2015 Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao F.C. season

Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao 2015

Chairman	Kang Bing
Manager	Fabio Cannavaro
Stadium	Tianhe Stadium
Super League	2nd
FA Super Cup	Runners-up
AFC Champions League	Group stage
Top goalscorer	League: Ricardo Goulart Elkeson Gao Lin (4 goals) All: Ricardo Goulart (10 goals)
Highest home attendance	48,651 vs Kashima Antlers 18 March 2015 (Champions League)
Lowest home attendance	45,328 vs Liaoning Panjin Whowin 12 April 2015 (Super League)
Average home league attendance	league: 45,867 all: 46,391
Home colours Away colours
← 2014

The 2015 Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao season is the 62nd year in Guangzhou Evergrande's existence and is its 48th season in the Chinese football league, also its 26th season in the top flight. The club's name was changed from Guangzhou Evergrande F.C. to Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao F.C. before the 2015 season due to e-commerce company Alibaba Group purchasing a 50% stake in the club from the Evergrande Real Estate Group.^[1] Fabio Cannavaro was appointed as the new manager of the club after Marcello Lippi announced his retirement at the end of 2014 season.^[2][3]

Squad and staff

As of 5 March 2015 ^[4]

First team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Dong Chunyu 2 MF Liao Lisheng 3 DF Mei Fang 4 MF Zhang Jiaqi 5 DF Zhang Linpeng 6 DF Feng Xiaoting 7 FW Alan 8 MF Renê Júnior 9 FW Elkeson 10 MF Zheng Zhi (captain) 11 MF Ricardo Goulart 12 MF Wang Shangyuan 13 GK Fang Jingqi 15 DF Yi Teng 16 MF Huang Bowen

No. Position Player 17 MF Liu Jian 18 FW Dong Xuesheng 19 GK Zeng Cheng 20 MF Yu Hanchao 21 MF Zhao Xuri 22 GK Li Shuai 23 MF Yang Xin 24 FW Liang Xueming 25 MF Zou Zheng 27 MF Zheng Long 28 DF Kim Young-gwon 29 FW Gao Lin (vice captain) 33 DF Rong Hao 34 FW Wang Junhui 35 DF Li Xuepeng

Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 26 FW Wang Jingbin 30 DF Hu Bao 31 MF Luo Jiacheng 32 MF Ju Feng 36 DF Liu Hao 37 DF Wu Yuduo 38 MF Shen Qi'an 39 DF Zhu Junhui 40 MF Hu Yangyang 42 GK Zhao Tianci

No. Position Player 43 DF Wen Haojun 45 MF Li Geng 46 DF Yang Chaohui 47 GK Liu Shibo 50 MF Li Zhongyi 51 MF Xu Li'ao 52 DF Guan Haojin 53 DF Guo Tao 54 FW Gan Tiancheng 55 MF Lin Zhikeng

On loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player DF Hu Bowen (at Qingdao Hainiu until 31 December 2015) DF Zhang Hongnan (at Shenzhen FC until 31 December 2015) MF Alessandro Diamanti (at Fiorentina until 30 June 2015) MF Feng Renliang (at Guizhou Renhe until 31 December 2015)

No. Position Player MF Peng Xinli (at Chongqing Lifan until 31 December 2015) FW Alberto Gilardino (at Fiorentina until 30 June 2015) FW Shewket Yalqun (at Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard until 31 December 2015) FW Yang Chaosheng (at Liaoning Whowin until 31 December 2015)

Technical staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Fabio Cannavaro
Assistant coaches	Narciso Pezzotti Massimiliano Maddaloni Li Tie
Goalkeeping coach	Michelangelo Rampulla
Fitness coach	Claudio Gaudino Jordi García
Reserve team coach	Fabrizio Del Rosso
Reserve team assistant coach	Pang Li
Reserve team goalkeeping coach	Chen Gang
Academy director / U-17 team coach	Marco Pezzaiuoli
Medical adviser	Enrico Castellacci
Team doctor / Physiotherapist	Silvano Cotti
Scout	Andrea Innocenti
Technical director	Marcello Lippi (to 28 February 2015)

Pre-season and friendlies

Training matches

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers
2015-01-11	Nanjing Qianbao	H	2–0	Liu Jian, Dong Xuesheng
2015-01-17	Tianjin Songjiang	H	2–3	Cao Xiaodong (o.g.), Elkeson
2015-02-07	Hangzhou Greentown	H	1–1	Elkeson (pen.)

