After the start of this year's Chinese Super League, many famous domestic players faded out of the fans' view, such as Zheng Zhi, Hao Junmin, Wu Xinghan, and Dai Weijun, etc. Of course, they left the field for different reasons, Zheng Zhi and Hao Junmin had already begun their transition and belonged to the edge of retirement, but there was no official announcement. Wu Xinghan was hidden by the Taishan team for personal reasons, and Dai Weijun was a representative of the fight against the music department. Everyone is different, some of them will be back on the pitch soon, while others may never be seen playing on the pitch in their jerseys again.
Zheng Zhi's fade will eventually come to a final conclusion as the 42-year-old is about to undergo a retirement ceremony held by the national team, according to domestic media reports. While Zheng has never announced his decision to retire, he hasn't taken the field since 2022.He remained part of the Guangzhou roster for the 2022 season, but after transitioning into coaching, fans didn't get to see the coach warm up and show up for such a dramatic scenario. The national soccer team and Canton legend quietly ended his career. Canton likely won't get the chance to hold a retirement ceremony for him, but the national team can.
Currently, Zheng Zhi works as an assistant coach for the national team, assisting Jankovic. In recent years, the national team has committed to holding retirement ceremonies or presenting commemorative jerseys to retired international players. With Zheng Zhi's status and position in the national team, he must be worthy of the home retirement ceremony. The national soccer team will now have two warm-up matches in Dalian, the first of which against the Myanmar national soccer team will be a retirement ceremony for Zheng Zhi to recognize the Chinese legend and Asian footballer's contribution to the national team and Chinese soccer. While fans are mostly unhappy with the national soccer team, fans still have a lot of positive things to say about Zheng Zhi.
Jung last played for the national soccer team in the 8-4 knockout stage of the 2019 Asian Cup, where the national soccer team lost 0-3 to Iran Jung completed the last dance for the national team. So far, Jung's national team has frozen out 108 times and scored 15 goals. Zheng's national team debut dates back to December 2002, when Zheng made his debut in a 3-1 win over Syria, when Zheng was 22 years old. His national team career lasted as many as 20 years from the age of 22 to 42. Meanwhile, his music career was legendary, with stellar spells at Tarzan, Charlton, Celtic and Guangzhou.
Zheng Zhi started training with the Liaoning team. He won the assists title and China's Footballer of the Year during his AA days. He honed his skills at Shenzhen Jianlibao and made his name with Taishan. His study abroad career allowed him to shine. When he joined the Guangzhou team, he was already 30 years old. Unexpectedly, he rose to a new peak with the Guangzhou team. Zheng Zhi's retirement also shows the end of an era. I hope Zheng Zhi can go farther and farther in his coaching career in the future.
