Dong Fangzhuo(董方卓) (born January 23, 1985) is a Chinese
soccer player.
He signed for Manchester United from Dalian Shide FC in 2004, for £2,000,000.
He is a striker who has yet to make his competitive senior debut for the
Manchester club because of work permit issues. He currently plays on loan for
Royal Antwerp in Belgium. Dong frequently attends Manchester United FC's home
matches.
On United's 2005 Asia tour, Dong made his first team debut in a friendly against
a Hong Kong XI and capped it off with a goal in a 2-0 victory.
Du Wei (Chinese:杜威) (February 9, 1982 in Luoyang) is a Chinese professional
soccer player who plays in defense for Celtic and used to be captain of
Chinese U-21 Soccer Team and Chinese Olympic Team.
Before he transferred to Celtic in 2005, he had played for Shanghai Cable 02 and
Shanghai Shenhua. He is able to play central defense and defensive midfielder.
He made his Celtic debut in the Scottish Cup Third Round tie against Clyde FC on
9th January 2006 in a surprise 2-1 defeat for the Glasgow club. He has now
returned to China having failed to win a permanent deal with Celtic
He first came to prominence when he played two matches for the Chinese national
team at the 2002 World Cup.
Hao Haidong (郝海东, May 9, 1970, in Qingdao) plays soccer for Sheffield
United Soccer Club in the Soccer League Championship and he also plays for
the Chinese national team, and is the record goalscorer with 37 goals for his
country. He transferred from Bayi FC to Dalian Shide after the 1996 season, where
he played and eventually became head coach before his transfer to England in
January 2005, and has won many titles and honors.
Li Tie (李铁; born May 18, 1977 in Liaoning, China) is a Chinese professional
soccer player. He currently plays for Everton F.C.
The cream of his generation of Chinese soccer players, Li was already a
veteran of the national squad when China embarked on their World Cup debut in
2002. Despite ending the compaign without a win, Li was shipped to the
Premiership in an exchange deal between sponsors Kejian and Everton.
His first season at Goodison Park was a surprising success. Manager David Moyes
played him in 31 league games, the majority from the starting line-up, where his
displays as a defensive midfielder helped the club clinch a 7th place finish.
Everton tussled with his former club Liaoning Bodao to sign him permanently
after the 2002/3 season. The deal was finally closed in August 2003 for an
undisclosed fee, with Li signing a three-year deal. It is likely Everton paid
between £500,000 to £1.5 m for the midfielder, although the price was hugely
offset by outside sponsorship.
His 2003/4 season was marred by a sending-off (against Arsenal, Aug 2003) and a
series of injuries. The last, a broken leg picked up during international duty
in February 2004, ruled him out for more than 13 months.
Li Weifeng(Chinese: 李玮峰, born January 26, 1978 in Shenzhen, People's Republic
of China) is a Chinese soccer player who has represented the Chinese national
soccer team over 60 times.
Li is a central defender and is known for his heading ability which earned him
the nickname "Da Tou"(Big Head). Aside from his soccer skills, Li is also
involved in various off-the-field controversies, such as him earning two red
cards for the Chinese team in the 2005 East Asian Invitation, as well as
allegedly forcing out manager Chi Shangbin in Shenzhen, earning him the
reputation "Qiu Ba" (soccer bully).
Li has previously played for Shenzhen Pingan and had a short spell at English
side Everton F.C. immediately after the 2002 World Cup, as part of an Everton
deal with Chinese sponsor Kejian. However, Li was unable to convince the Everton
coaching team for a permanent deal and returned to Shenzhen.
Qu Shengqing (Chinese:曲圣卿 born June 5, 1975 in China) is a Chinese
soccer player
who currently plays for Adelaide United in the newly formed Hyundai A-League. He
is a striker who has been capped 30 times for the Chinese national soccer
team.
Sun Jihai (孙继海) (born September 30, 1977 in Dalian) is a Chinese
soccer
(soccer) player, he currently plays for Manchester City as a defender and the
China national soccer team as a midfielder.
