Wikipedia

Zhang Yuning (footballer, born 1997)

In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhang.

Zhang Yuning (Chinese: 张玉宁; pinyin: Zhāng Yùníng; born 5 January 1997) is a Chinese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan and the China national team.

Zhang Yuning
张玉宁
Zhang in 2018
Personal information
Full name Zhang Yuning[1]
Date of birth (1997-01-05) 5 January 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Cangnan, Zhejiang, China
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Beijing Guoan
Number 9
Youth career
2008–2014 Hangzhou Greentown
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015 Hangzhou Greentown 0 (0)
2015–2017 Vitesse 24 (3)
2016–2017 → Jong Vitesse (loan) 9 (1)
2017–2019 West Bromwich Albion 0 (0)
2017–2018 → Werder Bremen (loan) 0 (0)
2018–2019 → ADO Den Haag (loan) 6 (0)
2019– Beijing Guoan 116 (47)
International career‡
2011–2012 China U-16 9 (6)
2015–2016 China U-19 9 (6)
2015–2020 China U-23 32 (15)
2016– China 36 (7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 October 2024
Zhang Yuning
Simplified Chinese张玉宁
Traditional Chinese張玉寧
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhāng Yùníng
IPA[ʈʂáŋ ŷ nǐŋ]

Club career

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Hangzhou Greentown

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Zhang started his football career when he joined Hangzhou Greentown's youth academy in 2008. Due to several good performances for the academy, he was called up to the Chinese national under-17 team for the 2012 AFC U-16 Championship and scored two goals in three matches during the tournament.[3] During the 2015 season, he was promoted to the club's first team, making his debut and scoring his first goal for the club on 13 May 2015 in a 1–1 draw against Wuhan Hongxing in the 2015 Chinese FA Cup.[4]

Vitesse

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In July 2015, Zhang transferred to Eredivisie side Vitesse, signing a two-year contract.[5] He made his debut for the club on 13 February 2016 in a 3–0 win against SC Heerenveen, coming on as a substitute for Valeri Qazaishvili in the 86th minute.[6] On 6 March 2016, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 win against Roda JC.[7] He scored his second goal of the season on 8 May 2016 in a 2–2 draw against Twente.[8] Zhang was given the number 9 shirt for the 2016-17 season;[9] however, he mainly played as a back-up to Ricky van Wolfswinkel throughout the season. On 26 October 2016, he scored the opening goal in a 4-1 win against RKC Waalwijkin the second round of the 2016-17 KNVB Cup.[10] He scored his only league goal of the season on 3 December 2016 in a 3–1 home win against PEC Zwolle.[11] On 31 March 2017, Zhang extended his contract with the club until 30 June 2018.[12] He was an unused substitute as Vitesse won 2–0 against AZ Alkmaar in the 2017 KNVB Cup Final on 30 April 2017.[13]

West Bromwich Albion

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In July 2017, Zhang transferred to Premier League side West Bromwich Albion on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee and was immediately loaned to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen for two years.[14]

Werder Bremen (loan)

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Zhang failed to establish himself with the first team and appeared on the bench just twice during the 2017-18 season. He was an unused substitute in a home match against Borussia Dortmund on 29 April 2018 and an away match against Mainz 05 on 12 May 2018.[15][16] His loan spell was subsequently cut short in June 2018.[17]

ADO Den Haag (loan)

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On 22 June 2018, Zhang was loaned out to Eredivisie side ADO Den Haag for the 2018-19 season.[18] He suffered a ligament tear on his right ankle on 24 August 2018 when he represented the Chinese under-23 national team during the 2018 Asian Games, ruling him out for three months.[19] He made his debut for the club on 24 November 2018 in a 3–2 away win against PEC Zwolle.[20] After playing six league matches for the club without scoring, his loan spell was cut short for the second time on 22 February 2019.[21]

Beijing Guoan

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On 24 February 2019, Zhang transferred to Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan.[22] On 1 March 2019, he made his debut for the club in a 1–0 away win against Wuhan Zall.[23] He scored his first goal for the club on 9 March 2019 in a 4–0 away win against Chongqing Lifan.

International career

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Zhang made his debut for the Chinese national team on 3 June 2016 in a 4–2 win against Trinidad and Tobago, scoring twice and assisting a goal on his debut.[24]

Zhang was named in China's squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar and came on as a substitute in their opening match against Tajikistan on 13 January 2024.[25]

During the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Thailand on 6 June 2024, he was involved in a rather controversial goal. China were trailing behind by one goal when Behram Abduweli, the substitute, took a shot from a deflected header by his teammate and hit the net at the 79th minute; most sources attributed the goal to Behram but FIFA and AFC considered Zhang to be the scorer when the ball was believed to have deflected off his back, albeit unintentionally and Zhang being in a completely passive position.[26]

Personal life

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Zhang comes from a devout Christian family and has stated that Kaká is his footballing role model.[27]

His younger brother, Zhang Yuquan is also a professional footballer currently playing as a goalkeeper at Shenzhen Peng City.

