John Aloisi: Ugly hotel scenes as Aussie’s Chengdu lose title
John Aloisi's Chengdu Roncheng lost the Chinese Super League on the final day after a 14-point lead vanished. Video of ugly hotel scenes, with fans abusing the team, followed. Aloisi apologized, said the club must face its problems, and declined to discuss resigning.
Australian coach John Aloisi's Chengdu Roncheng lost the Chinese Super League title on the final day of the season, and ugly hotel scenes followed as Aussie's side finished level on 52 points with champions Dalian Yingbo after leading by 14 points with five games left.
It is one of the biggest collapses football has seen.
How the title slipped away
Chengdu needed a draw or a win in their last game. They lost 3-2 away at Shandong Taishan. Dalian beat Tianjin Jinmen Tiger 3-1 to climb to top spot.
Both clubs finished on 52 points from 30 matches. Chengdu had a goal difference superior by ten, but head-to-head results decide the Chinese Super League table before goal difference. Dalian won both meetings with Chengdu this season and took the trophy.
Chengdu had not dropped off top spot all season until the final day. Dalian won their last five games. Aloisi's team took one point from their final five outings.
A final day of swings
Both matches kicked off at the same time. Chengdu fell 2-0 down after 23 minutes, while Dalian scored in the fifth minute of their game.
Chengdu moved back into first place when Tianjin converted a penalty to level against Dalian. A Dalian loss would then have been enough for Aloisi's side. Dalian regained the lead, and Chengdu never found the equalizer that would have made them champions in only their eighth season of existence.
Their 14-point lead was bigger than the 12 points Newcastle United gave up to Manchester United in the 1995-96 Premier League season. Manchester United also blew a 12-point advantage over Arsenal in 1997-98.
Aloisi apologizes
Aloisi, a former Socceroos player, was in his first season in charge. He spoke to local media through a Chinese translator after the Shandong defeat.
"We are indeed very disappointed not to have won the championship. We are in a very despairing state. There is nothing else to say," he said. "I want to say sorry to everyone. We certainly know that our fans have travelled a long way to fight alongside us and support us."
Asked whether he would resign, Aloisi did not answer directly. "Now is not the time to talk about this," he said. He added that the team and club need to review where they fell short in the past five matches.
Videos also appeared online of the team being abused by their own fans when they returned to their hotel.
"Right now, my only feeling is one of great dejection and disappointment, because we could see the trophy right in front of us, but could not get it," Aloisi said.
