1. Zheng Zhi is a Chinese professional football manager and former player.
17 Facts About Zheng Zhi
1. 2.
Zheng Zhi moved back to China in 2010 and joined Guangzhou Evergrande, making over 300 appearances as captain while helping the club win all major trophies a Chinese club could compete for, including Chinese Super League for a record 8 times and AFC Champions League twice.
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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, starting out playing as a defender.
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On 29 December 2006, Zheng Zhi was loaned out to Premier League side Charlton Athletic until the end of the season with an option to buy.
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Zheng Zhi had been on trial with the club in November 2006.
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On 8 July 2009, Zheng Zhi left Charlton after failing to agree a new contract with the club following its relegation to League One.
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On 1 September 2009, Zheng Zhi transferred to Scottish Premier League side Celtic, signing a two-year contract and becoming the second Chinese footballer to sign for the club after Du Wei.
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On 28 June 2010, Zheng Zhi joined China League One side Guangzhou Evergrande on a free transfer.
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Zheng Zhi 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 Zhi his third league title with three clubs.
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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 AFC Champions League, and Zheng Zhi played the full game of the final, lifting the silverware as the captain.
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On 26 November 2013, Zheng was named the Asian Footballer of the Year by the Asian Football Confederation, becoming the second Chinese footballer to win the award after Fan Zhiyi in 2001.
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On 27 October 2019, Zheng Zhi became the caretaker of the club when manager Fabio Cannavaro was temporarily relieved of his position and sent to corporate culture training until 3 November 2019.
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On 5 December 2020, upon the club's elimination from the 2020 AFC Champions League group stage, Zheng Zhi was appointed general manager of the club.
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Zheng Zhi joined the Chinese under-23 national team as the only player called up from the third tier.
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Zheng Zhi captained the under-23 national team that competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
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Under Gao Hongbo's management, Zheng Zhi was appointed captain of the national team.
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Zheng Zhi eventually played 108 games for China and scored 15 goals.