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Nantong Zhiyun Football Club (Chinese: 南通支云足球俱乐部; pinyin: Nántōng Zhīyún Zúqiú Jùlèbù) is a Chinese professional football club based in Rugao, Jiangsu, that competes in China League One, the second tier of Chinese football. Nantong Zhiyun plays its home matches at the Rugao Olympic Sports Center, located within Rugao. The club was founded on 13 March 2016 by Fan Bing with the support from the Rugao and Nantong municipal governments, and the Jiangsu provincial government. The club name Zhiyun derives from Zhiyun Tower, a tower of historic significance in Nantong, and is depicted on its club badge.
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| Full name | Nantong Zhiyun Football Club 南通支云足球俱乐部 | ||
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| Founded | 13 March 2016 | ||
| Ground | Rugao Olympic Sports Center, Rugao, Jiangsu | ||
| Capacity | 25,000 | ||
| Chairman | Fan Bing | ||
| Head coach | David Patrício | ||
| League | China League One | ||
| 2024 | Chinese Super League, 16th of 16 (relegated) | ||
| Website | http://www.nantongzhiyunfc.com/ | ||
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The club was formed when the Nantong Municipal Football Association bought the first team of Guangxi Longguida F.C. as well as their registration and position in the Chinese Football Association China League Two division.[1][2] Nantong Zhiyun F.C. was officially established on March 13, 2016, in a launching ceremony held in Rugao, Nantong in the Jiangsu province where the Chairman Fan Bing, with the support from the Rugao, Nantong and Jiangsu Province Municipal Government, announced that the club was named after the Zhiyun Pagoda situated on the top of the Langshan hill overlooking the city of Nantong. The club's badge would utilise a wolf as reference to Langshan hill's history with wolves while blue was chosen as the team's home colours.[3] Former Chinese referee Li Jun was appointed as the club's general manager and former Chinese international Wei Xin as the club's Head Coach.[4]
In the 2018 China League Two season, they gained promotion to the China League One for the first time in its history after beating Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic 1–0 at Shaanxi Province Stadium in front of 48,869 spectators on October 27, with a last minute goal by Nan Yunqi sealing the game.[5] With that victory the club were able to gain investment after several shareholders left the club while they were in the third tier.[6] In the second tier the club would struggle and Wei Xin was replaced with Gary White as Head Coach on 20 August 2019, who ensured the clubs survival within the division.[7] On 31 March 2020, Xie Hui was brought in as the new Head Coach, however his vocal behaviour and critical options, particularly on the President of the Chinese Football Association, Chen Xuyuan saw him resign.[8] On 26 August 2021, Cao Rui would be brought in to manage the team and he would go on to lead the team to third within the division and promotion to the top tier at the end of the 2022 China League One season.[9]
In 2022, Nantong Zhiyun secured promotion to Chinese Super League for the first time in history from 2023 season after finishing third place in China League One in 2022 season.
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Current squad
- As of 11 July 2024[10]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  David Patrício |
| Assistant head coach | Ivan Baptista  Zhu Qi |
| Goalkeeping coach |  David Pérez |
| Fitness coach |  Vladimir Zivanović |
| Rehab coach | Pablo Vieites |
| Technical assistant | Yang Yang |
Last updated: 5 Jan 2024
Source: 25 Jun 2024
Wei Xin (2016)
Tomislav Stipić (2017)- Wei Xin (2017–2019)
Gary White (2019–2020)- Xie Hui (2020–2021)
- Cao Rui (2021–2022)
David Patricio (2023)- Zhu Qi (caretaker) (2023)
Gabri (2023)- David Patricio (2023)
Mihajlo Jurasović (2024)- David Patricio (2024–present)
All-time league rankings
As of the end of 2023 season.[11]
| Year | Div | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pos. | FA Cup | Super Cup | AFC | Att./G | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 20 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 22 | −8 | 18 | 16 | R1 | DNQ | DNQ | 4,825 | Rugao Olympic Sports Center |
| 2017 | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 24 | 19 | 5 | 39 | 8 | R2 | DNQ | DNQ | 3,371 | ||
| 2018 | 31 | 21 | 5 | 5 | 58 | 22 | 36 | 68 | RU | R16 | DNQ | DNQ | 9,126 | ||
| 2019 | 2 | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 35 | 38 | -3 | 33 | 12 | R3 | DNQ | DNQ | 11,008 | |
| 2020 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 22 | 12 | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | |||
| 2021 | 34 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 62 | 30 | 32 | 65 | 5 | R4 | DNQ | DNQ | |||
| 2022 | 34 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 62 | 22 | 40 | 70 | 3 | R1 | DNQ | DNQ | |||
| 2023 | 1 | 30 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 42 | -16 | 22 | 14 | QF | DNQ | DNQ | 15,432 |
- ^1 in group stage.
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