Zhang Chengdong (; ; born 9 February 1989) is a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

footballer who currently plays for Beijing Guoan in the

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 ...

Club career

Zhang Chengdong started his football career playing for

Liaoning Whowin Liaoning Football Club (), officially known as Liaoning Hongyun (), was a professional association football club with a long history in Chinese football. The club can predate their formation to 1953, when Shenyang government sports body joined ex ...

's youth academy until

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

side A.C. Milan considered him a promising enough prospect to train with them in 2004. After his short period with the club, he returned to Liaoning and was promoted to the club's first team, making his debut for the club on 21 May 2006 in a 5–0 loss against

Shandong Luneng Shandong Taishan Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Jinan, Shandong and their home stadium is th ...

. When the club was relegated in the 2008 season, Zhang's contract was up for renewal; and while he was considered as a long term star for the club, he could not agree upon a suitable contract which he believed was too low. Without a club, he returned home to train before going to Portugal to advertise his services until third tier side

Mafra Mafra is a Czech media group that publishes printed and internet media, headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic. It is a subsidiary of Agrofert holding conglomerate owned by trust of Andrej Babiš, the former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. ...

took him on a free transfer on 23 September 2009. He was quickly integrated into the team; however, it was only once he scored his first hat-trick on 21 January 2010 in a 4–3 loss against Sporting CP in the 2009-10 Taça de Portugal did he become noticed in the club. Zhang transferred to

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

side União Leiria in July 2010. He made his debut for the club on 16 August 2010 in a 0–0 draw against

Beira-Mar Sport Clube Beira-Mar () is a Portuguese sports club based in Aveiro, Portugal. Its football team currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal, the fourth national level, having gained promotion by winning the Aveiro FA First Division 2018/19 ...

, becoming the first Chinese footballer to play in the Primeira Liga. After his loan spell at the club, he was loaned out again, this time to Beira-Mar. Zhang impressed during his stint at Beira-Mar, scoring six goals in 26 appearances. After the 2011–12 season, Beira-Mar and several top tier sides were reportedly interested in signing Zhang on a permanent transfer. Many top tier Chinese teams wished to sign him as well, but Zhang decided to ply his trade elsewhere. In August 2012, Zhang transferred to

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

side

Eintracht Braunschweig Braunschweiger Turn- und Sportverein Eintracht von 1895 e.V., commonly known as Eintracht Braunschweig () or BTSV (), is a German association football, football and sports club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. The club was one of the founding ...

. He made his debut for the club on 15 September 2012 in a 1–0 win against

SSV Jahn Regensburg Sport- und Schwimmverein Jahn Regensburg e. V., commonly known as SSV Jahn Regensburg, Jahn Regensburg, SSV Jahn or simply Jahn is a German football club based in Regensburg, Bavaria. The club is based on a gymnastics club founded in 1886 a ...

. On 22 July 2013, Zhang transferred to

side Beijing Guoan. He made his debut for the club on 25 August 2013 in a 4–0 win against Dalian Aerbin. He scored his first goal for the club on 17 May 2014 in a 2–1 loss to

Shanghai Shenxin Shanghai Shenxin Football Club () was a professional football club that participated in China's football league system between 2003 and 2019 under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team was based in Jinshan District, Shangha ...

. On 21 July 2015, Zhang transferred to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

side Rayo Vallecano on loan for the 2015–16 season. He made his debut for the club on 5 December 2015 in a 2–0 win against Getafe in the

2015–16 Copa del Rey The 2015–16 Copa del Rey was the 114th staging of the Copa del Rey (including two seasons where two rival editions were played). Going into the tournament, the winners were assured a place for the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League Group stage. Howeve ...

. He made his league debut on 30 December 2015 in a 2–0 loss against

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

, becoming the first Chinese footballer to play in La Liga. On 13 January 2017, Zhang moved to fellow top tier side

Hebei China Fortune Hebei Football Club () is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League division under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Langfang, Hebei and their home stadium is the La ...

for a record-breaking domestic transfer fee. He made his debut for the club on 5 March 2017 in a 0–0 draw against Henan Jianye. He scored his first goal for the club on 29 April 2017 in a 4–0 win against Tianjin Teda. On 30 January 2022, Zhang returned to Beijing Guoan.

International career

Zhang made his debut for the Chinese national team on 3 March 2010 in a 2–0 loss against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

; however, the game was not recognised by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

. He made his official debut for China on 6 October 2011 in a 2–1 win against the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Career statistics

Club statistics

International statistics

References

External links

* *
Player stats at sohu.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Chengdong 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Baoding Chinese footballers Footballers from Hebei Chinese Super League players Liaoning F.C. players Beijing Guoan F.C. players Hebei F.C. players Primeira Liga players Segunda Divisão players C.D. Mafra players U.D. Leiria players S.C. Beira-Mar players 2. Bundesliga players La Liga players Eintracht Braunschweig players Rayo Vallecano players 2015 AFC Asian Cup players 2019 AFC Asian Cup players China international footballers Chinese expatriate footballers Chinese expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Chinese expatriate sportspeople in Germany Chinese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Spain Association football wingers