Zheng Zhi

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Zheng Zhi
Personal information
Full name	Zheng Zhi
Date of birth	August 20, 1980 (1980-08-20) (age 27)
Place of birth	Shenyang, China
Height	1.81 m
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Charlton Athletic
Number	5
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2001–2004 2005–2007 2007 2007–	Shenzhen Jianlibao Shandong Luneng → Charlton Athletic (loan) Charlton Athletic	67 (14) 44 (29) 12 0(1) 42 0(7)
National team2
2002–	China	41 (12)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:45, 31 May 2008 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 6 February 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zheng.

Zheng Zhi (simplified Chinese: 郑智; pinyin: Zhèng Zhì, born 20 August 1980) 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]

Contents 1 Club career 2 International career 3 Club Career Stats 4 International Goals 5 Awards 6 See also 7 References 8 External links 8.1 Profile 8.2 Reports

[edit] 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]

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.

In a March 2008 edition of British football magazine FourFourTwo, Zheng Zhi was voted the 5th best player in the Football League.[1]

He has also been linked to Newcastle United.

[edit] 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 tackled Djibril Cissé, which broke the Frenchman's leg.

[edit] 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

[edit] International Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Competition
1	29 January 2004	Shanghai, China PR	FYR 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

[edit] Awards

• 2004 AFC Asian Cup All-Star Team
• Chinese Super League Player of the Year: 2002, 2006

[edit] See also

• China national football team

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[edit] Profile

• Zheng Zhi player profile at cafc.co.uk
• Zheng Zhi career stats at Soccerbase
• Player profile - national-football-teams.com
• Player profile - doha-2006.com
• Player profile at Football Database

[edit] 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)

v • d • e Charlton Athletic F.C. – current squad 1 Weaver • 2 Moutaouakil • 3 Thatcher • 5 Zheng • 6 McCarthy • 7 Cook • 8 Holland • 9 Gray • 10 Todorov • 11 Ambrose • 12 Varney • 14 J. Thomas • 15 Powell • 16 Iwelumo • 17 Gibbs • 18 Sam • 19 Sinclair • 20 Racon • 21 Bougherra • 23 Semedo • 24 Fortune • 25 Halford • 26 Youga • 28 Arter • 29 Dickson • 30 Randolph • 31 Elliot • 32 Wright • 33 A. Thomas • 34 Basey • 35 McLeod • 36 Wagstaff • 37 Paulo Monteiro • 39 Shelvey • 40 Yussuff • –– Hudson • –– Faye • Manager: Pardew

Preceded by Li Tie	Chinese Football Association Footballer of the Year 2002	Succeeded by Jörg Albertz
Preceded by Branko Jelic	Chinese Football Association Footballer of the Year 2006	Succeeded by Du Zhenyu