Sun Xiang (; ; born 15 January 1982) is a Chinese former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He played for

Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai Shenhua F.C. () is a Chinese professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The term ''shen hua'' literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" in ...

Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...

Shanghai SIPG Shanghai Port FC (), previously named Shanghai SIPG, is a professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Pudong, Shanghai, and their home sta ...

in his native country and spent time on loan at Dutch club

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...

and Austrian club

Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (; known in English as Austria Vienna, and usually shortened to Austria (German: Österreich) in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the mos ...

. At international level, he made 69 appearances for the China national team scoring 5 goals.

Club career

Shanghai Shenhua

Sun Xiang started his football career playing for

Shanghai 02 Shanghai 02 F.C. is a defunct Chinese football club based in Shanghai, China. History The club was founded by Xu Genbao in 1995 and was aimed at developing football talents for the participation of the 2002 World Cup, from which the club was ...

before the club was taken over by

. He was then promoted to the club's first team in the 2002 season along with his twin brother Sun Ji where they both quickly established themselves within the team. In the 2003 season, he became the club's first-choice left back and won the top tier title with the club. In 2013 the

Chinese Football Association The Chinese Football Association (CFA) is the governing body for association football, beach soccer and futsal in People's Republic of China (Mainland China). The CFA organizes the men's and women's national teams and administers the country's ...

revoked the league title after it was discovered the Shenhua General manager Lou Shifang had bribed officials to be bias to Shenhua in games that season.

PSV Eindhoven

Sun, along with Sun Ji, attracted the interests of multiple clubs abroad and had trials with

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

side

in 2006, but PSV decided to not sign the pair. The club then decided to sign Sun on loan for the 2006–07 season with an option to sign him on a three-year contract at the end of the season. He made his debut for the club on 17 February 2007 in a 2–0 win against

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to th ...

, becoming the first ever Chinese footballer to play in the Eredivisie. He made his European continental debut on 20 February 2007 in a 1–0 win against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, becoming the first ever Chinese player to play in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

. Then manager

Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is the younger brother of his former international teammate Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman. Koeman was cap ...

remarked that Sun had an impressive debut and contributed to the game through his good vision and precise passing. After the end of his loan period, he was not offered a long-term contract with the club despite appeals from Sun to stay with the club.

Austria Wien

On 1 July 2008, Sun was loaned to

Austrian Bundesliga The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. Th ...

side

on a one-year deal with the possibility of a one-year extension, becoming the first ever Chinese footballer to play in the Austrian Bundesliga. He made his debut on 9 July 2008 in a 1–1 draw against

SK Austria Kärnten SK Austria Kärnten was an Austrian association football club, from Klagenfurt, Carinthia. History The club was formed on 1 June 2007 and took over the license of ASKÖ Pasching to play in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. SK Austria took o ...

. This was followed by his first league goal for the club on 7 March 2009 in a 4–0 victory against

LASK Linz Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub, commonly known as Linzer ASK () or simply LASK, is an Austrian professional football club, from the Upper-Austrian state capital Linz. It is the oldest football club in that region, and plays in the Austrian Football ...

. When his loan period expired, he returned to Shanghai where he played for the remainder of the 2009 season.

Guangzhou Evergrande

On 28 April 2010, Sun announced that he gave up joining

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

side

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...

and transferred to second-tier side

instead. He made his debut for the club alongside

Zheng Zhi Zheng Zhi (; born 20 August 1980) is a Chinese professional footballer and manager who played most of his career for Chinese Super League club Guangzhou F.C., becoming their captain and serving also as their caretaker manager in two stints. A ...

on 21 July 2010 in a 10–0 win against

Nanjing Yoyo Nanjing Yoyo Football Club () was a Chinese football club which played in the China Jia League from 2003 to 2010. Founded in 2002 as the Liaoning Xingguang F.C., it was based on the youth team of Liaoning FC. In 2003, they were bought by SVT Gro ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on 18 September 2010 in a 2–1 win against

Yanbian FC Yanbian Funde F.C. () was a Chinese football club. The team was based in Yanji, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin province where their home stadium is the Yanji Nationwide Fitness Centre Stadium that has a seating capacity of 30,000. ...

. In the 2010 season, he made fourteen appearances as Guangzhou finished first place in the second tier and won promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt. The following season Sun continued to be a major part of the club that invested heavily in improving the squad; and with the club bringing in two-time

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...

Player of the Year winner

Darío Conca Darío Leonardo Conca (; born 11 May 1983) is an Argentine former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Conca was elected for two consecutive years as the best player of Campeonato Brasileiro Série A in 2009 and 2010. When Conca sign ...

, the club won its first ever top tier title in the 2011 season.

Shanghai SIPG

On 5 January 2015, Sun transferred to fellow

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

side

. He made his debut for the club on 7 March 2015 in a 2–1 win against Jiangsu Sainty. On 17 July 2016, Sun accidentally collided with

Demba Ba Demba Ba (born 25 May 1985) is a former professional footballer. He serves as the chairman of National Independent Soccer Association side ASC San Diego. He made his first-team debut with French team Rouen in 2005 before moving to Mouscron an ...

and broke Ba's left leg in a 2–1 loss against

. In December 2016, it was revealed that Sun was diagnosed as highly aggressive

B-cell lymphoma The B-cell lymphomas are types of lymphoma affecting B cells. Lymphomas are "blood cancers" in the lymph nodes. They develop more frequently in older adults and in immunocompromised individuals. B-cell lymphomas include both Hodgkin's lympho ...

. Sun did not clarify or confirm the report. On 6 February 2017, Shanghai SIPG announced Sun had left the club due to "physical problems".

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and results list China's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sun goal''.

Honours

Club

Shanghai Shenhua *

Chinese FA Super Cup The Chinese FA Super Cup (), formerly named Chinese Football Super Cup (), is a pre-season association football, football competition held before the season begins in China PR, China. It is a Chinese football championship contested by the winners ...

: 2002 PSV Eindhoven *

: 2006–07 Austria Wien *

Austrian Cup The Austrian Cup (german: ÖFB-Cup), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for 27th t ...

: 2008–09 Guangzhou Evergrande *

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Chinese League One The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League. Prior to the formation of ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Chinese FA Cup The Chinese FA Cup (, abbreviated as CFA Cup) is the national knockout cup competition in China organized by the Chinese Football Association. Its current holders are Shandong Taishan, having beaten Shanghai Port in 2021 for a record seventh titl ...

Chinese Super Cup The Chinese FA Super Cup (), formerly named Chinese Football Super Cup (), is a pre-season football competition held before the season begins in China. It is a Chinese football championship contested by the winners of top division of Professional ...

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

International

China *

East Asian Football Championship EAFF E-1 Football Championship, known as the East Asian Football Championship from 2003 to 2010, and the EAFF East Asian Cup for the 2013 and 2015 editions, is a men's international football competition in East Asia for member nations of the Eas ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Individual

Team of the Year:

Dream Team:

References

External links

Sun Xiang profile with detailed statistics and biography timelinePlayer profile – doha-2006.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sun, Xiang 1982 births Living people Chinese twins Twin sportspeople Association football fullbacks Chinese footballers Footballers from Shanghai China international footballers Shanghai Shenhua F.C. players Chinese expatriate footballers PSV Eindhoven players Eredivisie players Austrian Football Bundesliga players FK Austria Wien players Guangzhou F.C. players Shanghai Port F.C. players Chinese Super League players China League One players 2004 AFC Asian Cup players 2007 AFC Asian Cup players Footballers at the 2002 Asian Games Footballers at the 2006 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for China