If the Chinese men's football team has 10 Zheng Zhi, we can easily rush out of Asia! You can even score 1 goal in the World Cup, or win 1 game. This is the voice that Chinese fans have recognized for Zheng Zhi for many years, and it is also the expectation of the Chinese men's football team. As one of China's best players in recent years, Zheng Zhi can cover all positions on the field except goalkeeper. Moreover, whether it is in the back line, midfield, or forward, it is the ceiling of domestic players.
Zheng Zhi, born in August 1980, is 42 years old this year. In 2001, Zheng Zhi transferred to Shenzhen Ping An and was awarded the Chinese Footballer of the Year in 2002. That year, Zheng Zhicai was 22 years old. Today's local players, 23 years old, still need policy support to play football, which can't help but make people embarrassed. In 2004, Zheng Zhi led Shenzhen Jianlibao to win the first Chinese Super League championship. In 05, Zheng Zhi joined Shandong Luneng with a transfer fee of 950,000 euros and started his Luneng career. After helping Shandong Taishan win the 2006 Chinese Super League championship, he embarked on his journey to the ocean.
After a six-month loan, Charlton spent 3 million euros to buy out Zheng Zhi from Shandong Taishan. During his time at Charlton, Zheng Zhi made 70 appearances for the team, scoring 11 goals and 8 assists. In the third round of the 2007–08 FA Cup, Charlton wore Charlton's captain's armband for the first time in the away game against West Bromwich Albion. In 2009, Charlton were relegated to League One and Zheng Zhi switched to Soviet Premier League giants Carthus. In the 09-10 season, Zheng Zhi played 19 games for the Celtics, scoring 1 goal and 1 assist. In the 2010 season, Zheng Zhi chose to return to China to play. Unfortunately, the Shandong Luneng midfield at that time already had a new training object. Zheng Zhi, who was 30 years old, failed to return to Luneng and chose Guangzhou Evergrande.
No one expected that the 30-year-old Zheng Zhi would reach the peak of his career in the next 10 years. He not only led Guangzhou Evergrande to win 8 Chinese Super League championships, but also won the AFC Champions League twice (plus Shenzhen and Luneng Chinese Super League championships, and won 10 Chinese Super League championships). And in 2013, he became the second Chinese player to win Asian Footballer of the Year after Fan Zhiyi. In 2021, Guangzhou Evergrande encountered difficulties, and the 40-year-old Zheng Zhi temporarily took the coaching whip of Guangzhou Evergrande's first team and staged a miracle of the coach warming up on the sidelines. That year, 40-year-old Zheng Zhi showed fans what "you do, you go on". His physical skills on the field can make many young players in their 20s feel inferior, and he led the difficult Guangzhou Evergrande to defeat a number of strong opponents off the field, and finally ranked 3rd in the Chinese Super League.
Now, the 42-year-old Zheng Zhi has resigned as the manager of the Guangzhou team to focus on assisting Jankovic and has become a member of the assistant coaching team of the Chinese men's national team. However, as one of the best players in China, he has not held a retirement ceremony. In theory, still an active player. So, many times fans even want to see him play a scene of the coach warming up on the sidelines of the national team. However, according to the latest news from the "Football Newspaper", fans may not see him performing on the national team "The coach warms up on the sidelines". Because, "Football News" reported: On the 16th of this month, the match between the national football team and Myanmar will hold a retirement ceremony for Zheng Zhi. The 42-year-old Zheng Zhi has retired, where is the successor we have been looking for for many years?
#郑智退役 #