Liaoning Tieren Football Club (Chinese: 辽宁铁人足球俱乐部; pinyin: Liáoníng Tiěrén Zúqiú Jùlèbù; lit. 'Liaoning Iron Men F.C.'), currently known as Liaoning Tieren Rural Commercial Bank (Chinese: 辽宁铁人农商银行) for sponsorship reasons, is a Chinese professional football club based in Shenyang, Liaoning, that competes in the Chinese Super League, the top tier of Chinese football. Liaoning Tieren plays its home matches at the Tiexi Stadium, located within Tiexi District.
 | ||||
| Full name | Liaoning Tieren Football Club 辽宁铁人足球俱乐部 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 26 June 2015 as Shenyang City | |||
| Ground | Tiexi Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 40,000 | |||
| Chairman | Wu Jiang | |||
| Head coach | Seo Jung-won | |||
| League | Chinese Super League | |||
| 2025 | China League One, 1st of 16 (promoted) | |||
| Website | www | |||
|
| ||||
History
editEstablishment and early years
editShenyang City was established by former footballer Zhuang Yi in 2015 with out-of-contract players from Shenyang Zhongze who dissolved just before the 2015 China League One season.[1][2] Prior to founding the club, Zhuang Yi had attempted to acquire Shenyang Zhongze F.C. before its dissolution to prevent the team from folding, but his proposal was rejected by local authorities.[3] They enrolled in the 2015 China Football Amateur League and finished in the top 4, gaining promotion to China League Two, and subsequently rebranded to Shenyang Urban starting the following year.
China League Two era (2016–2019)
editThe club enjoyed a lengthy stay in China League Two, making it to the play-off stage twice, in the 2016 and 2018 seasons, but fell short in the first round both times. The 2018 season marked the club's first serious promotion push, with an investment of 80 million yuan and the appointment of former professional Wang Bo as manager. The team recruited several former Chinese Super League players including Xu Bo and Quan Lei.[3] Shenyang City started the season strongly with nine consecutive victories, topping the North Division table. However, a subsequent six-match winless streak caused them to drop out of the automatic promotion places. The team ultimately reached the promotion playoffs but were eliminated in the first round, failing to secure promotion to China League One.[3]
On 12 May 2018, club owner Zhuang Yi was substituted on in a 7–1 league win over Baotou Nanjiao to become the oldest ever appearance-maker in professional Chinese football at 44 years and 305 days.[4] Zhuang then broke his own appearance record on 3 June 2018 in a 4–0 win against Yanbian Beiguo, and scored a penalty in the match, making him the oldest goal scorer in professional Chinese football at 44 years and 327 days.[5]
The club's effort finally came to fruition in the 2019 China League Two, when they were crowned as champions after beating Chengdu Better City in the finals, gaining a historic promotion to China League One. For the 2019 season, the club appointed Yu Ming, former captain of Liaoning F.C., as head coach. Under Yu's leadership, the team achieved a 19-match unbeaten run, including a record-breaking 14 consecutive victories in the second half of the season.[6] On 19 October 2019, Shenyang City defeated Chengdu Better City 2–0 in the second leg of the China League Two final at their home stadium, winning 4–1 on aggregate and securing the league championship.[7]
Liaoning Shenyang Urban era (2020–2023)
editIn April 2020, the club changed their name to Liaoning Shenyang Urban.[8] Following the rebranding, the club faced significant financial difficulties. Due to insufficient investment, the team struggled in the lower mid-table of China League One for four consecutive seasons.
