Deng Lejun (; born 18 September 1971) is a former professional footballer for several
Chinese Super League teams and is currently a golfer.
Deng joined the Beijing football team in 1991, the same year he made the all-star team in
FIFA U-17 World Cup. The Beijing team later became professional club
Beijing Guoan in 1994. As a member of Beijing Guoan, Deng won the 1995 runner up in the
Chinese Jia-A League and won the
Chinese FA Cup twice. In 1998, Deng was interested in moving to
Shenzhen Pingan
Shenzhen Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club that competes in the Chinese Super League. The team is based in Shenzhen, Guangdong and their home stadium is the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre that has a seating capacity of ...
but was forced to transfer to
Shandong Luneng. At Shandong, Deng became the team captain and won the league championship and another FA Cup, however he lost his start position due to team politics after
Slobodan Santrač began managing the team.
In 2000, Deng decide to retire from football as he could not pass the 12-minute run test set up by the Chinese FA.
Style of play
Deng is limited in physical strength but is good at anticipation and vision. He won the nickname "Little Zhuge" for his wise passing. His teammate Zhou Ning once said he would be in
Bundesliga if he can combine Deng's brain with his body.
References
1971 births
Living people
Footballers from Beijing
Beijing Guoan F.C. players
Shandong Taishan F.C. players
Chinese footballers
Association football midfielders
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