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 2 November 2024[28]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hangzhou Greentown 2015 Chinese Super League 0 0 1 1 – – 1 1
Vitesse 2015–16 Eredivisie 8 2 0 0 0 0 – 8 2
2016–17 Eredivisie 16 1 3 1 – – 19 2
Total 24 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 27 4
Jong Vitesse (loan) 2016–17 Tweede Divisie 9 1 – – – 9 1
Werder Bremen (loan) 2017–18 Bundesliga 0 0 0 0 – – 0 0
ADO Den Haag (loan) 2018–19 Eredivisie 6 0 0 0 – – 6 0
Beijing Guoan 2019 Chinese Super League 25 8 1 0 6 0 0[a] 0 32 8
2020 18 6 1 0 6 2 – 25 8
2021 20 10 0 0 0 0 – 20 10
2022 30 19 0 0 – – 30 19
2023 6 0 0 0 – – 6 0
2024 17 4 2 2 – – 19 6
Total 116 47 4 2 12 2 0 0 132 51
Career total 155 51 8 4 12 2 0 0 174 57
  1. ^ Appearances in Chinese FA Super Cup

International

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As of 15 October 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
China 2016 6 2
2017 3 0
2018 0 0
2019 1 0
2020 0 0
2021 8 3
2022 4 0
2023 2 0
2024 12 2
Total 36 7
Scores and results list China's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zhang goal.
List of international goals scored by Zhang Yuning
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 3 June 2016 Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Qinhuangdao, China   Trinidad and Tobago 2–0 4–2 Friendly
2 3–0
3 11 June 2021 Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates   Maldives 4–0 5–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 15 June 2021   Syria 3–1 3–1
5 7 October 2021   Vietnam 1–0 3–2 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 6 June 2024 Shenyang Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, Shenyang, China   Thailand 1–1 1–1 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 15 October 2024 Qingdao Youth Football Stadium, Qingdao, China   Indonesia 2–0 2–1 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

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Vitesse

References

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  1. ^ "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Yuning Zhang". SV Werder Bremen. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  3. ^ "张玉宁完美处子秀助绿城晋级 97年出生信仰基督" (in Chinese). Sina. 14 May 2015.
  4. ^ "足协杯第三轮 绿城客场点胜宏兴" (in Chinese). Hangzhou Greentown F.C. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  5. ^ "绿城18岁小将留洋欧洲 小张玉宁赴荷甲维特斯" (in Chinese). Sina. 2 July 2015.
  6. ^ "HET DEBUUT VAN YUNING ZHANG IN 10 BEELDEN" (in Dutch). SBV Vitesse. 13 February 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  7. ^ "Roda JC Kerkrade vs. Vitesse (1 : 2)". OneFootball. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  8. ^ "GELIJKSPEL NIET GENOEG VOOR VITESSE" (in Dutch). SBV Vitesse. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  9. ^ "LEWIS BAKER KEERT TERUG NAAR VITESSE" (in Dutch). SBV Vitesse. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  10. ^ "VITESSE TEN KOSTE VAN RKC WAALWIJK NAAR DERDE BEKERRONDE" (in Dutch). SBV Vitesse. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  11. ^ "ZEGE MET DRIE GOALS VOOR VITESSE" (in Dutch). SBV Vitesse. 3 December 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  12. ^ "Aflopende contracten bij Vitesse" (in Dutch). SBV Vitesse. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  13. ^ "AZ 0 - 2 VITESSE". soccerway. 30 April 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  14. ^ "Albion recruit future prospect Zhang". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  15. ^ "WERDER BREMEN 1 - 1 BORUSSIA DORTMUND". soccerway. 29 April 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  16. ^ "MAINZ 05 1 - 2 WERDER BREMEN". soccerway. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Zhang verlässt Werder wieder". Buten und Binnen (in German). Radio Bremen. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  18. ^ "ADO DEN HAAG VERWELKOMT YUNING ZHANG" (in Dutch). ADO Den Haag. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  19. ^ "腾讯专访张玉宁：一定会踢上比赛，梦想欧冠以及在国家队证明自己" (in Chinese). ADO Den Haag (WeChat subscription). 19 October 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  20. ^ "ADO DEN HAAG KNOKT ÉN VOETBALT ZICH LANGS PEC ZWOLLE" (in Dutch). ADO Den Haag. 24 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  21. ^ "WEGEN ADO DEN HAAG EN YUNING ZHANG SCHEIDEN PER DIRECT" (in Dutch). ADO Den Haag. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  22. ^ "北京国安官方宣布张玉宁加盟 身披9号征战中超" (in Chinese). Sina.com. 24 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  23. ^ "张玉宁中超首秀亮点够足 强力支点能为国安干大事" (in Chinese). Sina.com. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  24. ^ "热身-张玉宁两球姜宁闪击 奇兵轰死角国足4-2胜" (in Chinese). Sina. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  25. ^ "Group A: China PR 0–0 Tajikistan". Asian Football Confederation. 13 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  26. ^ english.news.cn — News
  27. ^ Wang, Ruth (8 January 2016). ""Christian Faith inspires me and My Career Goal is Ricardo Kaká." Says Footballer Zhang Yuning". China Christian Daily. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  28. ^ a b Zhang Yuning at Soccerway. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
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