Zheng Zheng (Chinese: 郑铮; pinyin: Zhèng Zhēng; born 11 July 1989) is a Chinese professional footballer who plays as a left-back or centre-back for and captains Chinese Super League club Shandong Taishan. He joined Shandong's youth academy at the age of 10 and has spent his entire playing career there since making his debut in 2010.

Zheng Zheng
郑铮
Personal information
Full name Zheng Zheng
Date of birth (1989-07-11) 11 July 1989 (age 34)
Place of birth Jinan, Shandong, China
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Left-back, Centre-back
Team information
Current team
Shandong Taishan
Number 5
Youth career
1999–2007 Shandong Luneng
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008– Shandong Taishan 311 (10)
International career
2007–2008 China U-19
2009–2010 China U-23
2011–2022 China 23 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 31 January 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 March 2022
Zheng Zheng
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese

Club career edit

Zheng Zheng started his football career playing with Shandong Luneng's youth academy and was promoted to the first team during the 2008 season, where despite not making an appearance for the team he would still receive a league title medal from the club.[1] He received his promotion to the senior team in 2010 when he made his debut for the club in a 1–0 loss against Pohang Steelers on 24 March 2010.[2] Despite the defeat, Zheng would go on to become a vital member of the team and would go on to score his first goal for the club on 16 May 2010 in a 1–0 win against Shenzhen Ruby.[3] Zheng would have such a breakthrough season that he would not only win the league title with Shandong, but also personally win the Chinese Football Association Young Player of the Year award to cap off an extremely successful season.[4]

On 23 June 2016, Zheng suffered a rupture of ligament in his left knee in the training, ruling him out for the rest of the season.[5] He made his return on 2 May 2017 in a 2017 Chinese FA Cup match against Jilin Baijia.[6] A consistent regular within the team, he would gain his third league title with the club when he was part of the team that won the 2021 Chinese Super League title.[7] On 30 October 2022, Zheng would show his importance towards the team when he made his 275 league appearance for Shandong in a 3-1 home win against Shanghai Port, becoming record league appearance maker for the club, surpassing former captain Shu Chang.[8]

On 31 March 2024, Zheng made his 400th appearance for Shandong in a 3-0 home defeat against Shanghai Shenhua.[9]

International career edit

Zheng would play for the Chinese under-20 national team that took part in the 2008 AFC U-19 Championship where he played in all four games for China in a tournament where they were knocked out in the quarterfinals. Zheng would still move up to the Chinese under-23 national team where he played in the 2008 East Asian Games. He played in two games as China were knocked out in the group stage. Zheng would also make the squad that took part in the 2010 Asian Games; however, he was injured throughout the tournament and didn't make any appearances.

Zheng made his debut for the Chinese national team on 6 October 2011 in a 2-1 home win against United Arab Emirates in an international friendly match. Zheng scored his first two international goals on 15 November 2011 in a 4–0 away win against Singapore during 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification.

Career statistics edit

Club edit

Statistics accurate as of match played 31 March 2024.[10]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Shandong Luneng/
Shandong Taishan
2008 Chinese Super League 0 0 - - - 0 0
2009 0 0 - 0 0 - 0 0
2010 24 3 - 3 0 - 27 3
2011 26 0 2 0 6 0 - 34 0
2012 25 0 3 0 - - 28 0
2013 28 3 0 0 - - 28 3
2014 25 0 7 0 6 0 - 38 0
2015 25 1 2 0 6 0 1[a] 0 34 1
2016 10 0 1 0 9 1 - 20 1
2017 19 0 3 0 - - 22 0
2018 23 0 5 0 - - 28 0
2019 16 0 3 0 4 0 - 23 0
2020 17 0 3 0 - - 20 0
2021 20 1 7 1 - - 27 2
2022 24 2 5 0 0 0 - 29 2
2023 28 0 4 0 8 0 1[a] 0 41 0
2024 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 0
Total 311 10 45 1 42 1 2 0 400 12
Career total 311 10 45 1 42 1 2 0 400 12
  1. ^ a b Appearances in Chinese FA Super Cup

International statistics edit

National team
Year Apps Goals
2011 2 2
2012 2 0
2013 3 0
2014 2 0
2015 0 0
2016 0 0
2017 5 0
2018 3 0
2019 2 0
2020 0 0
2021 1 0
2022 3 0
Total 23 2

International goals edit

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 15 November 2011 Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore   Singapore 3–0 4–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier
2   Singapore 4–0

Honours edit

Shandong Luneng/Shandong Taishan

Individual

References edit

  1. ^ "郑铮". sodasoccer.com. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  2. ^ "AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2010 MATCH SUMMARY". the-afc.com. 24 Mar 2010. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  3. ^ "郑铮一击致命 鲁能客场1–0深圳登榜首". sports.sohu.com. 2010-05-16. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  4. ^ "China 2010". RSSSF. 21 Jun 2012. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  5. ^ "意外!鲁能赛前训练郑铮受伤离场 或无缘战力帆". sports.sina.com. 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
  6. ^ "300余天后郑铮重返职业赛场 重伤之后更加珍惜足球". sports.sina.com. 2017-05-04. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
  7. ^ a b "山东泰山队获得2021赛季中超联赛冠军". k.sina.com.cn. 2021-12-27. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  8. ^ "3275场!郑铮成为泰山队史出场王 赛前获赠纪念球衣". Sina Sports. 2022-10-30. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
  9. ^ "达成山东泰山生涯400场里程碑,郑铮赛前获赠纪念球衣". Dongqiudi. 2024-03-31. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
  10. ^ Zheng, Zheng at national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 2017-12-21
  11. ^ "足协杯-麦克格文压哨绝杀 鲁能5-4舜天夺冠". Sports.sina.com.cn. 2014-11-22. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  12. ^ "足协杯-王彤惊天内切佩莱头球 鲁能2-0胜江苏夺冠". sports.sina.com.cn. 2020-12-19. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  13. ^ "山东泰山队第八次夺足协杯冠军 创足协杯三连冠纪录". ent.people.com.cn. 2023-01-16. Retrieved 2023-01-31.

External links edit