He is a natural leader, the temperament of an iron-blooded tough guy runs through his entire football career; he is the meritorious legend of the "Dalian Dynasty", the "Seven Champions" of the league and the hero of the myth of 55 unbeaten games; he is the eternal "black son" in the hearts of the fans, silently insisting on making him the "daystar" in the darkest moments of Chinese football; the "Stay in the Ocean Series" of this issue of "Football Palms" takes you to remember the former national football main center-back who has driven to the west: Zhang Enhua.
Zhang Enhua
Player profiles
Name: Enhua Zhang
Alias: Enhua Zhang (English)
Birthday/Age: April 28, 1973
Died: April 29, 2021 (aged 48)
Nationality: Chinese
Place of Birth: Dalian (Liaoning Province)
Position: Centre-back
Height: 182cm
Weight: 80kg
Dominant foot: Right foot
Nickname: Sunspot
Character relationships: Han Wenhai (club teammate), Li Ming (club teammate), Sun Minghui (club teammate), Li Tie (national team teammate), Fan Zhiyi (national team teammate), Yang Chen (national team teammate), Li Weifeng (national team teammate), Cui Shiwan (enlightenment teacher), Chi Shangbin (club coach), Zhu Guanghu (national youth team coach), Qi Wusheng (national team coach), Bola Milutinovic (national team coach)
Youth Team: Dalian (China)
National team debut: June 8, 1995, China 3-1 Sampdoria
National team first goal: 1996 Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates, China 3-4 Saudi Arabia
Career trajectory: Dalian Junior Team, Dalian Youth Team, Dalian Wanda (A A), Greensby (League One equivalent to today's Championship), Dalian Shide (Chinese Super League), Tianjin Master Kang (Chinese Super League), Hong Kong South China (Hong Kong Regional League)
Major honors: A League Champion, Chinese Super League Champion, Super League Champion, AFC Champions League Runner-up, 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup Chinese Men's Football Team Member
Technical features
Zhang Enhua FM property diagram
Through the FM attribute map, it can be seen that Zhang Enhua is one of the most famous staring central defenders in the Chinese football circle at the turn of the century; as the last barrier in the team, Zhang Enhua has excellent physical fitness, solid basic skills and spiritual attributes close to the explosion, of course, with the development of modern football, after entering the 21st century, the living space of "ancient typical center-backs" is also getting smaller and smaller; next, we will enter Zhang Enhua's football world together.
The legend of Dalian, the merit of the dynasty
On April 28, 1973, the protagonist of this article, Zhang Enhua, was born in Dalian, Liaoning Province, a Chinese football city, and it is well known that the Northeast Road Primary School in Shahekou District of Dalian City has long been called "Star Incubator" by Chinese fans, but in the eyes of local citizens, the status of Dalian Experimental Primary School in Xigang District is no worse than that of Northeast Road Primary School.
"Xisha War" became the focus of the Dalian people after tea and dinner in that era, and Zhang Enhua was the leader of Dalian Experimental Primary School, in the eyes of the enlightened teacher Cui Shiwan, Zhang Enhua seemed to be born as a captain's material, solid basic skills, strong physique, tough face and dark skin, the nickname of "Sunspot" soon spread.
Zhang Enhua and Li Ming
In 1984, 11-year-old Zhang Enhua entered the Dalian Youth Football Team, and in the following ten years, "Kuroko" played steadily and steadily, step by step, from the Municipal Junior Team to the Dalian Youth Team to the Chinese Olympic Team, and the golden captain's armband in front of the arm became Zhang Enhua's unique business card.
In 1992, the Hongshankou Conference officially opened the curtain on the professionalization reform of Chinese football, and in 1994, the first year of the A-League, Dalian city gave birth to the first professional club, which is the Dalian Wanda (later renamed Dalian Shide) Football Club that has ruled Chinese football for nearly a decade.
As a native of Dalian, 21-year-old Zhang Enhua was fortunate to plunge into the tide of Professionalization Reform in Chinese football, and his innate football talent allowed "Kuroko" to quickly lock in the position of the team's main center-back, and his combination of old and young partners with Xu Hong can be called Dalian Steel Barrier, which has helped the team create a football myth of 55 unbeaten games.
Zhang Enhua scored during the Dalian Wanda period
Zhang Enhua is also a tough guy in the northeast who is very affectionate, "Kuroko" dedicated most of his career to the hometown team that cultivated himself to become a talent, from 1994 to 2003, Zhang Enhua led Dalian Wanda (Dalian Shide) to be invincible in the league, and successively won the league championship seven times in the 94 season, 96 season, 97 season, 98 season, 00 season, 01 season, 02 season, creating an immortal legend in the history of the A-League.
