¹�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.”