Soccer's fantasy island

Most income was originally derived from a 3-story hotel built inside the base at which tourists from Shanghai and nearby cities liked to spend weekends. Xu then started to sell tickets for tours of the base and soccer balls with his signature on them.

After his pupils began to perform well in youth tournaments, Xu inked a deal with the Shanghai East Asia Group in 2005 and announced the establishment of the Shanghai East Asia Football Club, which started its participation in the nation's third-tier league in 2006.

A coaching staff member provides guidance to players of Shanghai East Asia at halftime of a friendly against Dalian Aerbin at the Genbao Football Base on Feb 22. Cui Memg / China Daily

The young lineup moved up to the second division in 2007, won the National Games championship in 2009, and secured promotion to the top flight three rounds before season's end in 2012. The squad, eyeing a top-six finish in the Super League in its first season and a league title in three years, will make its debut against Beijing Guo'an at the Beijing Workers' Stadium on March 8.

The club has also seen eight of its players transferred to other Super League sides, including Guangzhou Evergrande and national team defender Zhang Linpeng and Shanghai Shenhua's former Under-19 international Cao Yunding.

Striker Wu Lei is currently the most sought-after player on the roster. According to Xu, the 21-year-old has not only drawn interest from domestic teams Evergrande and Guangzhou R&F, but also clubs from Norway and Denmark.

"It took Manchester United more than 100 years to become a great club. After seeing what we have achieved over the past 12 years, I believe we are having early success in our bid to build China's Manchester United," Xu said.

"Eight players have transferred to other clubs. I wanted some of them to be in a new environment. Also, we faced financial difficulties in the past and we need money to bring up the coming generations," he said.

Apart from the first team, Xu has four reserve sides, which include more than 100 young players staying at the base.

"The key to our success has been to start with youngsters, set clear targets and focus on polishing skills. But the most important thing is perseverance. It has not been easy to stick to the task here for 12 years, and that's why people say our model is almost impossible to copy," Xu said.