Zheng Zhi
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Zheng Zhi | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Charlton Athletic | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 February 2008 | |||
Template:Chinese name Zheng Zhi (Chinese: 郑智; pinyin: Zhèng Zhì, born 20 August 1980, nicknamed "ZiZi") is a Chinese football player. He currently plays for Charlton Athletic, having spent a period on-loan at the club in 2007.[1] Starting his career as a defender, Zhi now plays as a midfielder. He is also captain of the Chinese national team.[1]
Club career
In 1999 his club Liaoling Chuangye involved in legal trouble and all assets of the club were frozen, including player transfers rights. After a year without playing professional football, he was transferred to Shenzhen Ping'an, then coached by Zhu Guanghu, his former coach in the U-23 national team. In Shenzhen he transformed himself in a playmaker, however, he played as a defender under Arie Haan in the national team.
He joined Charlton Athletic on loan on 29 December 2006 until the end of the season, with Charlton having an option to buy him. He was the first official signing of new manager Alan Pardew, though he had been on trial with the Addicks in November 2006 under previous manager Les Reed. He had scored 21 goals for Shandong Luneng as they won the national league title earlier in the year. Zheng made his Premier League debut against Manchester United at Old Trafford when he replaced the injured Amady Faye. His first goal came on his first start against Newcastle United in March 2007.
He returned to his parent club, Shandong Luneng, at the end of the 2006–07 season per the terms of his loan deal. He played once more for Shandong in 2007, in a 6–1 defeat to Beijing Guoan, before he returned to England to join Charlton in a permanent deal in August 2007. He joined for a fee of £2million and signed a two-year contract.[2] In a March 2008 edition of British football magazine FourFourTwo, Zheng was voted the fifth best player in the Football League.[3] He scored a total of seven league goals in the Championship season. However, because of the number games he played for both Charlton and the Chinese national team he was less effective in the second half of the season as a result of fatigue.[4]
Zheng Zhi is known for his work ethic and ball control skills. He is a solid defender, capable organizer in the midfield, and also serves as a viable option as a striker. He is often regarded as the best Chinese footballer of his generation. He has been nicknamed Zizi or Zizi Top by fans.
International career
Zheng joined the U-23 national team as the only player from the third division Yi League. Under Bobby Houghton, he mainly appeared at the right back position.
After Zhu Guanghu took over the national team, he appeared in midfield more often.
During France's final warm up match against China on June 7 2006, he illegally tackled Djibril Cissé, which broke the Frenchman's leg.
Zheng has been named captain of the 18-man Chinese national team that will compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[5]
Club Career Stats
Correct as of 20 May 2008
| Season | Team | Country | Division | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Liaoning Chuangye |  China |
3 | - | - |
| 2001 | Shenzhen Pingan | China |
1 | 23 | 3 |
| 2002 | Shenzhen Pingan | China |
1 | 22 | 6 |
| 2003 | Shenzhen Jianlibao | China |
1 | 16 | 3 |
| 2004 | Shenzhen Jianlibao | China |
1 | 16 | 2 |
| 2005 | Shandong Luneng | China |
1 | 17 | 8 |
| 2006 | Shandong Luneng | China |
1 | 26 | 21 |
| 06/07 | Charlton Athletic |  England |
1 | 12 | 1 |
| 2007 | Shandong Luneng | China |
1 | 1 | 0 |
| 07/08 | Charlton Athletic | England |
2 | 42 | 7 |
International Goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 January 2004 | Shanghai, China PR |  North Macedonia |
1-0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 7 February 2004 | Shenzhen, China PR |  Finland |
2-1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 17 March 2004 | Guangzhou, China PR |  Myanmar |
2-0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 1 June 2004 | Beijing, China PR |  Hungary |
2-1 | Friendly |
| 5 | 10 July 2004 | Hohhot, China PR |  United Arab Emirates |
2-2 | Friendly |
| 6 | 10 July 2004 | Hohhot, China PR | United Arab Emirates |
2-2 | Friendly |
| 7 | 17 July 2004 | Beijing, China PR |  Bahrain |
2-2 | 2004 AFC Asian Cup |
| 8 | 30 July 2004 | Beijing, China PR |  Iraq |
3-0 | 2004 AFC Asian Cup |
| 9 | 30 July 2004 | Beijing, China PR | Iraq |
3-0 | 2004 AFC Asian Cup |
| 10 | 22 June 2005 | Guangzhou, China PR |  Costa Rica |
2-0 | Friendly |
| 11 | 7 June 2006 | Saint-Étienne, France |  France |
1-3 | Friendly |
| 11 | 6 February 2008 | Al Ahli, Dubai |  Iraq |
1-1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Awards
- 2004 AFC Asian Cup All-Star Team
- Chinese Super League Player of the Year: 2002, 2006
See also
References
- ^ a b "Charlton sign China captain Zheng" BBC Sport, 29-12-06
- ^ "Charlton snap up McLeod & Zheng". BBC Sport. 2007-08-09. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "FourFourTwo 50 Best Football League Players". FourFourTwo. 2008-03-02. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "China's soccer exports face uncertain future". SINA English. 2008-05-06. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Zheng and Dong head China soccer squad for Beijing | Reuters
External links
Profile
- Zheng Zhi player profile at cafc.co.uk
- Zheng Zhi at Soccerbase
- Player profile - national-football-teams.com
- Player profile - doha-2006.com
- Player profile at Football Database
Reports
- Charlton welcome China's ZZ for battle against the drop (Reuters)
- Zheng Zhi signs with Charlton (Malaysia Star)
- Zheng Zhi vows to help Charlton out of trouble (People's Daily)
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