Rebranding to Liaoning Tieren (2024–present)
edit.jpg)
On 8 January 2024, a press conference held by the People's Government of Liaoning revealed that the club would be renamed to Liaoning Liudi (Chinese: 辽宁六地足球俱乐部), and would be promoted to the Chinese Super League within the next two years, in an effort to revitalise football in Liaoning.[9] and the Liaoning Provincial Government designated the club as a pilot unit for professional football reform, announcing a goal of "promotion to the Chinese Super League within two years."[10] The initial proposal to rename the club "Liaoning Liudi" (referencing Liaoning's "six key locations" in Communist Party history) proved controversial among fans, who criticized the name as overly political and lacking sports characteristics.[11] Following fan feedback, the club abandoned the "Liudi" name and held a public vote, initially selecting "Liaoning Northeast Tiger" before ultimately settling on "Liaoning Tieren" (Iron Man).[12] On 6 February, it was announced that Liaoning Shenyang Urban have changed their name to Liaoning Tieren.[13] The "Tieren" name, referencing the ironworker statue in Tiexi District symbolizing the industrial heritage of Northeast China, was officially approved on 6 February 2024.[14]
In preparation for the 2025 season, the club relocated from Shenyang Olympic Sports Centre to Tiexi Stadium, which underwent a three-month renovation to become Shenyang's first professional football stadium. The reconstruction removed the running track, expanded capacity to 40,000 seats, installed natural grass with heating systems, and upgraded lighting to meet VAR requirements.[15][16] The upgraded stadium opened on 31 May 2025[17], with the club subsequently breaking their attendance record on 19 July 2025 when 39,868 spectators watched a 4–2 victory over Chongqing Tongliang Long.[18]
The 2025 season saw the club assemble what local media described as the "most luxurious squad in League One," including the signing of Congolese striker Guy Mbenza for a reported 2 million euro transfer fee.[19] Under manager Li Jinyu, the team went on a 19-match unbeaten run, with Mbenza scoring 28 goals to break the League One single-season record and Japanese midfielder Kunimoto contributing 19 assists.[20] On 26 October 2025, after a 1–0 victory over Nantong Zhiyun, Liaoning Tieren were promoted to the 2026 Chinese Super League for the first time in their history, being crowned the 2025 China League One champions in the process.[21] The promotion completed the club's "four-level jump" from amateur football to the top tier in ten years.[22]
Players
editCurrent squad
edit- As of March 2026[23]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Out on loan
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Coaching staff
edit| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Seo Jung-won |
| Assistant coach | Kim Hyung-il |
| Assistant coach | Ha Dae-sung |
| Assistant coach |  Saša Kolić |
| Fitness coach |  Wang Chen |
Source: CFA
Managerial history
edit- Li Zheng (2015)
Marek Zub (2016)- Xiao Zhanbo (2017)
- Wang Bo (2018)
- Niu Hongli (2018)
- Wang Gang (2018)
- Yu Ming (2019–2022)
- Zhao Faqing (2022)
- Duan Xin (2022–2024)
- Sun Wei (2024)
- Li Jinyu (2024–2026)
- Seo Jung-won (2026–)
Honours
editLeague
- China League One
- Champions: 2025
- China League Two
- Champions: 2019
Results
editAll-time league rankings
As of the start from 2026 season.[24]
| Year | Div | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pos. | FA Cup | Super Cup | AFC | Att./G | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 4 | 4 | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | ||||||||||
| 2016 | 3 | 20 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 30 | 19 | 11 | 33 | 8 | R2 | DNQ | DNQ | 3,239 | Shenyang Urban Construction University Stadium |
