Shandong Luneng

Shandong Luneng Taishan is a Chinese football team from the city of Jinan, Shandong. The club’s total comprises 4 league titles and 4 Chinese FA Cups. The team is nicknamed Big Scorers. Shandong Luneng Group, the supplier of electric energy, is the owner of the club.

In April 1956 the club’s predecessor, the Shandong Provincial team, was formed. In 1988 Shandong Luneng Taishan turned professional. The team was promoted to the elite division in 1994. The first honours came a year later when Shandong Luneng claimed an FA Cup triumph. In 1999 Slobodan Santrač was unveiled as a new manager of the club. Under his guidance the team started to produce a combination of impressive attacking football and resolute defending. That season the side surged to a spectacular double, winning the league and the FA Cup. Expectations were high going into the 2001 campaign but the club’s disappointing performance resulted only in a sixth-place finish.

In 2005 Shandong participated in the AFC Champions League and even progressed to the quarter-final but was thrashed by Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad. The team would go on to win another three league titles in 2006, 2008 and 2010.

Shandong’s home matches are staged at Shandong Provincial Stadium. The club`s colours are orange and white.

Since 1998 only European specialists have trained the team. Shandong has never been relegated to the lower division.