Henan Songshan Longmen Information

Henan Songshan Longmen are a Chinese Super League club based in Zhengzhou in the province of Henan. The club were formed as a semi-professional team in 1958 before making the transition to a professional team in 1994. The club first lined up in the Chinese Super League in 2007. Despite their position as one of China’s most established sides, Henan have never finished top of the Chinese Super League table, with their best result being a third-place finish back in 2009.

Henan play their home games at the Zhengzhou Hanghai Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,860. The club have been owned by Jianye Residential Group since 1999. 

Henan do not hold any major honors, but they won the Chinese League 2 in 1982 and 1999 and the Chinese League 1 in 1989, 2006 and 2013. The club’s all-time leading scorer is former Brazilian forward Leandro Netto, who found the back of the net 37 times in his 102 appearances for the club. 

Javier Pereira is their current manager, having returned to the club in January 2022 following an unsuccessful spell at Spanish side Levante.

Henan Songshan Longmen History

Henan have a similar history to many other clubs from across the regions of China. Football started to boom in China in the 1950s, when the first domestic leagues were originated. Not wanting to miss out, the Henan Provincial Team, as they were first known, entered the league in 1958.

Up until the 1990s, Henan were a side who often plied their trade in the second and third tiers of Chinese football. Henan’s promotion and relegation through the Chinese league system continued when they turned professional in 1994. Henan would find themselves in China’s second tier until 2006, when they finally gained promotion into the Chinese Super League.

Henan were relegated in the 2013 season but were able to bounce straight back up in 2014, and have remained in the Super League since then.