Reporter Wang Wei reports 2-2! Suzhou Dongwu, a team in the relegation zone, drew at home with the China League One leader, Guangzhou Bao. Outsiders considered this a minor upset, but after an urgent pre-match coaching change and the last-minute signing of two strong foreign players, Suzhou Dongwu had actually aimed for all three points. Although they only earned one point from the match on the evening of July 4, the deeply relegation-threatened Suzhou Dongwu displayed a new look, using a high-quality draw to boost confidence in their relegation battle and declaring their determination to reverse the difficult situation and fight for survival.

Guo Hui takes on two roles

Before the match against the leader Guangzhou Bao, Suzhou Dongwu had gone seven games without a win, with a recent record of five losses and two draws, leaving the team deep in the relegation zone.

Suzhou Dongwu has long relied on a core squad of domestic players. Facing many strong teams in the China League One that have reinforced their squads, the team struggled with offensive capabilities and hit a performance bottleneck. After the first 12 rounds of the season, under the guidance of Suzhou Cultural Investment and Development Group Co., Ltd., Suzhou Dongwu made decisive changes at a critical moment of the season.

First, through mutual consultation, Yu Yuanwei stepped down as the head coach of Suzhou Dongwu's first team. Since taking charge of the team in January 2026, Yu Yuanwei led the team through 12 rounds of the China League One. Although he put great effort into refining the squad and daily training, the team only had one foreign player, Estrella, available. Facing the reality that "foreign players are crucial in the China League One," having only one foreigner inevitably led to poor results.

After Yu Yuanwei's departure, Suzhou Dongwu's general manager Guo Hui took over as the head coach of the first team. Upon taking office, with time pressing and tasks heavy, the new head coach Guo Hui focused on tightening training discipline and the players' mentality, re-establishing the belief in fighting to the end. Before the match, Guo Hui stated that each of the remaining 18 games of the season is a critical relegation battle, and the whole team must go all out without any slackness.

Notably, this coaching change by Suzhou Dongwu was very low-key. They only announced Yu Yuanwei's departure and thanked him for his contributions. Guo Hui's appointment was not officially announced; he informed the public of his dual role by attending pre-match and post-match press conferences.

In the first match after the coaching change, Suzhou Dongwu hosted the league leader. In terms of overall strength, there was a gap between Dongwu and Guangzhou Bao, but the team's fighting spirit was ignited, and their performance throughout the match was commendable. In the 53rd minute, Suzhou Dongwu player Mirzat was injured after a head collision and fell to the ground, showing mild concussion symptoms. He was immediately sent to hospital for examination and is now conscious with no serious issues, relieving the worries of the fans. Mirzat previously played in the youth team of the former Guangzhou R&F. Guo Hui, who once served as the head coach of the Guangzhou R&F youth team, knows him well. After the match, Guo Hui used Mirzat's story to motivate the whole team, praising their fighting spirit. He said the players' courage and execution in this game were touching, and this draw was a good start for the team to climb out of the trough.

Rosa scores on debut

Apart from the coaching change, bringing in new foreign players and addressing weaknesses were another major move by Suzhou Dongwu in this summer transfer window, and a key to improving the team's overall strength. Suzhou Dongwu, which mainly relied on a domestic lineup this season, had good team coordination but needed improvement in wing breakthroughs and finishing in front of goal, especially lacking a decisive finisher. To fill these gaps, the club actively worked in the transfer window and successfully signed two foreign players: Rosa and Omar.

The addition of Brazilian newcomer Rosa effectively strengthened the team's wing attack. Playing as a winger and attacking midfielder, he is technically skillful, fast, and possesses abilities in dribbling, crossing, and accurate set-piece delivery, along with rich experience in Chinese leagues. Rosa has played for multiple China League One and Chinese Super League teams such as Tianjin Jinmen Tiger, Nantong Zhiyun, and Guangzhou Bao. In the 2025 season, he recorded an impressive 15 goals and 5 assists for Guangzhou Bao, earning a spot in the China League One Team of the Year. Facing his former club Guangzhou Bao, although it was Rosa's first match for Dongwu, he performed excellently. In the 60th minute, he scored a precise free kick to level the score in time. Rosa proved his quality with this crucial goal and quickly stabilized Dongwu's lineup.

Omar's arrival also boosted the team's frontline physicality and finishing ability. Standing at 1.88 meters, Omar holds dual Lebanese and German citizenship. He plays as a striker, with outstanding physical advantages and a keen nose for goal. He has years of experience in England's League One and League Two, having played 142 career matches, scoring 28 goals and providing 16 assists. In the 53rd minute of this match, Omar made his Dongwu debut as a substitute, effectively occupying Guangzhou Bao's defensive focus, relieving pressure on Dongwu's backline, and providing key support to stabilize the situation.

Suzhou Dongwu's strong performance once again proved the iron law that "foreign players are key in the China League One," and they have thus formed a new system of "domestic players holding steady, foreign players breaking through." Notably, Suzhou Dongwu is a very tenacious team. In the 29th round of last season, they drew 0-0 away against Chongqing Tonglianglong, preventing the home team from securing promotion early at their own stadium. That was around the time when Guo Hui had just taken over as Dongwu's general manager. Now, just after becoming head coach, he led the second-to-last team to nearly topple the league leader at home.

After the match, Guo Hui said, "As I said before the game, we presented a wonderful match for all the fans in attendance. Guangzhou Bao, as the current top-ranked team, indeed has strong capabilities, but today our players showed great courage and passion, unafraid of strong opponents, and executed the coach's instructions well. I hope this is a good start, and we can fight like this in every game going forward."