Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Duan Dezhi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
18 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Yunnan Yukun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Ye Chugui and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Andrei Burcă falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Yunnan Yukun are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Beijing Guoan people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Uroš Spajić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Shandong Taishan have kept their man, and Beijing Guoan go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Cao Yongjing's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Beijing Guoan would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Guilherme Ramos signs something — a contract at Beijing Guoan or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“He needs to be playing at a level that matches him, and we are open to conversations.” Nobody says that by accident, and nobody at Beijing Guoan misheard it.
25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Yunnan Yukun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Everything agreed with Beijing Guoan, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Radnicki 1923 have kept their man, and Yunnan Yukun go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andrei Burcă was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Zheng Dalun and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Nobody at Yunnan Yukun will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Feng Zijun trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Beijing Guoan, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Beijing Guoan people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The name of Bai Yang has come up in conversations Beijing Guoan were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Beijing Guoan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Serginho is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Naibijan is on it.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Beijing Guoan has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Zhang Yuning signs something — a contract at Beijing Guoan or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 34 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Yunnan Yukun are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Shandong Taishan have kept their man, and Yunnan Yukun go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Zhang Yufeng and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Feb 2027
9 new faces, and Yunnan Yukun are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Yunnan Yukun have made the call to Beijing Guoan. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The offer from Wuhan Three Towns for Jiang Wenhao was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Beijing Guoan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The phone has started ringing about Yang Liyu again, and this time the name on the line is Wuhan Three Towns. Beijing Guoan are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Beijing Guoan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Uroš Spajić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Beijing Guoan asked and Chengdu Rongcheng said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Beijing Guoan know it.
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad4 Jan 2027
He Yupeng falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Zhang Yuning signs something — a contract at Beijing Guoan or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
36 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Guilherme Ramos was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Uroš Spajić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Beijing Guoan, and it is not being withdrawn.
Uroš Spajić was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Beijing Guoan. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
In brief
The dugoutZhang Yixuan knocks on the manager’s door
Uroš Spajić and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Cao Yongjing is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Beijing Guoan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. He Yupeng is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Uroš Spajić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Guilherme Ramos has moved up it.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Zhang Yuning signs something — a contract at Beijing Guoan or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Bai Yang has written the date down.
Maidana was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Serginho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Serginho signs something — a contract at Beijing Guoan or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Beijing Guoan, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Uroš Spajić was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and He Yupeng was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Uroš Spajić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Guilherme Ramos and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Cao Yongjing's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Guilherme Ramos signs something — a contract at Beijing Guoan or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Bai Yang has written the date down.
In brief
The dugoutJiang Wenhao asks for a word with the manager
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Beijing Guoan can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Beijing Guoan has been clear about where Xu Kesi stands, which is more than many ever get.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Zhang Yuning signs something — a contract at Beijing Guoan or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Beijing Guoan, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Beijing Guoan can pretend not to have heard.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Beijing Guoan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Serginho is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Uroš Spajić was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Liu Bo after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Successful dribbles: 14. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Shanghai Shenhua.
In brief
The dugoutAfrdin has become a man the manager trusts
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Beijing Guoan have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Nobody at Beijing Guoan will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Shandong Taishan in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Beijing Guoan would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Zhang Yuning signs something — a contract at Beijing Guoan or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Beijing Guoan can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Serginho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Beijing Guoan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Guilherme Ramos is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Zhang Xizhe is on it.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Changchun Yatai in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Serginho signs something — a contract at Beijing Guoan or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.