Official farewell! The national football team will hold a retirement ceremony for Zheng Zhi and lock in 108 games
On the 16th and 20th of this month, the national football team will usher in two warm-up matches against Myanmar and Palestine at the Dalian Suoyu Bay Football Stadium. Zhi held a retirement ceremony. So far, Zheng Zhi has played 108 games for the Chinese team, ranking fifth in the list of times he has played for the country.
Zheng Zhi is one of the top players in Chinese football and the veteran captain of the Chinese national team. On June 2, 2018, in the warm-up match between the national football team and Thailand, Zheng Zhi completed the 100th game of the national football team. On January 25, 2019, the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup against Iran was Zheng Zhi's last national game team game. Statistics show that Zheng Zhi currently has a record of 108 appearances for the national team. In the league, Zheng Zhi's last appearance was on January 1, 2022, in the 21st round of the 2021 Super League match between Guangzhou and Changchun Yatai. Although Zheng Zhi was still on the team list in the 2022 season, he did not play. In 2023, after Jankovic took over the national football team, Zheng Zhi served as the assistant coach of the Chinese national team.
After the match against Iran in the Asian Cup, Zheng Zhi as a player has basically faded out of the national team's lineup. In addition, during the top 40 Qatar World Preliminaries, although Zheng Zhi missed the competition, he put on a team vest for a considerable part of the games-if there is an accident or need in the game, then Zheng Zhi can come forward at any time and return to the team. to the center of the field.
In recent years, the Chinese Football Association has insisted on holding retirement ceremonies or awarding retired jerseys to retired players who have played for the national team. The purpose is also to increase the sense of ceremony and honor of the national football team. Regrettably, due to the epidemic, the last time the national football team played an international game at home was in Suzhou in May 2021 in the World Preliminary Asian Top 40 match against Guam. Since then, the national football team has not had a home game, so they have not been able to give him a ceremony. As a meritorious captain and as an assistant coach of the national team, the Chinese Football Association held a retirement ceremony for Zheng Zhi on June 16, which was naturally very appropriate and heartwarming, and it also witnessed the continuation and inheritance of Chinese football players. In the words of relevant people from the Chinese Football Association and the national team, "For such a model player, we have no reason not to hold a decent retirement ceremony for Zheng Zhi."
