According to a number of domestic media reports, Beijing time on June 12, the national football team will hold a retirement ceremony for Zheng Zhi on June 16 for the international soccer friendly match between the national football team and Myanmar.
Zheng Zhi is one of the top Chinese soccer players and a veteran captain of the Chinese national team. Back in 2000, Zheng Zhi joined the Olympics as a wing-back and since then he has been on a journey to the national team.The 2004 Asian Cup in China was Zheng Zhi's first time representing the national soccer team. That year, Zheng Zhi participated in the Asian Cup as the main center back, with Li Weifeng partnering him. At that Asian Cup, Zheng Zhi remained the first player on the team and was penalized every time he had a chance to take a penalty kick. Eventually, Zheng Zhi and the national soccer team entered the Asian Cup final, but unfortunately, in the Asian Cup final, :3 defeated Japan, Japan's second goal was a handball, but at that time there was no VAR video replay, the national soccer team could only settle for second place.
Since then, Zheng Zhi's role in the national soccer team has become more and more important, and his position has changed from center back to the core front man who organizes the attack.In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Zheng Zhi took part in the core of the Chinese team as an overage player. However, during those years, Zheng Zhi was studying abroad and he experienced too much traveling. Instead of performing well in the much-anticipated Olympics, Zheng Zhi was red-carded for retaliating against an opponent.
Zheng Zhi stayed away from the national team for a while after Gao Hongbo became the head coach of the national soccer team. Many media and fans speculated that the older Zheng Zhi would miss the national soccer team altogether. However, Camacho, Perrin and Lippi all used Zheng Zhi as the centerpiece of the national soccer team's midfield.
On June 2, 2018, Zheng Zhi completed his 100th game for the national football team in a friendly international soccer match away to Thailand.On January 25, 2019, Zheng Zhi played his last game against Iran in the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup. Statistics show that Zheng Zhi has now played 108 matches for the national team.
Zheng Zhi's achievements with his club are even more illustrious than his experience with the national soccer team. Zheng Zhi won the Chinese Super League title with the team while playing for Shandong Luneng and Shenzhen Jianlibao. On June 28, 2010, Guangzhou Evergrande announced that Zheng Zhi had joined the team. Zheng Zhi's brilliant journey with Guangzhou Evergrande started from then on.
In 2010, Zheng Zhi, as the captain, succeeded beyond with Guangzhou Evergrande to win the title of the Central League.In 2011, Guangzhou Evergrande won the title of the Chinese Super League, the first year of the success of the championship. Guangzhou Evergrande staged the Kaiserslautern myth of Chinese soccer. In the Chinese Super League, Zheng Zhi and Guangzhou Evergrande won eight league titles. In the AFC Champions League, Zheng Zhi and Guangzhou Evergrande won the title twice in 2013 and 2015. Zheng Zhi became the first Chinese player to lift the AFC Champions League trophy. On November 26 of the same year, Zheng Zhi was awarded Asian Footballer of the Year 2013.
Zheng Zhi's last appearance in the Chinese Super League was on January 1, 2022 in the 21st round of the 2021 season between Guangzhou and Changchun Yatai. In the 2022 season, Zheng Zhi came to Guangzhou as a coach and player to put out the fire, but did not play, and Guangzhou was finally relegated.In 2023, Zheng Zhi served as an assistant coach for the Chinese national team after Jankovic took over the national team.
Due to the epidemic, the national soccer team last played an international match at home, or the Asian Zone Top 40 qualifier against Guam in May 2021 in Suzhou. Zheng Zhi was still playing in Guangzhou at the time. The national soccer team has not played a home game since Zheng's tenure and failed to give him a ceremony. As a meritorious captain and assistant coach of the national team, the CFA is naturally very suitable and enthusiastic to hold a retirement ceremony for Zheng Zhi on June 16th.
What's embarrassing for Chinese fans is that Zheng Zhi was arguably one of the best players in the national soccer team in the last 20 years, but now we can't even find a player close to his competitive level. There is still a long way to go for the continuity and legacy of Chinese soccer players.
