Chengdu Rongcheng head coach John Aloisi said he would not be drawn on whether he would resign after the team's spectacular capitulation. ( Getty Images: Masashi Hara )
Chengdu Rongcheng needed just one point from its final four games to claim the Chinese Super League title.
John Aloisi's team went on to lose all four games, surrendering a 14-point lead and the title to Dalian Yingbo, which had a better head-to-head record.
Socceroos legend Aloisi brushed away questions about whether he would resign after the capitulation.
John Aloisi's hopes of beginning his new coaching adventure with a title have spectacularly failed after the former Western United mentor's side capitulated on the final matchday.
The Socceroos legend was looking to become the next Australian to guide a team in China's top league to a championship after Kevin Muscat led Shanghai Port to glory in 2024 and 2025.
Aloisi's Chengdu Rongcheng were in the box seat to do so, leading the competition by 14 points with five rounds remaining and needing to pick up just one point to secure a maiden title.
The Sichuan club had also been top of the standings since the opening day, but things began to unravel when they lost three consecutive games while their main chasers, Dalian Yingbo, recorded three successive victories.
Going into the final matchday on Sunday, Dalian began three points behind Chengdu and defeated Tianjin Jinmen Tigers 3-1 in front of 60,000 fans.
Aloisi's club still only needed a point, but by 63 minutes in, they were 3-1 down to their final opponents Shandong Taishan.
Brazilian forward Wellington Silva did pull one back for Chengdu but they couldn't find the all-important equaliser, and Dalian claimed the title.
While Chengdu had a superior goal difference, the Chinese Super League prioritises head-to-head records between teams level on points and Dalian had won both meetings between them.
Footage showed furious fans yelling at Aloisi and his players at the team hotel following the match, with police stepping in to push the angry supporters back.
"We are indeed very disappointed not to have won the championship. We are in a very despairing state. There is nothing else to say," Aloisi told local media via a Chinese translator.
"I want to say sorry to everyone. We certainly know that our fans have travelled a long way to fight alongside us and support us.
"Right now, my only feeling is one of great dejection and disappointment, because we could see the trophy right in front of us, but could not get it."
Aloisi came to the Chinese Super League in January hoping to replicate the success he found with Western United in the A-League.
He led his team to the competition's championship in the 2021/2022 season, but his coaching career was thrown into limbo when the Melbourne-based club was placed into "hibernation" following legal issues and financial collapse last year.
He brushed away questions about whether he would resign because of the failure to secure the title in China.
"Now is not the time to talk about this," Aloisi said.
"As a team, together with the club and everyone, we need to review where we fell short in our past five matches. We need to face our problems, and then work on those aspects."
