On November 17, 2022, the players of Beihai Jizhi Football Club left a precious group photo after the victory over Beijing Guoan. In that shot, the third man standing on the right side of the back row is none other than the club's founder Yao Jun. (Courtesy of the interviewee/photo credit)
On that day, the most shocking cold goal in Chinese soccer history was born. Chinese Super League powerhouse Beijing Guoan lost 5-7 to county-level Jingchuan Wenhui. The second round of the FA Cup, which was originally seen as a non-starter, was marred by the emergence of Jingchuan Wenhui.
This mysterious club from Jingchuan County in eastern Gansu is virtually unknown in the soccer world. After beating the Chinese Super League giants, speculation about the identities of Jingchuan Wenhui's players has been rife, with some even jokingly calling them takeaway boys, physical education teachers or insurance salesmen.
However, the truth is that the players representing Jingchuan Wenhui are actually from the Guangxi Beihai Jichi Football Club. In the name of Jingchuan Wenhui, Beihai Jizhi has completed their journey against the odds.
North Sea Polaris, an equally obscure club, struggles to survive year-round. And it all started in one winter in 2019.
Yao Jun, the founder of Beihai Jichi, was in Beihai, Guangxi Province for winter training with a youth training team of about 30 players. The arrival of the epidemic left him and the team stranded in Beihai. During that time, Yao Jun was always holding 20,000 dollars in cash and kept calling for help.
In 2021, Beihai Polaris lost in Guangxi and missed the championship. Yao Jun realized that he needed to find a new way out if he wanted to move on.
Yao Jun set his sights on the distant Gansu. He realized that Gansu had not had a team in the national tournament for many years and that there was therefore a vacancy in the Chinese championship. If he could work with local clubs in Gansu, they could participate in the championship as a Gansu team.
After many attempts, Yao Jun finally found Jingchuan Wenhui. It is an amateur team made up of local soccer enthusiasts and passionate youths who have never participated in a mid-campaign tournament.
Beihai Jichi became the hero behind Jingchuan Wenhui. They borrowed the shell of Jingchuan Wenhui and realized the counterattack. And Yao Jun, a man with the bravado of Zhang Fei, aspires to create the best club in China.
On November 20, after the game in Rizhao, Shandong, Yao Jun took the team to rest in Jinan. They have traveled to many cities such as Beihai, Nanning, Guigang, Hezhou, Liuzhou, Guest, Zunyi, Xi'an, Yinchuan, Jingchuan, Chongqing, Kunming, Yan'an, Wuhan, Jinan, Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Maoming, Hezhou, Rizhao and so on.
In order to play more games, they often wear other people's undershirts. And Yao Jun, a 52-year-old man, has always maintained his love and dedication to soccer.
Yao Jun said he wanted to save money, but didn't want the players to get frustrated. This team, despite being in the doldrums, has always maintained their vision for the future.
Before the match against Beijing Guoan, Yao Jun arranged the tactics in the lounge. He told the players that this victory would be the most like a team they have played since their inception.
On November 30, they returned to Beihai to prepare for their next round match against Jinan Xingzhou. The opponent was a much stronger team than them.
