Zheng Zhi

Football player infobox
playername = Zheng Zhi


fullname = Zheng Zhi
nickname = Zizi Top
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1980|8|20
cityofbirth = Shenyang
countryofbirth = China
currentclub = Charlton Athletic
clubnumber = 5
height = height|m=1.80
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 2001–2004
2005–2007
2007
2007–
clubs = Shenzhen Jianlibao
Shandong Luneng
→ Charlton Athletic (loan)
Charlton Athletic
caps(goals) = 67 (14)
44 (29)
12 0(1)
43 0(7)
nationalyears = 2002–
nationalteam = China
nationalcaps(goals) = 41 (12)
pcupdate = 21:46, 1st October 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 6 February 2008

Zheng Zhi (zh-sp|s=郑智|p=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. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/charlton_athletic/6216329.stm "Charlton sign China captain Zheng"] "BBC Sport", 29-12-06 ] Starting his career as a defender, Zhi now plays as a midfielder. He is also captain of the Chinese national team.

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 fc|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 29 goals for Shandong Luneng as they won the national league title earlier in the year. Zheng made his Premier League debut against fc|Manchester United at Old Trafford when he replaced the injured Amady Faye. His first goal came on his first start against fc|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.cite news
title = Charlton snap up McLeod & Zheng
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/charlton_athletic/6937413.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2007-08-09
accessdate = 2007-08-09] In a March 2008 edition of British football magazine "FourFourTwo", Zheng was voted the fifth best player in the Football League. [cite news
title = FourFourTwo 50 Best Football League Players
url = http://fourfourtwo.com/blogs/footballleagueawards/archive/2008/03/02/fourfourtwo-50-best-football-league-players.aspx
publisher = FourFourTwo
date = 2008-03-02
accessdate = 2008-08-14] 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. [cite news
title = China's soccer exports face uncertain future
url = http://english.sina.com/sports/p/1/2008/0506/157395.html
publisher = SINA English
date = 2008-05-06
accessdate = 2008-08-14]

In the summer of 2008, Zheng was heavily linked with a transfer to fc|West Bromwich Albion. Although Charlton were in negotiations with the Baggies up to the end of the transfer window, [cite news
title = Baggies continue Zheng talks
url = http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11698_4064939,00.html
publisher = Sky Sports
date = 2008-08-29
accessdate = 2008-09-02] the transfer failed to materialise.

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 tackled Djibril Cissé, which accidentally broke the Frenchman's leg.

Zheng was the captain of the 18-man Chinese national team that competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics. [ [http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldFootballNews/idUKSP23649720080723 Zheng and Dong head China soccer squad for Beijing | Reuters ] ]

Club Career Stats

"Correct as of 5 October 2008"

International Goals

Awards

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

ee also

*China national football team

References

External links

Profile

* [http://www.cafc.co.uk/playerdisplay.ink?skip=34&season=2007/2008 Zheng Zhi player profile] at cafc.co.uk
*soccerbase|id=38485|name=Zheng Zhi
* [http://www.national-football-teams.com/php/spieler.php?id=1545 Player profile - national-football-teams.com]
* [http://www.doha-2006.com/gis/SPORTS/CO/IGCOParticipantInfo.aspx?Register=5858753 Player profile - doha-2006.com]
* [http://www.footballdatabase.com/index.php?page=player&Id=8117&pn=Zheng_Zhi Player profile] at Football Database

Reports

* [http://za.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=sportsNews&storyID=2007-01-12T073225Z_01_BAN227118_RTRIDST_0_OZASP-SOCCER-ENGLAND-ZHENG-20070112.XML Charlton welcome China's ZZ for battle against the drop] (Reuters)
* [http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2006/12/30/sports/16443065&sec=sports Zheng Zhi signs with Charlton] (Malaysia Star)
* [http://english.people.com.cn/200612/30/eng20061230_337185.html Zheng Zhi vows to help Charlton out of trouble] (People's Daily)