The 2011 Guangzhou Evergrande season is the 58th year in Guangzhou Evergrande's existence and its 44th season in the Chinese football league, also its 22nd season in the top flight. The club was promoted from China League One at the end of the 2010 season.
9 February 2011, Brazilian striker Cléo completed a €3.2 million move to Guangzhou from FK Partizan, signing a four-year deal.[3]
13 February 2011, Korean midfielder Cho Won-Hee joined Guangzhou Evergrande from Premier League side Wigan Athletic on a free transfer,[4] which made him the second Korean player to play for Guangzhou F.C. after Park Ji-Ho.
2 March 2011, Guangzhou confirmed that they had signed Paulão on a four-year deal from Grêmio Prudente with a fee of €2.5 million.[5]
8 March 2011, Guangzhou confirmed that they had signed Renato Cajá on a four-year deal from Botafogo with a fee of €1.6 million.[6]
2 April 2011, Guangzhou's Super League 2011 campaign kicked off with a 1–0 home victory over Dalian Shide. Cléo scored the only goal of the match.
9 April 2011, Guangzhou broke club's record for longest unbeaten streak in the league (23 games, 17 wins and 6 draws) with a 1–1 away draw against Nanchang Hengyuan.
4 May 2011, Guangzhou's FA Cup 2011 campaign kicked off with a 3–2 home victory with second-tier club Guizhou Zhicheng. Muriqui scored a hat trick in the match.
8 May 2011, Guangzhou claimed first place in China Super League for the first time of the club's history after a 1–0 away win against Shenzhen Ruby.
12 May 2011, Guangzhou was kicked out in the FA Cup after losing at a 13 round super long Penalty shootout against Shaanxi Renhe.
3 July 2011, Guangzhou confirmed that they had signed Darío Conca from Fluminense on a three-and-a-half-year deal for a reported record breaking fee of €10 million.
28 September 2011, Guangzhou successfully achieved their first Super League title away to Shaanxi Renhe, after a 4–1 win.
Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Updated to match(es) played on 2 November 2011. Source: http://csl.sina.com.cn/statistics/ Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head goals scored; 5th goal difference; 6th goals scored; 7th disciplinary points (1 point for each yellow card, 3 points for each red card). Head-to-Head: used when head-to-head record is used to rank tied teams. (C) Champions Notes:
^Liaoning Whowin qualified for the 2012 AFC Champions League but withdrew from the tournament.[15]