Chengdu Tiancheng

Formation and promotion

The club was formed on 26 February 1996 under the name Chengdu F.C. and entered into China's Yi League with Wang Fengzhu as their first manager. In their inaugural year the team topped both their second round group as well as their final round group and progressed to the semi-finals before losing to Shenzhen Kinspar 2–1 on aggregate. Their second season in 1997 season saw them rise into China's Jia B League, this time coming second in the 2nd round group but again topping the final round group. They went on to win both their legs of the quarter-finals 1–0 against Beijing Kuanli and after brushing aside Shaanxi National Power 2–0 they progressed through to the final but lost 1–0 however they were still promoted along with the winners Jiangsu Gige as well as both semi-final losers.

After gaining promotion to the second tier Chengdu started the 1998 campaign well losing only two of their first nine matches in the higher division however in round 10 they were well beaten 8–0 away to Liaoning F.C. Their best win came in their penultimate match of the season when they beat Jiangsu Gige 4–1 and the team ended the season mid-table in eighth out of 12. Chengdu's second year in Jia B once again started well with the team losing just 1 of their first 13th games before succumbing to Beijing Kuanli away 4–0. At the end of the season after 22 matches Chengdu finished 6th with 9 wins and 8 draws. The start of the millennium season saw the team proceed with a poorer start than in previous years including defeat away to Guangzhou Apollo 5–0 however the team did manage to finish in 8th place.

Match fixing

The team started well for the 2001 season going unbeaten in their first eight games and went on to finish in third position however the season was tarnished when match-fixing allegations came to light involving Chengdu and four other teams. The team's record win over Mianyang F.C. 11–2 and their 4–2 away victory against Jiangsu Sainty were put under the spotlight and as a consequence all coaches and players involved in both matches (along with another game featuring the other two teams) were banned for one year, and all five teams had three months to reform and re-apply for playing in the next season's CFA competitions. The only points were deducted from Mianyang and they were relegated as punishment. To make the season even more disappointing, Chengdu fell at the first round of the Mexin Doors FA Cup losing 2–1 away to Jia A League side Tianjin TEDA.

Reformation

In 2002 Chengdu were reformed as a result of the previous season's match fixing and received the sponsor name Chengdu Taihe. Early in the season the team final progressed passed the first round of the Fuji Films FA Cup beating Shenyang Ginde 3–2 in nearby Deyang with a last minute goal however they were soon on their way home again after losing 3–1 to Qingdao Etsong Hainiu once again in Deyang. The league competition followed in much the same vein with the team finishing in 9th of 12 however a mid-season venue change to City Stadium in Luzhou can't have helped however Santos did manage to achieve joint top divisional scorer with 10 goals for the club.

The team crashed out yet again in the earliest stage of the Landi FA Cup in 2003 losing 2 of their 3 group matches. The team started using City Stadium in Deyang as its home ground this season and its name reverted to Chengdu in round 6 of the league in July. They finished the year in a respectable 6th place out of 14 after the division had been enlarged and beat 4th placed Jiangsu Sainty 5–1 in October.

Chengdu's poor cup performance continued in 2004 losing 5–3 on penalties after extra time to Qingdao Etsong Hainiu in the first round of the Landi FA Cup. The poor performance also contributed to their final position of 13th out of 17 that year after another enlargement. This season was also played at two differing home venues, the Provincial Sports Centre in Chengdu as well as City Stadium in Deyang.

The 2005 season was finally played back at one home venue in Chengdu, the Chengdu Sports Centre. They again crashed out of the CFA Cup in the first round, this time to Chinese Super League side Shanghai International. Their poor performance in the league also continued, finishing 11th of 14 in the league.

Foreign Ownership and promotion

Chengdu underwent another name change in January 2006, when they were bought out in a deal by the then Chairman of English football team Sheffield United, Kevin McCabe, who renamed the club Chengdu Blades to reflect the English team's nickname the Blades as well as changing the kits and badge, while the reserve team were sent to Hong Kong and named "Sheffield United (Hong Kong)" to advertise its association with the owning company. Sheffield United's unique international football model would continue with the purchase of Hungarian club Ferencvárosi TC and significant stakes with Australian team Central Coast Mariners FC, which were overseen by Group Executive Director, Michael Farnan who was responsible for the commercial development of the Sheffield United International Group. While this was going on the team's performance improved and by the end of the year they had climbed to 4th position in the table, their 2nd best ever finish at that time.