On April 29 last year, a bad news shocked the Chinese football community, and former international Zhang Enhua died of a heart attack after drinking. The day before, it was the 48th birthday of the famous domestic football player, and he also posted photos of many friends attending his birthday party in the circle of friends, which made people sigh.
Zhang Enhua entered the Dalian Junior Football Team at the age of 11, and his football path also went very smoothly, and with excellent physical fitness and comprehensive defensive ability, he soon came to prominence. At the beginning of the league in 1994, he officially played for Dalian Wanda and gradually gained a foothold in the team. Dark-skinned, he also got the nickname "Sunspot".
In the following season, in addition to being an indispensable member of the Dalian Wanda defense, he also acted as a "knife guard", and his threatening headers often broke through the opponent's gates, successfully helping the team establish its dominance in the league. Seven consecutive league titles + 55 unbeaten games were all football stories at that time, and Zhang Enhua also became the club's undisputed meritorious player.
Like many other outstanding players at the time, Zhang Enhua also dreamed of playing abroad. In 1998, he came to England for a trial, but the first trial was unsuccessful and he returned to China. On 26 November 2000, Zhang Enhua signed a four-month loan contract with League A (then England's second division) side Grimsby to start his own trip abroad.
Half a month later, Zhang Enhua made his foreign debut in the league against Norwich. Grimsby played well, beating his opponent 2-0 to end seven rounds of unbeaten run, and Zhang Enhua's stable performance also won praise from the media and fans. On 17 February 2001, Jang scored his first goal since staying in The Ocean and helped the team win 1-0. Just three days later, Zhang Enhua scored again to help the team draw 2-2 with Bolton Bolton. Due to his brilliant performance in February, Zhang Enhua was also named Grimsby's Best Player in February.
During Grimsby's short four-month loan period, Zhang Enhua made 17 appearances for the team, scoring 3 goals, and made a great contribution to the team's final relegation success. Among Grimsby's supporters at that time, there were many fans who admired Zhang Enhua. In the summer of 2001, Grimsby wanted to sign a formal contract with Zhang Enhua, and even the Premier League and other League A teams threw him an olive branch.
However, at that time, the leaders of the Chinese Football Association flew to London to do Zhang Enhua's ideological work and returned to Dalian to participate in the competition, so that they could better prepare for the 2002 World Cup. In order to help the national football team complete the dream of the World Cup, Zhang Enhua refused Grimsby's invitation.
Although the national football team has since entered the World Cup finals historically, zhang Enhua has also been selected for the 23-man World Cup roster of the national football team, but in the three group matches, Zhang Enhua did not catch even a minute of playing time. At that time, Zhang Enhua had a quarrel with the leaders of the Football Association, and Zhang Enhua's friend Sun Chao revealed, "At that time, going to play in the United Kingdom involved the issue of labor certification. As long as the 'black brother' once again has a record of representing the national team in international A-level competitions, this problem can be solved. However, he didn't play a minute at the World Cup, which became a thorn in his heart. ”
After that, Zhang Enhua ushered in a low point, left Dalian, and faded out of the national team... After leaving Hong Kong's South China in 2006, he never set foot on the green field again. In a 2014 interview, Zhang Enhua said: "I did not announce my retirement, I disappeared in silence. ”
After his playing career, Zhang Enhua did not leave football, he transformed into a football coach. After obtaining the AFC professional coaching certificate, Zhang Enhua did not choose to start coaching immediately, but chose to study abroad to recharge. During this time, he visited excellent clubs in Germany, England, France, Belgium and other countries. In 2012, Zhang Enhua joined La Liga side Villarreal and served as an assistant coach for a long time.
In an interview, Zhang Enhua once said, "After getting the coaching certificate, I felt that I needed a higher platform to develop. To work out, I spent two years in the UK and finally settled in Spain. Because Spanish football is more worthy of our Chinese study, I am particularly interested in the youth training system and philosophy in Spain. This is also a shortcoming of our country, people have done a good job of popularizing football, providing a good venue for teenagers. In addition, parents are also particularly supportive, putting their children's outdoor sports first, and this concept is worth learning from our Chinese parents. ”
In 2016, Zhang Enhua left Villarreal. Soon after returning to China, Zhang Enhua served as the team leader and head of the Chinese coaching team of Kaisa in Shenzhen, assisting head coach Eriksen. At that time, the latter personally interviewed Zhang Enhua, and the two could communicate in English without any obstacles. The football concepts that Zhang Enhua learned in Europe also made Eriksen decide to be his assistant. In 2017, Zhang Enhua chose to resign during the blood exchange in Shenzhen Kaisa.
In 2020, the Chinese Second Division team Guangxi Baoyun (now Guangxi Pingguoha) intended to invite him to coach, but due to various reasons, the two sides ultimately failed to reach an agreement. Never coaching a team independently has also become a major regret for Zhang Enhua.
Despite zhang Enhua, who has a tough style on the court, Zhang Enhua is approachable in life and has friends all over the circle. So when tragedy happens, there are many people mourning. It is a pity that as a witness to the golden age of Chinese football, we have left us in such a way.