Zeng Xuelin (; 2 December 1929 – 11 February 2016) was a Chinese football manager and former player. As a player he represented Guangzhou, Southwest Military Region,

Bayi Football Team The Bayi or August First Football Team () or its full name the People's Liberation Army Bayi Football Club () was a football team under the sport branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) that played in China's football league system between 1 ...

and

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

while internationally he played for what is now known as the Chinese PR under-23 football team. After retiring as a player he moved into coaching where he had successful reigns at

and

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

where he won several league titles before managing the

Chinese national football team The China national football team (, recognised as China PR by FIFA) represents the People's Republic of China in international association football and is governed by the Chinese Football Association. China won the EAFF East Asian Cup in 2005 ...

. After leaving the Chinese national team he would mainly move away from management except for a brief spell when he joined Shenzhen Ping'an on a caretaker bases.

Playing career

While Zeng Xuelin was born in

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...

(now Thailand), he moved back with his family to China and settled in Meixian in the

Guangdong Province Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

at the age of seven. After finishing high school, he joined the

Chinese People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

and played for the Guangzhou Army team where he played amateur football in the regional leagues before going to university where he played for the Southwest Military Region football team while he was studying. As part of the Liberation Army he was selected for their top football club

and studied football in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. When his time ended with Bayi, he was selected to be a part of the China national white team (as Chinese B national team), which was allowed to participate in the league game during that time. In 1957, the White Team had moved to

, and eventually became Tianjin F.C.; he was the team captain for two seasons, and helped the team to win second place of the first

Chinese National Games The National Games of the People's Republic of China (), sometimes known as the All China Games (though not to be confused with the All-China Games), is the premier sports event in China at national level. It is usually held once every four yea ...

in 1959 before he officially retired.

Management career

Before he retired from Tianjin he became the player-coach in February 1959, and officially became the team manager in 1960, where he achieved considerable success early within his reign when he won the 1960

Chinese Jia-A League The National Football Jia A League (simplified Chinese, commonly known as Jia-A, was the highest tier of professional football in the People's Republic of China, during 1994 through 2003, operating under the auspices of the Chinese Football Associ ...

league title and

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 ...

in the same year. The club were constant title contenders throughout his reign despite seeing the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

severely stunting the team's development. Nevertheless, despite there not being any major tournaments held within China the club held on to Zeng when they also made him a consultant within the club. This lasted until 1972 when

football club offered him the youth coach position before he would soon take over the senior side. Once again Zeng was quick to achieve success when he won the 1973 league title in his first season. He continued to make Beijing constant title contenders throughout his reign, which lasted close to ten years and despite not adding more silverware towards the club he would make sure his reign at the club would end on a high when the club won the 1982 league title before taking the

management position. With the national team the team easily qualified for the

1984 AFC Asian Cup The 1984 AFC Asian Cup was the 8th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were hosted by Singapore between 1 December and 16 December 198 ...

where he led the team to a runner-up position within the tournament. After a successful campaign the Chinese public were expecting more from the national team and after a good start in qualification for the 1986 FIFA World Cup the Chinese team were unexpected knocked out from qualification when they lost to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

who beat them 2-1 on March 19, 1985 in a game that would see Zeng fired.

Death

On 11 February 2016, Zeng died at his home in

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

, aged 86.

Honours

Manager

: 1960

: 1973, 1982

References

External links

Profile
at Sodasoccer.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeng, Xuelin 1929 births 2016 deaths Chinese football managers 1984 AFC Asian Cup managers Chinese footballers Bayi Football Team players Tianjin Jinmen Tiger F.C. players Hakka people People from Meixian District Association football goalkeepers Beijing Guoan F.C. managers China national football team managers