Wu Chengying (;

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

: ''Wú Chéngyīng''; born 21 April 1975 in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

) is a Chinese former international football player who spent the majority of his career at

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 ...

where he won the league 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 ...

before moving to

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 ...

for a then Chinese record fee of 13,000,000

RMB The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022. ...

in 2003. Internationally he was a member of the Chinese national team where he participated in the

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

and

2000 AFC Asian Cup The 2000 AFC Asian Cup was the 12th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Lebanon between 12 and 29 O ...

as well also the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

Playing career

Wu Chengying emerged with future Chinese internationals

Shen Si Shen Si () (born 1 May 1973 in Shanghai) is a former Chinese international footballer who played as a left midfielder where he gained a reputation for his technical and free kick skills, which saw him become a runner-up in the 2004 Free Kick Mas ...

Xie Hui Xie Hui (謝晦) (390–426), courtesy name Xuanming (宣明), was a high-level general of the Chinese Liu Song dynasty, who, along with his colleagues Xu Xianzhi and Fu Liang, deposed Emperor Shao after the death of Emperor Wu (Liu Yu) due to ...

and

Qi Hong Qi Hong (; born June 3, 1976 in Shanghai) is a former Chinese international footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or shadow striker throughout his career. At Shanghai Shenhua he won the league and Chinese FA Cup with them before con ...

form

where he was predominantly used in the left back position. During his spell at Shanghai Shenhua the team claimed the 1995 Chinese Jia-A League title and the 1998

. In February 1998, he was loaned to

Dalian Wanda Wanda Group (), or the Dalian Wanda Group (), is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded in Dalian, Liaoning and headquartered in Beijing. It is a private property developer and owner of Wanda Cinemas and the Hoyts Group. With inve ...

for half a month for the 1997–98 Asian Club Championship and scored a goal against

Pohang Steelers The Pohang Steelers (Hangul: 포항 스틸러스) are a South Korean professional football club based in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province that compete in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. The Steelers were founded on 1 A ...

. He attracted the interests of Italian side

Calcio Como Como 1907, commonly referred to as Como, is an Italian football club based in Como, Lombardy, Italy. The club currently plays in Serie B, the second tier of Italian football, following promotion from the 2020–21 Serie C season. The club was fo ...

in January 2002 but the

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 ...

club failed to reach an agreement with Shanghai Shenhua. Wu Chengying instead joined

later in 2003 for 13,000,000

, which made him the highest Chinese transfer ever in Chinese football history. At Shanghai International he would see them come second in the 2003 league season and third in the following campaign. When his contract expired at the end of the 2006 league season, Wu decided to announce his retirement from playing.

International career

After his performances for Shanghai Shenhua saw him win the league title he was included on the squad that went to the

1996 AFC Asian Cup The 1996 AFC Asian Cup was the 11th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in the United Arab Emirates between 4 and 21 Decembe ...

and became a regular within the team. During

Bora Milutinović Velibor "Bora" Milutinović ( sr-Cyrl, Велибор Бора Милутиновић; born 7 September 1944) is a Serbian former professional footballer and manager. He has managed at five editions of the FIFA World Cup, tied for the record a ...

's reign as the Chinese head coach Wu Chengying became China's first choice left back despite having an indifferent relationship with several regular players such as

Ou Chuliang Ou Chuliang (; born 26 August 1968 in Guangzhou, Guangdong) is an assistant coach and former Chinese international football goalkeeper. As a player, he was goalkeeper for Guangdong Hongyuan, Shanghai Shenhua, Yunnan Hongta and Chongqing Qic ...

and

Li Jinyu Li Jinyu (; born 6 July 1977) is a former international player who is currently the head coach of Wuhan F.C., Wuhan. As a player he represented Liaoning Whowin and Shandong Luneng Taishan F.C., Shandong Luneng in the Chinese Super League and ...

, who described him as extremely introverted. Despite his indifferent relationship with his teammates Wu was a regular starter for the national team playing in the

and

until Bora Milutinović's reign as the Chinese national team ended.

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list China's goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

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 ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

: 1998

Individual

*Asian Goal of the Month: February 1998

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Chengying 1975 births Living people Chinese footballers Footballers from Shanghai China international footballers 2002 FIFA World Cup players 1996 AFC Asian Cup players 2000 AFC Asian Cup players Shanghai Shenhua F.C. players Beijing Renhe F.C. players Dalian Shide F.C. players Chinese Super League players Association football defenders