2015 Casino Marbella Cup

24 January 2015	Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao	0 – 2	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	Los Barrios, Spain
16:00 UTC+1			Ha Tae-gyun  71', 85'	Stadium: Los Barrios Stadium

27 January 2015	Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao	2 – 1	Atlético Paranaense	San Fernando, Spain
16:00 UTC+1	Dong Xuesheng  6' Elkeson  23'		Cléo  84'	Stadium: Estadio Bahía Sur Referee: Juan Francisco Caravaca (Spain)

29 January 2015	Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao	4 – 1	S.L. Benfica (Luanda)	Marbella, Spain
16:00 UTC+1	Alan  3', 42' Huang Bowen  16' Feng Renliang  79'		63'	Stadium: Estadio Municipal de Marbella

Competitions

Chinese FA Super Cup

14 February 2015	Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao	0 - 0 (3 - 5 p)	Shandong Luneng Taishan	Hangzhou
16:00 UTC+8	Huang Bowen  71'		Liu Binbin  44' Zhao Mingjian  65' Dai Lin  73'	Stadium: Yellow Dragon Sports Center Attendance: 16,974 Referee: Wang Jin Assistant referees: Mu Yuxin, Zhang Yongjun Fourth official: Li Jun
		Penalties
	Elkeson Goulart Alan Huang Bowen		Tardelli Wang Yongpo Júnior Urso Zheng Zheng Aloísio	|

Chinese Super League

Results summary

Last updated: 26 April 2015.
Source: Competitive Matches

Results by round

Last updated: 26 April 2015.
Source: Chinese Super League Table (Chinese)
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Matches

      Win       Draw       Loss

Round 1 9 March 2015	Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao	2 - 1	Shijiazhuang Ever Bright	Guangzhou
20:00 UTC+8	Goulart  45+3' Yu Hanchao  90+4'		Rondón  19' Iliev  20' Mao Jianqing  49' Rondón  58'	Stadium: Tianhe Stadium Attendance: 45,421 Referee: Ma Ning Assistant referees: Zhang Qiangjing, Zhan Wei Fourth official: Zhang Lei

Round 2 14 March 2015	Chongqing Lifan	1 - 2	Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao	Chongqing
15:35 UTC+8	Sun Jihai  7' Xu Xiaobo  61' Zhang Chiming  63' Zhang Chiming  63' Gigliotti  67' Liu Weidong  68' Guto  85'		Gao Lin  17' Renê Júnior  37' Goulart  41'	Stadium: Chongqing Olympic Sports Center Attendance: 48,530 Referee: Zhou Gang Assistant referees: Huo Weiming, Yu Yue Fourth official: Li Jun

Round 3 22 March 2015	Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao	1 - 1	Changchun Yatai	Guangzhou
20:00 UTC+8	Elkeson  16' Renê Júnior  27' Zhao Xuri  66' Ismailov  69' (o.g.)		Li Guang  27' Maâzou  29' Jiang Zhe  56' Du Zhenyu  62' Li Guang  76' Maâzou  90+4'	Stadium: Tianhe Stadium Attendance: 46,431 Referee: Tan Hai Assistant referees: Mu Yuxin, Ma Ji Fourth official: Ma Li

Round 4 3 April 2015	Henan Jianye	2 - 1	Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao	Zhengzhou
19:45 UTC+8	Xiao Zhi  8' Lü Jianjun  45' Gomes  45+2' Bi Jinhao  71' Gu Cao  88'		Huang Bowen  30' Wang Shangyuan  45+2' Kim Young-gwon  45+2' Renê Júnior  45+4' Zhang Linpeng  64' Elkeson  90+1' (pen.) Feng Xiaoting After match	Stadium: Hanghai Stadium Attendance: 21,662 Referee: Huang Yejun Assistant referees: Zhang Yongjun, Xu Jun Fourth official: He Xiaohu

