Zhang Chen (; born on December 17, 1981) is a Chinese

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 plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Club career

Zhang Chen started his professional soccer career after he graduated from the Shanghai Pudong youth team in 2001 to the senior team and was part of the squad that won promoted to the top tier of the Chinese soccer league system at the renamed

Shanghai International Beijing Chengfeng Football Club () was a professional Chinese football club that last participated in the Chinese League One under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team was based in Fengtai District, Beijing and their hom ...

. After several seasons he transferred to top tier club

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 ...

in the 2006 season as reserve choice goalkeeper. However, before he was allowed to establish himself within the squad Shanghai Shenhua merged with

Shanghai United F.C. Shanghai United F.C (Simplified Chinese: 上海联城足球俱乐部) was a Chinese professional football club based in Shanghai, who last played in the 16,000 seater Yuanshen Sports Centre Stadium in the Chinese Super League. The club was found ...

that brought about an influx of players and Zhang Chen found himself competing with significantly more players for places. Despite this Zhang Chen continued to play for Shanghai and was rewarded with his persistence when he was named as the first choice goalkeeper for Shanghai Shenhua at the beginning of the 2009 season against

Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military services of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A military component of the Ministry of Defence (MINDE ...

in the

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 ...

. However his reign was short lived and he was replaced by

Qiu Shengjiong Qiu Shengjiong (; born 1 September 1985, in Shanghai) is a Chinese people, Chinese association football, football Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper who currently plays for Shanghai Huajiao. Club career Qiu Shengjiong, nicknamed "Bi ...

after a disappointing performance against

Kashima Antlers are a football club in Kashima, Ibaraki, currently playing in the J1 League, top tier of Japanese professional football leagues. The name ''Antlers'' is derived from the city name, Kashima, which literally means "deer island". The club has fi ...

where Shanghai lost an AFC Champions League game. As the season progressed he would be relegated to third choice goalkeeper and at the beginning of the 2010 league season he would move to second tier club

Pudong Zobon F.C. Shanghai Zobon F.C. (Simplified Chinese: 上海中邦足球俱乐部) is a defunct football club that predominantly competed in the China League One division. Originally founded by Zhu Jun, the CEO of The9 Limited as an nondescript amateur club, ...

to gain more playing time. Zhang transferred to

Shenyang Dongjin Shenyang Dongjin Football Club () was a Chinese football club based in Shenyang, Liaoning and their home stadium is the Shenyang Urban Construction University Stadium that has a seating capacity of 12,000. History Founded as Jinan Fulu Football ...

in February 2011 before another transfer to

Chengdu Blades Chengdu Tiancheng F.C. () was a Chinese professional football club based in Chengdu, China who last played in the 26,000 seater Shuangliu Sports Center in the China League One division. The club was founded on 26 February 1996 and was formerly k ...

in January 2012.

Honours

*Chinese Jia B league: 2001

References

External links

Player Profile
at Shanghai Shenhua Website
Player Profile
at Football-lineups website
Player Profile
at Sodasoccer.com 1981 births Living people Chinese footballers Footballers from Shanghai Beijing Renhe F.C. players Shanghai Shenhua F.C. players Pudong Zobon players Shenyang Dongjin players Chengdu Tiancheng F.C. players Chinese Super League players China League One players Association football goalkeepers {{PRChina-footy-bio-stub