16 Facts About Dong Fangzhuo

Dong Fangzhuo is a Chinese former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Dong Fangzhuo then signed for Dalian Sidelong and helped them finish as runners-up in the Chinese Jia-B league in 2002.

Dong Fangzhuo thus became the first East Asian player to sign for Manchester United.

Manager Alex Ferguson remarked that Dong Fangzhuo had the "speed and physicality" to play for United and hoped that he would be eligible to play for the club by December 2006.

On 15 December 2006, almost three years after his original signing, Dong Fangzhuo was finally given a work permit to play in England, having made enough appearances for the Chinese national team in the preceding two years.

Dong Fangzhuo struggled to score goals and was relegated to the reserves as a result.

Dong Fangzhuo was released by Legia on 1 August 2010.

Dong Fangzhuo was not used often and was on the bench for most of his time at Portimonense.

Dong Fangzhuo grew frustrated with his lack of playing time and terminated his contract with Portimonense.

Dong Fangzhuo immediately left Portmonense and he was briefly linked with Serbian SuperLiga's FK Sloboda Point Sevojno.

Dong Fangzhuo impressed again in Sloboda's friendlies and the Serbian news mentioned he was close to signing a contract.

Dong Fangzhuo was reported to be asking for 10,000 Euro a week, but negotiations broke down and he was on his travels again.

In March 2011, Dong Fangzhuo signed for Armenian Premier League side Mika, scoring in the 2011 Armenian Cup final.

Dong Fangzhuo played there for two years, scoring 9 goals before moving on to another Chinese second-tier team, Hebei Zhongji, scoring 2 in 7.

Dong Fangzhuo was called up by Chinese under-20 national team to participate in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Dong Fangzhuo came off the bench to play in three out of the four matches during the tournament.