Shine in England
The Chinese professional football league in the 1990s had not yet been seduced by the drunken gold fans of the "Golden Age", and the players cultivated by the national system blended with the fresh concept of professionalization reform, and the goal of staying in the Advanced European League became the ultimate dream of Chinese players in that era, and Zhang Enhua was naturally one of them.
Zhang Enhua during the Dalian period
In 2000, Wattsworth (former Assistant Coach of Crystal Palace in league one) who was then assistant coach of Newcastle United in the Premier League issued a trial invitation to Chinese double stars Zhang Enhua and Sun Jihai, and in the face of rare opportunities to stay abroad, especially the olive branch thrown by the five major league clubs in Europe, "Kuroko"'s heart was naturally excited.
However, after calm thinking, Zhang Enhua made a rather surprising decision: to reject Newcastle in the Premier League and join the Club Greensby in the League One (England Second Division); "Greensby promised to sign me immediately, and if I go to Newcastle, then I will definitely have to go through a long-term trial, let alone get a chance to play in the Premier League immediately, in which case, the decline in form is inevitable," Zhang Enhua said in an interview at the time.
Joined League One Greensby
"Next year (2001) the national team has a World Cup qualifier mission, which may be the last time I rush to the World Cup, so my form can't go down at this time, that will affect the performance of the whole national team, so for the national team, I can't go to Newcastle right now, although I know that going to Newcastle is more good for my personal future!"
On December 1, 2000, Zhang Enhua's transfer to Greensby on loan was officially reached, and what was touching was that in the signing contract, "Kuroko" deliberately added the clause that "during the loan period, Zhang Enhua, who is the main player of the Chinese national team, will return to China to participate in important competitions of the national team, and Greensby must not refuse to let go".
A brilliant goal from the Greensby era
It turns out that the 27-year-old Zhang Enhua did have the strength to compete in the Premier League, because in the League One, the performance of "Kuroko" can be described as a storm, with a total of 1298 minutes in 17 appearances in half a season, scoring 3 goals and being elected the best player twice, helping the "fish belly" Greensby team to get a key 19 points and successfully counterattack to complete the relegation cause.
It is worth mentioning that in the first trial issue of "Football Weekly" loved by the older generation of fans, a photo of Zhang Enhua wearing a red jersey of Greensby No. 30 with the text "Sunspot Red Through Greensby" was featured on the cover of the magazine, and Zhang Enhua also became the first cover figure in the history of the magazine.
Zhang Enhua became the first cover person in Football Weekly
In April 2001, Zhang Enhua's loan contract expired, from the fans to the management, Greensby Club's willingness to buy out the "black son" was very strong, but the leaders of the Football Association at that time flew to London to do the ideological work of "black son": returning to Dalian to participate in the A League A, so that they could better compete for the country in the 2002 World Cup; for the motherland and the World Cup dream in his heart, Zhang Enhua regretted that he ended his short and brilliant trip to the west.
The national team's injuries and the world cup's pain
Time back to 1995, "Kuroko" was first selected for the national team, when the 96th National Olympic Team led by Zhang Enhua, Shen Si, Li Xiaopeng and Zhuang Yi had high hopes from fans, but in the 1990s, during the chaotic period of China's football professionalization reform, the fierce collision of new and old forces also put a bit of sadness on the national team at that time.
Fight against fate
In fact, throughout Zhang Enhua's entire national team career, the notes of sadness have always run through it, but Zhang Enhua, who is born strong, has always been stubbornly fighting against the injustice of fate.
In the 1996 Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates, Zhang Enhua made his first appearance as the main center back for the national football team, and in the quarter-final battle with Saudi Arabia, although "Kuroko" scored the first goal of his national team career and scored twice in the game, he was still powerless to stop the bite of the West Asian wolves, and finally the national football team lost 3-4.
The first goal of the national team
"Golden State does not believe in tears" is the "synonym" of Chinese football in 1997, but Zhang Enhua slipped a ray of light in the night sky of Dalian Jinzhou Stadium, in the "Top Ten" and Saudi Arabia's focus battle, "nemesis" Zhang Enhua once again successfully killed the game with a violent header, ignited the enthusiasm of fans, and also brought hope for the rebirth of Chinese football in the dark.
In the 1997 Top Ten, Saudi Arabia was broken again
In 2001, the magical coach Bora Milutinovic led the Chinese men's football team to a historic entry into the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, and the 28-year-old Zhang Enhua finally realized his dream of the World Cup, but in Milu's tactical system, the "black son" with slightly insufficient mobility and flexibility did not seem to be indispensable, and rising star Li Weifeng quickly replaced Zhang Enhua's main central defender position.
