HONG KONG: Jack87 news today, Former Asian Player of the Year Zheng Zhi has been appointed head coach of eight-time Chinese Super League champion Guangzhou Football Club, the club announced on social media.
Zheng, who spent 11 and a half seasons at the club as a player, replaced Liu Zhiyu at the helm.
Guangzhou, currently third-to-last in the Chinese Super League standings, has won only once in 12 matches so far this season.
The role will be Zheng’s first time as head coach, although he has previously led the Guangzhou team on an interim basis.
The former midfielder was named asianbookie Player of the Year in 2013 after helping the club to the first of two Asian Champions League titles that year. They finished second in 2015.
Zheng, who ended his career in Guangzhou at the end of last season, joined the second-tier Chinese football team Guangzhou in 2011 from Scotland’s Celtic club.
Funded by property developer China Evergrande, the club won the Serie B, bk8 followed by seven consecutive Chinese Super League titles and eight Chinese Super League titles in nine seasons. The club’s last league title was in 2019.
Zheng also made 108 appearances for China before retiring after China failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup final.
He is also joined by former Guangzhou midfielders Huang Bowen and Mei Fang, bk8 malaysia who will serve as his assistant coaches.
