Zhang Lei (; born April 6, 1985, in

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 ...

) is a Chinese

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player 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 Lei began his professional football career with

Shenzhen Kingway Shenzhen Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club that competes in the Chinese Super League. The team is based in Shenzhen, Guangdong and their home stadium is the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre that has a seating capacity of ...

where he was the team's understudy goalkeeper to Xiao Jianjia. Despite being in his debut season he would still play in several games throughout the season with his first league game coming against Shanghai Shenhua on July 26, 2006, in a 1–0 defeat. His performances within his first few games were impressive enough for him to fight for the first choice goalkeeping position within the next season, however he was unable to hold on to this position and Xiao Jianjia regained his place within the team. The 2008 league season saw him once again play understudy throughout the season and while Xiao Jianjia was nearing retirement Shenzhen brought in

Cheng Yuelei Cheng Yuelei (; ; born 28 October 1987 in Beijing) is a Chinese footballer who currently plays for Meizhou Hakka in the Chinese Super League. Club career Cheng Yuelei began his football career at Sichuan Guancheng in 2001 when he joined their ...

as his replacement at the end of the season. Zhang would then leave for Beijing Guoan where he spent the entire season as their third choice goalkeeper and did not receive any playing time. Zhang would join

Changsha Ginde Guangzhou City Football Club (广州城) is a Chinese professional Association football, football club that competes in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Guangzhou, Guangdon ...

to restart his career and was immediately promoted to the team's first choice goalkeeping position after Chinese international

Song Zhenyu Song Zhenyu (; Pinyin: ''Sòng Zhènyú'') (born September 21, 1981) is a Chinese former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Despite being born in Dalian, Liaoning Song Zhenyu would move to Chengdu in the Sichuan province as a boy ...

exited the club. While he saw significant playing time through the

2010 Chinese Super League The 2010 Chinese Super League season was the seventh season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League, the seventeenth season of a professional association football league and the 49th top-tier league season in China. The teams ranked ...

season the club often lingered near the bottom of the table and Zhang wasn't able to help guide the club away from the relegation zone at the end of the season. At the beginning of the 2011 league season he would join second tier club

Chongqing Lifan Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic () is a defunct Chinese football club. The team was based in Chongqing. The club was founded in 1995 as Wuhan Qianwei before making their debut in the newly developed fully professional Chinese football league system ...

. With them he would go on to win the division title and promotion to the top tier at the end of the 2014 league season. On 3 January 2016, Zhang 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

Hangzhou Greentown Zhejiang Professional Football Club (), commonly referred to as Zhejiang FC or simply Zhejiang, is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (C ...

. He would make his competitive debut for them in the club's first league game of the season on March 6, 2016, against

Changchun Yatai F.C. Changchun Yatai Football Club () is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Changchun, Jilin and their home stadi ...

in a 2–1 victory. Within the season he would lose his place to

Zou Dehai Zou Dehai (; born 27 February 1993, in Dalian) is a Chinese footballer who plays for Beijing Guoan in the Chinese Super League. Club career Zou Dehai started his professional football career in 2011 when he was loaned to Wenzhou Provenza's squ ...

and see the club relegated at the end of the 2016 campaign. On 23 February 2017, Zhang was loaned to League One side Yunnan Lijiang until 31 December 2017.

Honours

Beijing Guoan *

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

China 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 ...

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 ...

References

External links

Player profile
at sodasoccer.com
Player stats
at sohu.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Lei 1985 births Living people Men's association football goalkeepers Chinese men's footballers Footballers from Tianjin Shenzhen F.C. players Beijing Guoan F.C. players Changsha Ginde players Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic F.C. players Zhejiang Professional F.C. players Yunnan Flying Tigers F.C. players Chinese Super League players China League One players