Round 5 12 April 2015	Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao	6 - 1	Liaoning Panjin Whowin	Guangzhou
20:00 UTC+8	Gao Lin  9' Zhang Linpeng  25' Elkeson  48' Goulart  60' Goulart  68' Elkeson  86' Gao Lin  90+2'		Zhang Ye  18' Chamanga  34' (pen.)	Stadium: Tianhe Stadium Attendance: 45,328 Referee: Fu Ming Assistant referees: Xu Peng, Tong Yong Fourth official: Guan Xing

Round 6 17 April 2015	Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao	1 - 0	Hangzhou Greentown	Guangzhou
20:00 UTC+8	Elkeson  14' Zhao Xuri  63' Mei Fang  76' Goulart  80'			Stadium: Tianhe Stadium Attendance: 46,321 Referee: Zhang Lei Assistant referees: Huo Weiming, Wu Lei Fourth official: Wang Zhe

Round 7 26 April 2015	Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao	3 - 3	Jiangsu Guoxin-Sainty	Guangzhou
20:00 UTC+8	Elkeson  5' Gao Lin  67' Li Xuepeng  72' Yu Hanchao  90+2' Zhang Linpeng  90+2' Goulart  90+4'		Sammir  25' Escudero  33' Wu Xi  44' Ottesen  63' Escudero  76' Kjartansson  83' Zhang Sipeng  88'	Stadium: Tianhe Stadium Attendance: 45,831 Referee: Fan Qi Assistant referees: Wang Dexin, Xu Peng Fourth official: Xu Fuxin

AFC Champions League

Group stage

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao (Q)	5	3	1	1	9	7	+2	10	Advance to knock-out stage
2	FC Seoul	5	1	3	1	2	2	0	6
3	Kashima Antlers	5	2	0	3	8	10	−2	6
4	Western Sydney Wanderers	5	1	2	2	7	7	0	5

25 February 2015	Guangzhou Evergrande	1 - 0	FC Seoul	Guangzhou, China
20:00 UTC+8	Goulart  31' Huang Bowen  39' Feng Xiaoting  62' Mei Fang  75'	Report Summary	Kim Chi-woo  65' Osmar  86'	Stadium: Tianhe Stadium Attendance: 46,749 Referee: Mohanad Qasim Eesee Sarray (Iraq) Assistant referees: Muayad Mohammed Ali (Iraq), Mohamad Muazi B. Zainal Abidin (Malaysia) Fourth official: Mohd Nafeez Bin Abdul Wahab (Malaysia)

4 March 2015	Western Sydney Wanderers	2 - 3	Guangzhou Evergrande	Sydney, Australia
19:30 UTC+11	Juric  27' La Rocca  57' Castelen  90+5'	Report Summary	Goulart  19' Zou Zheng  38' Goulart  58' Goulart  64' Zhao Xuri  90+13'	Stadium: Parramatta Stadium Attendance: 11,418 Referee: Nagor Amir Noor Mohamed (Malaysia) Assistant referees: Azman Ismail (Malaysia), Cheng Oi Cho (Hong Kong) Fourth official: Suhaizi Bin Shukri (Malaysia)

18 March 2015	Guangzhou Evergrande	4 - 3	Kashima Antlers	Guangzhou, China
20:00 UTC+8	Goulart  10' Elkeson  57' Goulart  62' Gao Lin  65' Zhao Xuri  90+2'	Report Summary	Takasaki  36' Takasaki  42' Doi  51' Kanazaki  64' Shibasaki  72' Shibasaki  90+3'	Stadium: Tianhe Stadium Attendance: 48,651 Referee: Mohd Amirul Izwan Bin Yaacob (Malaysia) Assistant referees: Mohd Yusri (Malaysia), Azman Ismail (Malaysia) Fourth official: Khurram Shahzad (Pakistan)

