In January 2007, Dutch giants Eindhoven loaned Sun Xiang for 150,000 euros. Regarding Sun Xiang's stay in The Ocean, there is news that the Dutch Philips company has taken a fancy to the Chinese market, but in any case, Sun Xiang has a place in Eindhoven with his own efforts and diligence, and also plays in the Champions League.
At 13:33 on 12 January 2007, Eindhoven announced on its official website that Sun Xiang, a defender from Shanghai Shenhua, China, had joined Eindhoven and the club had offered him a six-month loan contract until the end of the season. At the same time, club manager Vaalks said that if Sun Xiang performs well during this period of time, Eindhoven will offer him a 3-year contract at the end of the season.
As early as December 2006, Sun Xiang and his brother Sun Ji tried unsuccessfully in the Netherlands, but it was that trial that Sun Xiang's performance impressed Eindhoven coach Koeman, and in the absence of left-back, impressed head coach Koeman, Sun Xiang's technical ability is very attractive to Koeman. In 2007, Sun Xiang received an invitation from Eindhoven.
Eindhoven fans in the Netherlands have long been eager to hope that Sun Xiang can come as soon as possible, and some fans even predicted on the pipe network of Eindhoven that Sun Xiang will make rapid progress after joining Eindhoven.
Eindhoven gave him a greater degree of freedom in the provision of jersey numbers, according to common sense, Sun Xiang most wanted to choose two numbers, one is the no. 3 symbolizing the main left-back, which is also his jersey number in the national team; the other is his no. 14 in the Shenhua team, and the no. 14 has brought him a lot of luck over the years. But the current Eindhoven has a "master" on both numbers, no. 3 is former Dutch international Rezigger, and no. 14 is the first Argentine foreign aid Ferreira in Eindhoven history. Sun Xiang would not compete with these two players for the number, so after consideration, he carefully chose the number 28.
On February 4, 2007, Sun Xiang and his agent arrived in the Netherlands and immediately threw themselves into the club's training. What excites Sun Xiang is that in the list of 25 people in the Champions League rematch stage submitted by Eindhoven to UEFA, his name is prominently listed.
Sun Xiang is still relatively smooth in the Dutch first division, because the head coach values him more, in the early morning of September 19, 2007, Beijing time, Eindhoven away to Hercules 2-0 in the game, Sun Xiang started, which is also the first time that Chinese players appeared in the Dutch first division.
In the game, although coach Koeman let Sun Xiang play as a left-back, the position was relatively high, belonging to the full-back in the 361 formation. After playing 72 minutes of the game, Shandong Luneng's left winger Tardelli, an old acquaintance of Chinese football, replaced Sun Xiang. The two were teammates at the time.
Eindhoven's official website gave a positive attitude to Sun Xiang's Dutch league debut after the game, saying that "Sun Xiang debuted for Eindhoven for the first time today, and the Chinese left-back performance was convincing and delivered a beautiful cross many times". In addition, head coach Koeman also used the word "outstanding" to describe Sun Xiang's performance, he said that he deliberately changed Sun Xiang's position, "I know that Sun Xiang used to be a left-back, but today he is more advanced, and at the beginning of the game, he even played the role of left winger." ”
Then, in the early morning of February 21, 2007 Beijing time, in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, Eindhoven defeated Arsenal 1:0. In the 66th minute, Sun Xiang replaced the injured Da Costa as a left-back, playing in the middle distance.
This is the first time that a Chinese player has appeared on the scene of an official match in the Champions League. Compared with a month ago, Sun Xiang was still in A A, and now appears in the Champions League scene, the strangeness of life encounters, there is no left or right.
In the second leg on March 8, Sun Xiang made history again, becoming the first Chinese player to start and play in the Champions League knockout stages. In the 82nd minute of the match, Sun Xiang's breakthrough on the left side of the field was violated by the opposing player Hleb to win a well-placed free kick for Eindhoven, and the team used this free kick opportunity to score and draw 1-1 away to Last season's Champions League runner-up Arsenal and reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
On April 4 and 11, in the two-legged Champions League knockout match between Eindhoven and Liverpool, Sun Xiang, although he was given the opportunity to play, failed to help the team turn the tide, and finally Eindhoven was eliminated.
During his time at Eindhoven, Sun Xiang played in a total of 4 Champions League matches. April 11 was the last time Sun Xiang played for the first team in Eindhoven, and then sun xiang could only sit on the bench due to the return of the team's absolute main players.
In that season, Sun Xiang miraculously won the Dutch League with Eindhoven in the final round of the league. Eindhoven, Alkmaar and Ajax all scored 72 points ahead of the last round of the league, and since Eindhoven's goal difference (46) was less than Alkmaar's (53) and Ajax 's (47), Eindhoven would need to see the results of the other two games to win. In the end, Alkmaar unexpectedly lost away from home, while Ajax only won two goals against his opponent, and Eindhoven, who beat Vites 5:1, finally won the championship with a goal difference.
Although Sun Xiang did not make the big list in the last round of the league, he still became the first Chinese player to win the European top league championship after becoming the first Chinese player to win the Champions League.
Sun Xiang's stay in Yang is a success!
In addition to 5 Eredivisie games (295 minutes in total) and 4 Champions League games (168 minutes in total), Sun Xiang also played in 1 Dutch Cup (19 minutes in total) and 3 Dutch reserve league games for Eindhoven (240 minutes in total), playing left-back and left midfielder, Eindhoven coach Koeman gave high praise to Sun Xiang's performance.
Sun Xiang sighed: "I feel very honored to be able to win the championship in the European League. What you have learned, seen, and experienced in these past few months is a valuable asset. ”
At the end of the season, the most concerned is the renewal of Sun Xiang's contract, and Koeman once said in an informal setting that as long as the team wins the championship, the club will keep Sun Xiang. But on 1 May 2007, Eindhoven president Shuitma said he had not yet considered signing With Sun Xiang.
On 15 May, Eindhoven announced on its official website that they would not officially introduce Sun Xiang, a Chinese player whose loan contract had expired, and the club had no intention of renewing his contract.
Frankly speaking, Sun Xiang's stay in Yangyang is successful, he is very, very hard, but under the higher pursuit of Dutch giants Eindhoven, the technical strength of Chinese players cannot meet the higher requirements of Eindhoven, which is objective, not that the players themselves do not work hard.
If you choose a team of average strength, I believe that Sun Xiang has the strength to stand in the Dutch first division or other leagues. As it turns out, Sun Xiang's resume at Eindhoven offers him a broader career prospect.
On 2 July 2008, Austrian First Division side Austria Vienna (not Vienna Rapids) officially announced that Chinese player Sun Xiang was about to join the team. Both parties will sign a contract for at least one year. Sun Xiang began his other-end career in Austria. (Comprehensive collation of information)