Zheng Zhi (; born 20 August 1980) is a

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

professional

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and former player. He is the currently assistant coach of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. As a player, Zheng played most of his career for

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 ...

club

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, becoming their captain and serving also as their caretaker manager in two stints. After starting his career as a defender, Zheng was later moved into a

central midfield 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. ...

role by then head coach

Zhu Guanghu Zhu Guanghu (; born 25 September 1949, in Shanghai, China) is a Chinese football coach and a former player. As a player, he was predominantly remembered for his time at Shanghai Football Team before going into management where he started of ...

Shenzhen Jianlibao Shenzhen Football Club () was a Chinese professional football club based in Shenzhen, Guangdong. Shenzhen played its home matches at the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre and the Shenzhen Stadium. Their majority shareholder was the Kaisa Group, ...

and experienced immediate success there by winning the 2004 league title with the club. A move to

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

saw a prolific goal scoring period in his career and he soon became the captain of the Chinese national team, which then led to moves to

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

and

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

. He moved back to China in 2010 and joined what was then Guangzhou Evergrande, making over 300 appearances as captain while helping the club win all major trophies a Chinese club could compete for, including

for a record eight times and the

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

twice, the only Chinese club to have ever won the continental title.

Club career

Early career

Zheng Zhi started his football career in 1990 playing for various Liaoning youth academies before playing for Liaoning Liaoqing in 1998 in the

China League Two The Chinese Football League 2 (), or China League Two, is the third-tier association football league of the People's Republic of China. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association and operated by the Chinese Professional ...

, starting out playing as a defender. In 2000, Liaoning Youth were involved in a legal battle between Yixing Industrial Co., Ltd. and Liaoning Sports School for the ownership of the club that saw all their assets frozen, including player transfer rights. This saw Zheng spend a year without playing professional football. In 2001, he was loaned to top-tier club

who were coached by then manager

, his former manager during his time with the Chinese under-23 national team. He transferred to the club in November 2001 for a fee of ¥3.5 million. While he was initially deployed as a defender, he shifted into a more of a playmaker role and aided Shenzhen to the top tier title for the first time in the club's history. In January 2005, Zheng transferred to fellow

side

for a transfer fee of ¥9.5 million.

Charlton Athletic

On 29 December 2006, Zheng was loaned out to

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

until the end of the season with an option to buy. He had been on trial with the club in November 2006. He made his debut for the club on 10 February 2007 in a 2–0 loss against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, coming on as a substitute for

Amdy Faye Amdy Moustapha Faye (born 12 March 1977) is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder and could also play as a centre back. Faye began his career with Monégasque club AS Monaco, French clubs ES Fréjus ...

. He scored his first goal on 18 March 2007 in a 2–0 win against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

. Zheng returned to

at the end of the 2006–07 season under the terms of his loan deal. He played once more for the club in a 6–1 loss against

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 ...

before he returned to Charlton on a permanent deal in August 2007. He joined for a fee of £2 million and signed a two-year contract with the club. He scored a total of seven league goals in the 2007–08 season; however, he was less effective in the second half of the season as a result of fatigue. In the summer of 2008, Zheng was heavily linked with a transfer to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

. Although Charlton were in negotiations with the club up to the end of the transfer window, the transfer failed to materialise. On 8 July 2009, Zheng left Charlton after failing to agree a new contract with the club following its relegation to League One.

Celtic

On 1 September 2009, Zheng transferred to

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

side

, signing a two-year contract and becoming the second Chinese footballer to sign for the club after Du Wei. Then manager

Tony Mowbray Anthony Mark Mowbray (born 22 November 1963) is an English football manager and former footballer who was most recently the manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a d ...

affirmed his long held admiration for Zheng and expressed his delight at the signing. Zheng was unable to play for the club in the group stage of the

2009–10 UEFA Europa League The 2009–10 UEFA Europa League was the first season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The competition was previously known as the UEFA Cup, which had been in existence for 38 years. Spai ...

after

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

confirmed that he was not registered in time. He made his debut for the club on 4 October 2009 in a 2–1 loss against

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

, winning a penalty. He scored his first goal for the club on 8 May 2010 in a 2–1 win against Heart of Midlothian. He was released by the club at the end of the 2009–10 season after failing to agree to a new contract.

Guangzhou

On 28 June 2010, Zheng joined

China League One The Chinese Football League 1 (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (), is the second level of professional football in China, under the Chinese Super League. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association ...

side

Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club (), previously Guangzhou Evergrande (), was a Chinese professional football club based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. Historically, Guangzhou FC played its home matches at various grounds in their home city, most notably at T ...

on a free transfer. He made his debut for the club on 17 July 2010 in a 1–1 draw against Hubei Luyin. He scored first goal for the club 21 July 2010 in a 10–0 win against

Nanjing Yoyo Nanjing Yoyo Football Club () was a Chinese football club based in Nanjing which played in the China League One (formerly known as Jia B League) from 2003 to 2010. Founded in 2002 as Liaoning Xingguang Football Club, it was based on the youth te ...

