Dong Fangzhuo
.JPG) Dong with Hunan Billows in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dong Fangzhuo | ||
| Date of birth | 23 January 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Dalian, Liaoning, China | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002 |
Dalian Sidelong | 18 | (2) |
| 2002–2004 | Dalian Shide | 8 | (0) |
| 2004–2008 | Manchester United | 1 | (0) |
| 2004–2006 | → Royal Antwerp (loan) | 71 | (34) |
| 2008–2010 | Dalian Shide | 26 | (0) |
| 2010 | Legia Warsaw | 2 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Portimonense | 3 | (0) |
| 2011 | Mika | 21 | (4) |
| 2012–2013 |
Hunan Billows | 43 | (9) |
| 2014 |
Hebei Zhongji | 7 | (2) |
| Total | 200 | (51) | |
| International career | |||
| 2005 | China U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 2008 | China U23 | 3 | (1) |
| 2005–2007 | China | 13 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Dong Fangzhuo (Chinese: 董方卓; pinyin: Dǒng Fāngzhuó; born 23 January 1985) is a Chinese former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Club career
Early career
Dong first came to prominence in 2000 when he was named the most valuable player in an under-17 tournament. He then signed for
Dalian Sidelong and helped them finish as runners-up in the Chinese Jia-B league in 2002. This then earned him a move to Dalian Shide, the most successful club team in China. Dong scored his first goal for Dalian in the second match of the qualifying stages of the 2002–03 AFC Champions League
.
Manchester United
Dong left Dalian for Manchester United on 12 January 2004 for an initial fee of £500,000, which could have risen to £3.5 million, depending upon appearances.[1] He thus became the first East Asian player to sign for Manchester United.[2]
After signing for Manchester United, he was unable to play for the senior team immediately because he was ineligible for a work permit. Due to these legal issues, Dong was loaned out to get first-team experience with
Belgian First Division side Royal Antwerp where the employment laws were less strict. In his first season, he scored one goal in nine appearances as he began to get used to his new environment. His second season began more promisingly, finding the net in six of his first seven appearances of the season, all as a substitute off the bench. However, disrupted by injury and international duty, his form fell away in the latter half of the season as he finished with seven goals in 22 appearances in all competitions. At the beginning of the 2005–06 season, he was called up to join Manchester United on their pre-season tour and made his unofficial debut for the club in a friendly match in Hong Kong
, scoring a goal in a 2–0 win.
In the 2005–06 season, Dong impressed for Royal Antwerp as he finished as the top goalscorer for both his team and the
Chinese citizenship and was never considered. On 15 December 2006, almost three years after his original signing, Dong was finally given a work permit to play in England,[4] having made enough appearances for the Chinese national team in the preceding two years. With his eligibility confirmed, he was recalled from Royal Antwerp having started the season with 11 goals in 15 appearances, given a new contract until 2010,[5]
and added to Manchester United's first-team squad on 17 January 2007.
Dong made his
Roma in the last group stage match of the 2007–08 season, replacing fellow striker Wayne Rooney. With that appearance, Dong became the second ever Chinese player to participate in the UEFA Champions League after Sun Xiang
. However, he was able to score four goals in three matches for the reserves before suffering an injury.
Prior to the start of the 2008–09 season, Dong was not given a squad number, with the number 21 shirt given to Rafael. On 28 August 2008, Dong and Manchester United mutually agreed that his contract was to be terminated in order for him to find first-team football elsewhere.[7]
Dalian Shide
On 27 August 2008, Dong returned to
Chinese national team.[8]
Return to Europe
After attending a training camp with Polish club
FK Sloboda Point Sevojno. Dong impressed again in Sloboda's friendlies and the Serbian news mentioned he was close to signing a contract. However, the club offered a long-term contract to Dong, but the player only wanted a short-term deal. Dong was reported to be asking for 10,000 Euro a week, but negotiations broke down and he was on his travels again.[9]
In March 2011, Dong signed for
Hunan Billows. He played there for two years, scoring 9 goals before moving on to another Chinese second-tier team, Hebei Zhongji, scoring 2 in 7.[11]
International career
Dong was called up by
New Zealand, he was substituted on for Han Peng and went on to score China's first goal in the 88th minute, securing a 1–1 draw.[13]
Career statistics
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | |||
| 2005 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 13 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list China's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fangzhuo goal[14]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 June 2006 | Hardturm, Zürich, Switzerland |  Switzerland
|
1–4 | 1–4 | Friendly | [14] |
Honours
FC Mika
References
- ^ "Man Utd sign Shide striker Dong Fangzhuo". China Daily. 13 January 2004. Retrieved 28 February 2007.
- Stuff.co.nz. Reuters. 29 August 2008. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
- ^ "Dong close to Man Utd clearance". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 19 July 2006. Retrieved 28 February 2007.
- ^ "Man Utd gain work permit for Dong". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 16 December 2006. Retrieved 28 February 2007.
- ^ "Dong signs new Man Utd contract". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 17 January 2007. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ McNulty, Phil (9 May 2007). "Chelsea 0–0 Man Utd". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 23 August 2007.
- ^ Tuck, James (28 August 2008). "Reds confirm Dong exit". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
- ^ Dong Fangzhuo says goodbye to United and joins Dalian, wearing No.9 Sina Sport, 27 August 2008.
- ^ DONG FANGZHUO: THE TRAVELLING DISAPPOINTMENT THAT WILL NEVER GIVE UP at wildeastfootball.net, 13-4-2011, retrieved 10-4-2017
- ^ "Shirak 1-4 Mika". soccerway.com/. Soccerway. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- ^ "Where are they now? #1 Dong Fangzhou (Manchester United)".
- ^ Zheng and Dong head China soccer squad for Beijing
- ^ Dong Secures Draw For China
- ^ a b c d Dong Fangzhuo at National-Football-Teams.com
External links
- Dong Fangzhuo – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Dong Fangzhuo at Soccerbase
- Dong Fangzhuo at Soccerway
- Dong Fangzhuo at National-Football-Teams.com
- Stats at Royal Antwerp F.C. (in Dutch)
China squads | |||||||||||||
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