Zhang Linpeng (; born 9 May 1989) is a Chinese professional footballer who currently plays for Chinese Super League club

Shanghai Port The Port of Shanghai (), located in the vicinity of Shanghai, comprises a deep-sea port and a river port. The main port enterprise in Shanghai, the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), was established during the reconstitution of the S ...

. Zhang is known by the nickname Zhangmos for his similarity in looks and playing style as

Sergio Ramos Sergio Ramos García (; born 30 March 1986) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Saint-Germain and the Spain national football team, Spain nationa ...

. An offensive minded defender, Zhang is also known for his tackling ability and aerial game. He was highly praised by Italian manager

Marcello Lippi Marcello Romeo Lippi (; born 12 April 1948) is an Italian former professional football player and manager, who led the Italian national team to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was appointed as Italy head coach in the summer of 2004 and 2 ...

who described him as "the best Chinese footballer in the Chinese Super League".

Club career

Zhang Linpeng would play as a youngster for the Genbao Football Academy before he graduated to the Shanghai East Asia's first team at the beginning of the 2006 league season. With the club in the third tier, Zhang quickly made an impression within the team when he was part of the squad that won promotion to the second tier at the end of the 2007 league season. Within the second tier, Zhang played a major part in ensuring the club remained in the division and by the 2009 season, the club finished fourth and just missed out on promotion. His performance for his club then saw him receive an unexpected call-up to the Chinese national team where he impressed many by scoring on his debut against Jordan. This then saw Zhang become the most sought after player in China before he transferred to Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande for a fee of ¥12 million in November 2010. He made his debut for the club on 2 April 2011 in a 1–0 win against Dalian Shide. Throughout the season, Zhang was used as a squad player as Guangzhou won their first ever league title at the end of the 2012 season. He soon established himself as a mainstay in the team's backline during the 2013 season, leading the club to a third straight league title as well as an

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

title, the first in the club's history. During preseason before the 2015 season, Zhang sustained a medial accessory ligament tear on his left knee joint on 7 February 2015 in a friendly match against

Hangzhou Greentown Zhejiang Professional Football Club (), commonly referred to as Zhejiang FC or simply Zhejiang, is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (C ...

. While recovering from his surgery in Italy, Zhang was linked with Serie A side Inter Milan with manager Roberto Mancini also confirming his interest in Zhang. However, Guangzhou insisted that Zhang was worth €10 million which far exceeded what Inter was willing to pay. After recovering from injury, Zhang came on as a substitute and scored a goal on 3 April 2015 in a 2–1 loss against Henan Jianye. He then went on to score a 60-meter goal on 12 April 2015 in a 6–1 win against Liaoning Whowin. On 28 May 2015, he suffered a reoccurrence of a left knee strain on 27 May 2015 in a 2–0 win against Seongnam FC. On 20 July 2015, Zhang extended his contract with Guangzhou until 31 December 2020. Zhang returned from injury on 12 August 2015 in a 1–0 win against Jiangsu Sainty. On 28 August 2015, Premier League side Chelsea made an offer to Guangzhou for Zhang, hoping to complete the transfer before the summer transfer window closed; however, the deal couldn't be completed due to limited time while the two clubs failed to agree on certain terms during negotiations. On 29 April 2022, Zhang returned to

International career

Zhang quickly worked his way up through the various Chinese youth teams, first by playing for the Chinese under-20 national team in the

2008 AFC U-19 Championship The 2008 AFC U-19 Championship the 35th edition of this tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), was hosted by Saudi Arabia between 31 October and 14 November. The matches were played in Dammam and Khobar, both located at t ...

where he captained the team to the quarter-finals. This saw him promoted to the Chinese under-23 national team to play in the

2009 East Asian Games ) , Host city = Hong Kong , Teams participating = 9 , Athletes participating = 2,377 , Events = 262 events in 22 sports , Opening ceremony = December 5, 2009 , Closing ceremony = December 13, 2009 , Officially opened by = State Councilor L ...

where China disappointingly were knocked out in the group stage. Despite the under-23 national team's failures, Zhang's performances were considered good enough for then manager Gao Hongbo to unexpectedly call him up to the national team even though he was playing for a second-tier side. He made an impressive international debut on 30 December 2009 in a 2–2 draw against Jordan, scoring on his debut as well. After his debut, Zhang was called up to the squad that won the

2010 East Asian Football Championship The 2010 EAFF East Asian Football Championship was the fourth edition of the tournament which was held between 6 and 14 February 2010. Two preliminary competitions were held during 2009. Participating teams Preliminary Round 1 * * * * Round ...

before establishing himself as a regular for the team that took part in the

2011 AFC Asian Cup The 2011 AFC Asian Cup was the 15th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar from 7 to 29 January 2011. It was the fifte ...

Personal life

Zhang is of Hui ethnicity and is a Muslim. He married his girlfriend Wang Qiaozhi on 21 May 2011 and their son was born on 1 September 2014.

Career statistics

Club statistics

International statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list China's goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

Shanghai East Asia * China League Two: 2007 Guangzhou Evergrande * Chinese Super League:

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

* Chinese FA Cup:

* Chinese FA Super Cup:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

International

China PR national football team *

East Asian Football Championship EAFF E-1 Football Championship, known as the East Asian Football Championship from 2003 to 2010, and the EAFF East Asian Cup for the 2013 and 2015 editions, is a men's international football competition in East Asia for member nations of the Eas ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Individual

* Chinese Super League Team of the Year:

Dream Team:

Notes

References

External links

* *
Biography
at hudong.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Linpeng 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Jinan Hui sportspeople Chinese Muslims Chinese footballers Footballers from Shandong China international footballers Shanghai Port F.C. players Guangzhou F.C. players Chinese Super League players China League One players China League Two players 2011 AFC Asian Cup players 2015 AFC Asian Cup players 2019 AFC Asian Cup players Footballers at the 2010 Asian Games Association football defenders Asian Games competitors for China