. In the 2010 season, Zheng scored five goals in 11 appearances as Guangzhou finished first place in the second division and won promotion back to the top tier. After promotion to the

, Zheng took over as captain of the club as former captain Li Zhihai transferred to

Guangdong Sunray Cave Shaanxi Wuzhou Football Club () was a Chinese professional football club based in Xi'an, Shaanxi which last played in the China League One division. The club was originally formed on February 5, 2007, as Guangdong Sunray Cave F.C. and was once ow ...

. Zheng scored five times in 25 appearances during the 2011 season as Guangzhou won the top tier title for the first time in the club's history, giving Zheng his third league title with three clubs. In the 2012 season, the club won the domestic double by winning the league title and the

Chinese FA Cup The Chinese FA Cup (, abbreviated as CFA Cup) is the national knockout cup competition in China organized by the Chinese Football Association. The current holders are Shanghai Port, having beaten Shandong Taishan in 2024 for their first title. H ...

; and in the 2013 season, won a third consecutive league title. In November 2013, Zheng captained Guangzhou to victory in the 2013 AFC Champions League Final as the club became the first Chinese club ever to win the

, and Zheng Zhi played the full game of the final, lifting the silverware as the captain. On 26 November 2013, Zheng was named the Asian Footballer of the Year by the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation ( ...

, becoming the second Chinese footballer to win the award after

Fan Zhiyi Fan Zhiyi ( zh, c=范志毅, p=Fàn Zhìyì; born 6 November 1969) is a Chinese coach and former international footballer. He played as a defender for Shanghai Shenhua, Crystal Palace, Dundee, Shanghai COSCO Huili, Cardiff City, Buler Ran ...

in 2001. On 27 October 2019, Zheng became the caretaker of the club when manager

Fabio Cannavaro Fabio Cannavaro (; born 13 September 1973) is an Italian professional association football, football coach and former player who last was the head coach of Croatian club GNK Dinamo Zagreb, Dinamo Zagreb. He is regarded as one of the greatest De ...

was temporarily relieved of his position and sent to corporate culture training until 3 November 2019. On 5 December 2020, upon the club's elimination from the

2020 AFC Champions League The 2020 AFC Champions League was the 39th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 18th under the current AFC Champions League title. Ulsan Hyundai won their second Cham ...

group stage, Zheng was appointed general manager of the club.

International career

Zheng joined the Chinese under-23 national team as the only player called up from the third tier. He made his debut for the Chinese national team on 7 December 2002 in a 3–1 win against

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. He scored his first international goal on 29 January 2004 in a 1–0 win against

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

. After

took over as the manager in 2005, he was shifted into centre midfield and cemented his spot as the national team's first choice midfielder. Zheng captained the under-23 national team that competed at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. Under

Gao Hongbo Gao Hongbo (; born January 25, 1966, in Beijing) is a Chinese professional football manager and former player who played as a striker. He previously managed the China national football team from 2009 to 2011, and in 2016. Appointed in May 2 ...

's management, Zheng was appointed captain of the national team. In an interview on 3 August 2016, Zheng said, "This is the last time I will be in the final stage of FIFA World Cup qualification," indicating that after the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

, he would retire from the national team. On 2 June 2018, Zheng won his 100th cap for China in a 2–0 win against

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, making him the fourth Chinese footballer to win 100 caps. On 16 June 2023, the Chinese FA held a retirement ceremony for Zheng prior to the national team's 4-0 win against

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

in Dalian. Zheng eventually played 108 games for China and scored 15 goals.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list China's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zhang goal.''

Honours

Shenzhen Jianlibao *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Shandong Luneng Taishan *Chinese Super League:

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Guangzhou *Chinese Super League:

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

*Chinese FA Cup:

Chinese FA Super Cup The Chinese FA Super Cup (), formerly named Chinese Football Super Cup (), is a Chinese football super cup competition that takes place every year before the start of the new season. It is contested between the champions of the previous Chinese Su ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Individual *

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

All-Star Team:

* Asian Footballer of the Year: 2013 *

Dream Team:

Chinese Football Association The Chinese Football Association (), abbreviated as CFA (), is the governing body for association football, beach soccer and futsal in the People's Republic of China (Mainland China). The CFA organizes the men's and women's national teams an ...

Player of the Year:

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Team of the Year:

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

References

External links

* *
Zheng Zhi player profile
at celticfc.net * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zheng, Zhi 1980 births Living people Footballers from Shenyang Chinese men's footballers China men's international footballers 21st-century Chinese sportsmen Shenzhen F.C. players Shandong Taishan F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Chinese expatriate men's footballers Chinese Super League players China League One players Expatriate men's footballers in England Premier League players English Football League players Celtic F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Scottish Premier League players Guangzhou F.C. players 2004 AFC Asian Cup players Footballers at the 2006 Asian Games 2007 AFC Asian Cup players Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics 2015 AFC Asian Cup players 2019 AFC Asian Cup players Olympic footballers for China Asian Footballer of the Year winners FIFA Men's Century Club Men's association football midfielders Asian Games competitors for China Men's association football player-managers AFC Champions League Elite–winning players

Club career

Early career

Charlton Athletic

Celtic

Guangzhou

International career

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

See also

References

External links