Zhang Chengdong (; ; born 9 February 1989) is a Chinese professional footballer who plays as a

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for Qingdao West Coast.

Club career

Zhang Chengdong started his football career playing for

Liaoning Whowin Liaoning Football Club (), officially known as Liaoning Hongyun (), was a professional association football club with a long history in Chinese football. The club can predate their formation to 1953, when Shenyang government sports body joined ex ...

's youth academy until

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

side

A.C. Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

considered him a promising enough prospect to train with them in 2004. After his short period with the club, he returned to Liaoning and was promoted to the club's first team, making his debut for the club on 21 May 2006 in a 5–0 loss against

Shandong Luneng Shandong Taishan Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Jinan, Shandong, that competes in . Shandong Taishan plays its home matches at the Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium, located within Lixia District. Their c ...

. When the club was relegated in the 2008 season, Zhang's contract was up for renewal; and while he was considered as a long term star for the club, he could not agree upon a suitable contract which he believed was too low. Without a club, he returned home to train before going to Portugal to advertise his services until third tier side

Mafra Mafra is a Czech media group that publishes printed and internet media, headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic. From 2013 to 2023, it was a subsidiary of Agrofert holding conglomerate owned by trust of Andrej Babiš, the former Prime Ministe ...

took him on a free transfer on 23 September 2009. He was quickly integrated into the team; however, it was only once he scored his first hat-trick on 21 January 2010 in a 4–3 loss against

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

in the

2009–10 Taça de Portugal The 2009–10 Taça de Portugal was the 70th season of the Taça de Portugal. The competition began on 30 August 2009, with the first round matches, and concluded with the final, held on 16 May at the Estádio Nacional, in Oeiras, between defendi ...

did he become noticed in the club. Zhang transferred to

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

side

União Leiria União Desportiva de Leiria (), commonly known as União de Leiria, is a Portuguese professional football club based in Leiria. Founded on 6 June 1966, it currently plays in the Liga Portugal 2, holding home matches at Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pes ...

in July 2010. He made his debut for the club on 16 August 2010 in a 0–0 draw against

Beira-Mar Sport Clube Beira-Mar (), commonly known as Beira-Mar, is a Portuguese sports club based in Aveiro, Portugal. Its Association football, football team currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal (league), Campeonato de Portugal, the fourth natio ...

, becoming the first Chinese footballer to play in the Primeira Liga. After his loan spell at the club, he was loaned out again, this time to Beira-Mar. Zhang impressed during his stint at Beira-Mar, scoring six goals in 26 appearances. After the 2011–12 season, Beira-Mar and several top tier sides were reportedly interested in signing Zhang on a permanent transfer. Many top tier Chinese teams wished to sign him as well, but Zhang decided to ply his trade elsewhere. In August 2012, Zhang transferred to 2. Bundesliga side

Eintracht Braunschweig Braunschweiger Turn- und Sportverein Eintracht von 1895 e.V., commonly known as Eintracht Braunschweig () or BTSV (), is a German football and sports club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. They compete in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier o ...

. He made his debut for the club on 15 September 2012 in a 1–0 win against

SSV Jahn Regensburg Sport- und Schwimmverein Jahn Regensburg e. V., commonly known as SSV Jahn Regensburg, Jahn Regensburg, SSV Jahn or simply Jahn, is a German football club based in Regensburg, Bavaria. The club plays their home games at Jahnstadion Regen ...

. On 22 July 2013, Zhang transferred to

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

side

Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan Football Club (), known in AFC competitions as Beijing FC, is a Chinese professional football club based in Beijing, that competes in . Beijing Guoan plays its home matches at the Workers' Stadium, located within Chaoyang Distr ...

. He made his debut for the club on 25 August 2013 in a 4–0 win against

Dalian Aerbin Dalian Professional Football Club (), known as Dalian Pro, was a Chinese professional Association football, football club based in Dalian, Liaoning, which mostly competed in the Chinese Super League. Dalian Pro played its home matches at various ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on 17 May 2014 in a 2–1 loss to

Shanghai Shenxin Shanghai Shenxin Football Club () was a professional football club that participated in China's football league system between 2003 and 2019 under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team was based in Jinshan District, Shangha ...

. On 21 July 2015, Zhang transferred to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

on loan for the 2015–16 season. He made his debut for the club on 5 December 2015 in a 2–0 win against

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city c ...

in the

2015–16 Copa del Rey The 2015–16 Copa del Rey was the 114th staging of the Copa del Rey (including two seasons where two rival editions were played). Going into the tournament, the winners were assured a place for the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League Group stage. Howev ...

. He made his league debut on 30 December 2015 in a 2–0 loss against

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

, becoming the first Chinese footballer to play in La Liga. On 13 January 2017, Zhang moved to fellow top-tier side Hebei China Fortune for a record-breaking domestic transfer fee. He made his debut for the club on 5 March 2017 in a 0–0 draw against

Henan Jianye Henan Football Club (), currently known as Henan F.C. Jiuzu Dukang () for sponsorship reasons, is a Chinese professional football club based in Zhengzhou, Henan, that competes in . Henan plays their home matches at the Hanghai Stadium, located wi ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on 29 April 2017 in a 4–0 win against

Tianjin Teda Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Football Club (), previously Tianjin TEDA (), is a Chinese professional football club based in Tianjin, that competes in . Tianjin Jinmen Tiger plays its home matches at the TEDA Soccer Stadium, located within Binhai. The f ...

. On 30 January 2022, Zhang returned to

. On 26 January 2025, Zhang joined

club Qingdao West Coast.

International career

Zhang made his debut for the Chinese national team on 3 March 2010 in a 2–0 loss against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

; however, the game was not recognised by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

. He made his official debut for China on 6 October 2011 in a 2–1 win against the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

* *
Player stats at sohu.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Chengdong 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Baoding Chinese men's footballers Footballers from Hebei Chinese Super League players Primeira Liga players Segunda Divisão players 2. Bundesliga players La Liga players Liaoning F.C. players C.D. Mafra players U.D. Leiria players S.C. Beira-Mar players Eintracht Braunschweig players Beijing Guoan F.C. players Rayo Vallecano players Hebei F.C. players Qingdao West Coast F.C. players 2015 AFC Asian Cup players 2019 AFC Asian Cup players China men's international footballers 21st-century Chinese sportsmen Chinese expatriate men's footballers Chinese expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Chinese expatriate sportspeople in Germany Chinese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Men's association football wingers