At the age of 10, he was taken to the Genbao Football Base on Chongming Island in Shanghai by veteran coach Yang Limin; at the age of 20, he became the youngest international to score goals on his debut when he was still in Shanghai East Asia; at the end of 2010, he moved to Guangzhou to achieve 2 AFC Champions League titles, 8 Chinese Super League champions, 2 FA Cup titles and 4 Super Cup titles.
That former teenager, May 9 will usher in his 33rd birthday Zhang Linpeng, 12 years later finally want to go home!
Although the Shanghai Harbour Club has not officially announced the signing of Zhang Linpeng, the signing has been completed. After the termination of the contract with Guangzhou Club at the beginning of the year, the active international will return to his old club as a free agent, once Shanghai East Asia, now Shanghai Seaport.
Zhang Linpeng, who has good physical condition and excellent talent, has always been the love of the old coach Xu Genbao's "Chongming Phase I". When the team competed in the Second Division and the Central League, and represented Shanghai in the National Games, he was the absolute main force in the midfield. Being able to be called up for the national team at the age of 20 as a player in the Chinese League A and score a debut goal in a match against Jordan shows Zhang Linpeng's strength.
The indispensable player of Shanghai East Asia at that time, the transfer to Guangzhou at the end of 2010 reflected the mentorship between Zhang Linpeng and Xu Genbao.
Although the Guangzhou team, the richest team in the Chinese Super League, offered Zhang Linpeng ten times the annual salary of the East Asian team, he still hoped to stay in Shanghai East Asia and complete the dream of surpassing with his friends under the leadership of his mentor.
Although Xu Genbao was also reluctant to let go of his beloved apprentice, the 12 million yuan transfer fee offered by the Guangzhou team was almost equivalent to the club's one-year operating funds, which was a "life-saving money" for Shanghai East Asia, which was seriously lacking in funds and even unable to pay wages at that time.
Xu Genbao took into account Zhang Linpeng's personal problems, "Zhang Linpeng said he would not leave. I said you don't go 200,000, you go 2 million, do you go? He doesn't go. If you don't go, push him away. ”
Zhang Linpeng, who preferred to give up ten times her annual salary, finally chose to "sell herself to the savior" for her mentor and in order to cultivate his club from childhood to survive.
From the 2011 season to the 2021 season, Zhang Linpeng, who achieved the club's intercontinental grand slam, reached a height in Guangzhou is beyond doubt. With 16 trophies, club world cup, AFC Champions League, Chinese Super League, FA Cup and Super Cup made a total of 328 appearances, scoring 18 goals as a defender.
However, Zhang Linpeng still has regrets, and her dream of staying in Yang has not been completed.
In the summer of 2015, Zhang Linpeng, who has already won the AFC Champions League and all the championship trophies in domestic competitions, ushered in the best opportunity to stay abroad. Chelsea, who need to be replenished at right-back, have thrown an olive branch and have prepared a formal offer and player contract, and the weekly salary of £50,000 is up to the salary level of a normal Premier League player.
"Zhang Linpeng is of a very high standard, a top Asian player and he has the conditions to stand in the Premier League." The Blues' then-head coach Jose Mourinho said this about Zhang Linpeng.
Even if the satellite team that needs to be loaned to Chelsea first in order to "work for the labour certificate", Zhang Linpeng is also very happy and full of expectations.
But in the end, the deal collapsed because of the Guangzhou club's non-release. Zhang Linpeng, who was extremely disappointed, even publicly expressed her dissatisfaction on Weibo. Missing out on the closest time to his dream will undoubtedly be a great regret for his entire career.
In the case of a sharp salary cut and salary limit for Guangzhou Club in 2022, there is also Zhang Linpeng, who is still on the contract, and the club negotiates to terminate the contract. Since then, his whereabouts have always been the focus of everyone's attention, and it is obvious that the Shanghai seaport, which needs to strengthen the defensive line, is a very good destination.
For Zhang Linpeng, Shanghai Harbour is a stable big club with championship competitiveness. This is also his first stop on the road of professional football, as well as Yan Junling, Wang Shenchao, Lu Wenjun, Cai Huikang, and other friends who grew up in Chongming. In the past, when I was in Guangzhou, as long as the Harbor team went to Guangzhou to play away, Zhang Linpeng would do the east to invite her former teammates to dinner after the game.
From the perspective of Shanghai Harbor, in the case of the basic departure of foreign support center-back Mystrovic, the team's backline is very much in need of an experienced veteran like Zhang Linpeng. Moreover, Zhang Linpeng can play at both centre-back and right-back, and is also familiar with the European-style three-centre-back system, and his ability to complete can be the main force of the three positions of drag-back center-back, right-back and right-wing-back.