Milutinovic
Although he was selected for the final 23-man squad, in the three group matches of the World Cup, Zhang Enhua failed to catch even a minute of playing time, and the "black son" who sat on the cold bench could only silently watch his teammates sweating on the World Cup stage; Zhang Enhua did open the "Pandora's Box", but it seemed to be far from the "ideal city" in his mind, which was a really mixed feeling.
Continue to work quietly for Chinese football
Facts have proved that the decision to end staying in the West for the World Cup eventually became a watershed moment in Zhang Enhua's entire career; the fact that there were zero appearances in the World Cup group stage made "Kuroko" fail to meet the requirements for the number of times to represent the national team in international A-level competitions, so he could not obtain a British labor certificate again, which also meant that Zhang Enhua's chances of continuing his dream of staying in the Ocean were shattered.
He dedicated most of his career to his hometown of Dalian
Disturbed by injuries and transfer affairs, Zhang Enhua, who returned to Dalian, began to fluctuate in his competitive status, and in 2004, "Kuroko" retired from the national team and left dalian, where he had played for ten years, and then played for Tianjin Teda Club and Hong Kong South China Club.
Since 2006, zhang Enhua, who was a young man, has gradually faded out of the mainstream media' vision, and we can't even get the accurate shoe hang-up time of "Sunspot" from the information at that time, "I have not announced my retirement, I disappeared in silence," the low-key Zhang Enhua said in an interview many years later.
He worked for Villarreal in La Liga
"I really hope that in our generation, Chinese football can get back on track", the humble Zhang Enhua regards the revitalization of Chinese football as his responsibility, after hanging up his boots, "Kuroko" began his own study tour, footprints throughout Germany, Britain, Spain and other advanced European football countries.
It is worth mentioning that during his tenure as assistant coach of the Spanish Villarreal B team, Zhang Enhua has helped Cao Yunding, Feng Renliang, Su Shun and other young players who stayed in the country to adapt to the advanced tactical system and the rhythm of the game in Europe; at the end of 2016, Zhang Enhua returned to China to work for Shenzhen Kaisa Club, and left his mark in the field of youth training and football commentary.
Tears spilled over the commentary
Of course, there is also a tender side in the heart of Tie Han, after The 2019 Asian Cup 1/4 Final China lost 0-3 to Iran, the veteran captain of the national football team Zheng Zhi announced his withdrawal from the national team and left heroic tears, Zhang Enhua sitting on the commentary seat was even more empathetic, looking at the once vigorous little brother who is now a hero twilight, "Kuroko" instantly burst into tears at the commentary seat, this scene also made countless Chinese people moved.
He died young, and Chinese football regretted losing its strength
On April 29, 2021, Zhang Enhua died suddenly of sudden cardiac arrest at the age of 48. The news of the sudden death of "Kuroko" has made countless Chinese people sigh, and Chinese football has since lost its glory, FIFA, AFC, Chinese football team, Dalian Ren Football Club, Shenzhen Kaisa Football Club, England Greensby Football Club and so on have issued tributes.
Untimely death
"Former teammates, all the way good" - Fan Zhiyi.
"Brother, you take a step first, over there, we still have to play football together" - Xie Hui.
"Too suddenly, deeply mournful, in memory, Brother Kuroko never blackened his face with the young team members" - Dong Fangzhuo.
"Some people, in fact, have already seen the last side and said goodbye, but we didn't know at the time, all the way to go well" - He Wei.
"Just heard the news of Zhang Enhua, I am very, very sad, we have played together on the field, you are my best defender, I appreciate your attitude and the quality of perseverance, may you rest in peace" - Milutinovic.
"I am very saddened by this news, Zhang was my childhood idol, and I remember when we signed the 'Captain China' and everyone was like crazy" - Greensby fans left a message in a eulogy tweeted by the club's official.
"There are always some dead faces popping up in my head, and Zhang Enhua belongs to it, and I believe he must have had a good time in heaven, watching our Europa League final, clapping from time to time, or feeling anxious because of penalties, he is always with us" — Villarreal vice-president Llanesa.
epilogue
"Man's life should be lived in such a way that when he looks back on the past, he is not ashamed of his wasted years, nor is he ashamed of his inaction; so that, when he is dying, he can say that I have devoted my whole life and all my energies to the most precious cause of life" - Ostrovsky, How Steel is Made.
salute
Optimistic, practical, diligent, generous, dedicated, it seems that all the positive adjectives used in our articles to mourn Zhang Enhua are not exaggerated, in the short and brilliant life of "Kuroko", the memories brought to the majority of Chinese fans are more happy and proud, which may be where Zhang Enhua's life mission lies!
(Lanling TCFB)