| 2017 | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 26 | 19 | 7 | 39 | 12 | R1 | DNQ | DNQ | 1,910 | ||
| 2018 | 28 | 16 | 5 | 7 | 51 | 29 | 22 | 53 | 6 | R16 | DNQ | DNQ | 4,190 | ||
| 2019 | 30 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 62 | 19 | 43 | 741 | W | R2 | DNQ | DNQ | 2,511 | ||
| 2020 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 14 | -5 | 91 | 5 | DNQ | 28 | Tiexi Stadium | ||
| 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | -3 | 52 | 4 | |||||||
| 2021 | 34 | 7 | 4 | 23 | 30 | 62 | -32 | 25 | 16 | R3 | DNQ | DNQ | 4,177 | ||
| 2022 | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 62 | 19 | 34 | 35 | 12 | R1 | DNQ | DNQ | 0 | ||
| 2023 | 30 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 30 | 42 | -12 | 35 | 10 | R2 | DNQ | DNQ | 2,626 | ||
| 2024 | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 50 | 4 | R3 | DNQ | DNQ | 14,752 | ||
| 2025 | 30 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 64 | 27 | 37 | 68 | 1 | R3 | DNQ | DNQ | 26,407 | ||
| 2026 | 1 | 30 | |||||||||||||
Key
|
|
|
|
References
edit- ↑ 沈阳职业足球卷土重来 原中泽班底打造新沈足 Archived 2021-02-15 at the Wayback Machine sports.sina.com 2015-06-27 Retrieved 2016-03-04
- ↑ 2016中乙联赛俱乐部及球队简介 沈阳城市 Archived 2018-06-12 at the Wayback Machine sfa.org.cn 2016-05-03 Retrieved 2016-05-16
- 1 2 3 国内足球综合 (2019-09-26). "辽沈足球复兴曙光！ 沈阳城建成为球迷新精神寄托". 手机新浪网 (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ↑ "45岁庄毅演绎不老传说". sina.com.cn. 14 May 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
- ↑ "中乙老板连创中国足坛纪录 成职业联赛最大年龄进球者". sina.com.cn. 5 June 2018. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
- ↑ 腾讯网 (2025-10-26). "辽宁铁人，中甲夺冠！冲超成功！_腾讯新闻". news.qq.com (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ↑ "2019赛季中乙联赛冠亚军诞生". 中国足球协会 (in Chinese). 19 October 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ "关于沈阳城市足球俱乐部有限责任公司更名的公告". thecfa.cn (in Chinese). 2020-04-26. Archived from the original on 2020-05-16. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
- ↑ "我省促进辽宁职业足球俱乐部改革发展有关情况新闻发布会". www.ln.gov.cn (in Chinese). 8 January 2024. Archived from the original on 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ↑ "辽宁日报". www.lnrbxmt.com (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ↑ "放弃"六地"名称，辽宁沈阳城市俱乐部公开征集俱乐部新名称". 腾讯新闻 (in Chinese). 12 January 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ "辽宁沈阳城市官方：向全体球迷征集俱乐部新名称，奖金五千元". 懂球帝 (in Chinese). 12 January 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ "中国足球协会关于辽宁沈阳城市足球俱乐部有限责任公司更名的公告". www.thecfa.cn (in Chinese). 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- ↑ "地域攻击大连，辽宁铁人副总金焱道歉！当年曾被体坛周报记者打脸". 搜狐体育 (in Chinese). 6 March 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ "辽媒：改造后的的铁西体育场，将从容纳2.8万人扩容至4万人". www.sohu.com. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ↑ "辽媒：辽宁铁人主场替补席下沉已动工改造，将容纳更多观众". h5.ifeng.com. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ↑ 腾讯网 (2025-05-29). "辽媒：铁西体育场改造后座位近4万，铁人首秀将展示巨型TIFO_腾讯新闻". news.qq.com (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ↑ 网易 (2025-10-28). "辽宁足球杀疯了！". www.163.com. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ↑ "辽宁铁人提前冲超锁定中甲冠军这支"辽足"不差钱". 网易体育 (in Chinese). 26 October 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ "辽宁铁人，中甲夺冠！冲超成功！". 腾讯新闻 (in Chinese). 26 October 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ "中超，"新辽足"来了！辽宁铁人提前两轮确定冲超成功！". www.dongqiudi.com (in Chinese). 26 October 2025. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
- ↑ "48岁李金羽封神！辽宁铁人提前2轮冲超：带队仅2年建队10年4级跳". 搜狐体育 (in Chinese). 28 October 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ "铁人新赛季大名单：安以恩改穿7号，严鼎皓8号，热菲尼奥47号" (in Chinese). Dongqiudi. 6 March 2025. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
- ↑ "沈阳城市" (in Chinese). sodasoccer.com. Archived from the original on 2016-11-14. Retrieved 2016-11-12.