7 April 2015	Kashima Antlers	2 - 1	Guangzhou Evergrande	Kashima, Japan
19:00 UTC+9	Endo  19' (pen.) Umebachi  38' Hwang Seok-ho  39' Sogahata  67' Shoji  78' Takasaki  90+3'	Report Summary	Liu Jian  21' Huang Bowen  59' Zou Zheng  67' Elkeson  75' Zheng Zhi  76'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 7,033 Referee: Ammar Al-Jeneibi (United Arab Emirates) Assistant referees: Mohamed Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates), Zayed Dawood Salman Kamal (United Arab Emirates) Fourth official: Abdulla Ali Abdulla Alaajel Al-Zaabi (United Arab Emirates)

21 April 2015	FC Seoul	0 - 0	Guangzhou Evergrande	Seoul, South Korea
19:30 UTC+9	Kim Nam-chun  58' Kim Jin-kyu  88'	Report Summary	Liu Jian  90'	Stadium: Seoul World Cup Stadium Attendance: 17,157 Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar) Assistant referees: Saoud Ahmed Al-Maqaleh (Qatar), Luay Subhi Adib (Iraq) Fourth official: Wathik Mohammed Abdallah Al-Baag (Iraq)

Statistics

As of 26 April 2015

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos.	Player	Super League			FA Cup			Champions League			Super Cup			Total
			Apps.	Starts	Goals	Apps.	Starts	Goals	Apps.	Starts	Goals	Apps.	Starts	Goals	Apps.	Starts	Goals
2	MF	Liao Lisheng	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
3	DF	Mei Fang	7	6	0	0	0	0	5	5	0	1	1	0	13	12	0
4	MF	Zhang Jiaqi	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
5	DF	Zhang Linpeng	4	2	2	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	6	4	2
6	DF	Feng Xiaoting	6	6	0	0	0	0	4	4	0	1	1	0	11	11	0
7	FW	Alan Carvalho	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	2	1	0
8	MF	Renê Júnior	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	5	5	0
9	FW	Elkeson	7	7	4	0	0	0	5	5	2	1	1	0	13	13	6
10	MF	Zheng Zhi	4	4	0	0	0	0	5	4	0	1	1	0	10	9	0
11	MF	Ricardo Goulart	7	6	4	0	0	0	5	5	6	1	0	0	13	11	10
12	MF	Wang Shangyuan	5	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	5	0
16	MF	Huang Bowen	6	5	0	0	0	0	4	4	0	1	1	0	11	10	0
17	MF	Liu Jian	3	1	0	0	0	0	3	2	0	0	0	0	6	3	0
18	FW	Dong Xuesheng	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
19	GK	Zeng Cheng	2	2	0	0	0	0	3	3	0	1	1	0	6	6	0
20	MF	Yu Hanchao	5	1	1	0	0	0	4	2	0	1	1	0	10	4	1
21	MF	Zhao Xuri	5	3	0	0	0	0	4	3	1	1	0	0	10	6	1
22	GK	Li Shuai	5	5	0	0	0	0	3	2	0	0	0	0	8	7	0
25	DF	Zou Zheng	3	3	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	6	4	0
27	MF	Zheng Long	4	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	6	1	0
28	DF	Kim Young-gwon	5	4	0	0	0	0	5	5	0	0	0	0	10	9	0
29	FW	Gao Lin	7	5	4	0	0	0	4	4	0	1	1	0	12	10	4
33	DF	Rong Hao	3	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	1	0	5	5	0
35	DF	Li Xuepeng	4	4	0	0	0	0	3	2	0	1	1	0	8	7	0
Own Goals					1												1
TOTALS					16			0			9			0			25

Disciplinary record

No.	Pos.	Player	Super League			FA Cup			Champions League			Super Cup			Total
3	DF	Mei Fang	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
5	DF	Zhang Linpeng	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
6	DF	Feng Xiaoting	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
8	MF	Renê Júnior	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
9	FW	Elkeson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
10	MF	Zheng Zhi	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
11	MF	Ricardo Goulart	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
12	MF	Wang Shangyuan	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
16	MF	Huang Bowen	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	4	0	0
17	MF	Liu Jian	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
20	MF	Yu Hanchao	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
21	MF	Zhao Xuri	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
25	DF	Zou Zheng	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
28	DF	Kim Young-gwon	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
29	FW	Gao Lin	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
35	DF	Li Xuepeng	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
TOTALS			16	0	0	0	0	0	11	0	0	1	0	0	28	0	0

Notes and references