Sun's main strengths are his speed, physical strength, crossing and attacking
forays down the wings. However, he is a highly versatile player, having played
on the left wing, central defense and as a holding midfielder. Sun is a valuable
asset for the Chinese men's national soccer team. He was among the first group
of Chinese players to ply their trade in the Premiership after the 2002 World
Cup in Korea/Japan, including midfielder Li Tie (currently at Everton F.C.) and
centre-back Li Weifeng (currently at Shenzhen Jianlibao F.C.). Sun became the
first Chinese soccer player to score in the English Premiership during an away
match to Birmingham City F.C. during the 2002/2003 season.
Sun started China's first match during the 2002 World Cup against Costa Rica,
but his ankle was injured during a wild tackle by Costa Rican defender, Gilberto
Martinez. Unable to play, he sat out the rest of China's matches in Group C
against Brazil and Turkey.
At the beginning of the 2004/2005 season, Sun damaged his cruciate ligaments
during a tackle by Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen and missed the rest of the
season. After recuperating and following a strict physical regime devised by his
father, Sun Jihai is now used sparingly by current Manchester City coach, Stuart
Pearce.
He has previously played for Dalian Shide and had a loan spell at Crystal
Palaceduring season 1998/99.
Sun Wen (孙雯) (born April 6, 1973 in Shanghai, China) is a well-known female
Chinese soccer (soccer) player.
Sun appeared in the national squad at the age of 17[1]. A strong striker with
great skills and passing abilities, Sun won both the Golden Ball and the Golden
Boot for the 1999 Women's World Cup, and became the first woman to be nominated
for the Asian Soccer Confederation player of the year award. Some regarded her
as even superior to Mia Hamm, whom she has often been compared to. In 2002, she
was voted FIFA's Woman Player of the Century, an award she shared with American
Michelle Akers. Sun played for the Atlanta Beat of the Women's United Soccer
Association from 2001 until the league's demise in 2003, and became an
international relations student and a journalist in Fudan University. She
returned to the Chinese women's team from an two-year retirement at December 15,
2005
Yang Chen (楊晨, born January 17, 1974 in Beijing, China) is a professional
soccer player. In 1997 he left Chinese club Beijing Guoan for Eintracht
Frankfurt, then of the Bundesliga. Frankfurt was relegated, and following
failure to reach promotion, Yang transferred to FC St. Pauli in 2002, before
coming back to his home country. Yang Chen played for China at the 2002 World
Cup.
Fan Zhiyi (born on November 6, 1969 in Shanghai) is a professional soccer
central defender from the People's Republic of China.
Fan's biggest strengths is his superb fitness as well as his excellent
positional play and distribution from the back. The 6-foot tall defender also
has good aerial ability and strength.
A folk hero and soccer icon in his native country , Fan was a regular fixture
in the People's Republic of China national team and was a very influential
player, even winning the Captain's armband. He anchors their defense and has
been capped a record 107 times for his country before his international
retirement.
In Fan's early playing days for Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese First Division,
Fan's versatility as a player meant he played in several positions until he
settled into central defense as a sweeper.
In season 1998/99, Fan made national headlines when he left Shanghai to join
English First Division side Crystal Palace, where he played alongside his
Chinese national team mate Sun Jihai (a versatile defender then on loan from
C-league club Dalian Shide). Fan soon established himself as an important player
at Palace and was popular with the Palace fans and staff, as well as winning
Palace many new fans in the UK and back in China.
After securing 2002 World Cup qualification for China in October 2001, Fan was
transferred to Scottish Premiership outfit Dundee FC for £350,000.
In March 2002, he moved from Dundee FC to join Shanghai Zhongyuan on loan.
After a spell on trial at Gillingham, Fan joined English Second Division side
Cardiff City in November 2002.
In October 2003 the much-traveled veteran returned to Asia and signed a
one-year contract to become player-coach of Hong Kong side Buler Rangers.
However his stay in Hong Kong lasted just several months, as in early 2004 he
moved back across the border to become the captain of C-league Division 1 side
Zhuhai Zhongbang in Zhuhai.
On a final note, Fan has often stated his desire to move into coaching once he
hangs up his boots for good.
