Zhang Enhua

Zhang Enhua
张恩华
Personal information
Full nameZhang Enhua
Date of birth28 April 1973
Place of birthDalian, Liaoning, China
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionDefender
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1994–2003Dalian Wanda FC178(16)
2000–2001→ Grimsby Town (loan)17(3)
2004–2005Tianjin Teda11(1)
2005–2006South China7(0)
National team‡
1995–2002China62(7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:05, 2 May 2009 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13:58, 2 August 2008 (UTC)
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhang.

Zhang Enhua (simplified Chinese: 张恩华; traditional Chinese: 張恩華; pinyin: Zhāng ēnhuá; born 28 April 1973 in Dalian, Liaoning) is a retired Chinese football player. He is predominantly notable for his time at Dalian Wanda FC, where he won several league titles as well as being a participant at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.[1] He also represented Grimsby Town, Tianjin Teda and South China during his professional career that lasted from 1994 until 2006.

Club career

Dalian Wanda

Zhang Enhua began his professional football career when he joined his local native Chinese football team Dalian Wanda FC at the beginning of the 1994 league season. At the club, he would gradually establish himself in defence and help it win the league title.[2] With Dalian he would establish himself as an integral member of their defence the following season, however they were unable to retain the league title and came third within the league.[3] Nevertheless the following season would see Zhang Enhua help Dalian stamp their dominance within the league and for the next three seasons they would win consecutive league titles.[4]

Grimsby Town

In 2000, Zhang was made a transfer target of second tier English club Grimsby Town and was then brought to the club on a 3-month loan deal to play in the Football League Championship. The defender would be part of a new wave of foreign imports at the club as newly installed manager Lennie Lawrence brought in David Nielsen, Knut Anders Fostervold and Menno Willems. Enhua was originally sent in as cover for the injured Peter Handyside, and after a nervous first game, he settled into life at Grimsby, even scoring three times for the club. Lawrence admitted talking to the club over a possible deal being made more permanent but his wages were too big for the club, and Enhua departed the club after his loan spell. He is still regarded as a minor cult hero amongst Grimsby supporters, who took very well to the player while he played in England. His goal celebration in the 1–0 victory over Burnley were used by ITV Yorkshire Television in the opening credits for their "Goals on Sunday" television programme throughout the 2001/2002 season.

Return to China

Zhang returned to China to play for Dalian Wanda (who had renamed themselves Dalian Shide) once more in time to go to help win another league title and would also be named in the Chinese squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Following his departure from Dalian in 2003, Zhang went on to play for Tianjin Teda F.C. for several seasons before joining Hong Kong football team South China in 2005 to extend his football career.

International career

Zhang Enhua would make his international debut against South Korea in a 0–0 draw on 19 February 1995 in the Dynasty Cup.[5] After several further friendlies his performances would be impressive enough to see him included in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup squad, however while he would score his debut goal for his country against Saudi Arabia in the quarter-finals he would unfortunately see his team lose 4–3 and get knocked out of the competition.[6] A firm member of the national team he would play a large part in the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) campaign that saw China narrowly miss out of a world cup spot. He was, however, able to help China qualify for the 2000 AFC Asian Cup and while he started the early stages he would miss the knock out stages of the competition and only play in the Third place play-off game which China lost 1–0.[7]

National team
YearAppsGoals
199530
199652
1997212
1998131
199900
2000131
200141
200230
Total627

Coaching career

Enhua retired in 2006 and took up coaching in Hong Kong. On 2 March 2011 it was announced that Enhua would be returning to England to complete his coaching badges with the Football Association, and that he would return to former club Grimsby Town as a special guest for the clubs home fixture with AFC Wimbledon on 5 March.[8]

Upon his return to Grimsby he presented the club with a gift that included Chinese writing which translated into 'it might be a long road back, but you can do it and will achieve success eventually'. He also described his visit to the club as a homecoming.[9]

Honours

Dalian Wanda FC

References

  1. ↑ "USATODAY.com – China". usatoday.com. 13 June 2002. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  2. ↑ "China League 1994". rsssf.com. 19 June 2003. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  3. ↑ "China League 1995". rsssf.com. 19 June 2003. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  4. ↑ "Seven China Jia A Championships won by Dalian". english.runsky.com. 24 March 2004. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  5. ↑ "China PR 0–0 Korea Republic". teamchina.freehostia.com. 19 February 1995. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  6. ↑ "Asian Cup 1996 VA Emirate .:. Viertelfinale". weltfussball.de. 16 December 1996. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  7. ↑ "Asian Cup 2000 Libanon .:. 3. Platz". weltfussball.de. 29 October 2000. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  8. ↑ "Zhang is back in Town". thisisgrimsby.co.uk. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  9. ↑ "Chinese star says Blundell Park visit felt like a homecoming". thisisgrimsby.co.uk. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2012.

External links

Preceded by
China Su Maozhen		 Chinese Football Association Golden Ball awardee
2000 		Succeeded by
China Li Tie