Sun Xiang

In this Chinese name, the family name is Sun.
Sun Xiang
孙祥
Sun in 2008
Personal information
Full name Sun Xiang
Date of birth (1982-01-15) 15 January 1982 (age 42)
Place of birth Shanghai, China
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Left back
Youth career
1995–2001 Shanghai 02
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2010 Shanghai Shenhua 136 (13)
2007 → PSV Eindhoven (loan) 5 (0)
2008–2009 → Austria Wien (loan) 19 (2)
2010–2014 Guangzhou 110 (3)
2015–2016 Shanghai SIPG 51 (0)
Total 321 (18)
International career
2000–2001 China U-20
2002–2003 China U-23
2002–2013 China 69 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sun Xiang (Chinese: 孙祥; pinyin: Sūn Xiáng; Mandarin pronunciation: [swə́n ɕjǎŋ]; born 15 January 1982) is a Chinese former professional footballer who played as a left back. He played for Shanghai Shenhua, Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai SIPG in his native country and spent time on loan at Dutch club PSV Eindhoven and Austrian club Austria Wien, he is the first Chinese player to play in the UEFA Champions League. At international level, he made 69 appearances for the China national team scoring 5 goals.

Club career

Shanghai Shenhua

Sun Xiang started his football career playing for Shanghai 02 before the club was taken over by Shanghai Shenhua. He was then promoted to the club's first team in the 2002 season along with his twin brother Sun Ji where they both quickly established themselves within the team. In the 2003 season, he became the club's first-choice left back and won the top tier title with the club.[2] In 2013 the Chinese Football Association revoked the league title after it was discovered the Shenhua General manager Lou Shifang had bribed officials to be bias to Shenhua in games that season.[3][4]

PSV Eindhoven

Sun, along with Sun Ji, attracted the interests of multiple clubs abroad and had trials with Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven in 2006, but PSV decided to not sign the pair. The club then decided to sign Sun on loan for the 2006–07 season with an option to sign him on a three-year contract at the end of the season. He made his debut for the club on 17 February 2007 in a 2–0 win against Heracles Almelo, becoming the first ever Chinese footballer to play in the Eredivisie. He made his European continental debut on 20 February 2007 in a 1–0 win against Arsenal, becoming the first ever Chinese player to play in the UEFA Champions League. Then manager Ronald Koeman remarked that Sun had an impressive debut and contributed to the game through his good vision and precise passing. After the end of his loan period, he was not offered a long-term contract with the club despite appeals from Sun to stay with the club.[5]

Austria Wien

On 1 July 2008, Sun was loaned to Austrian Bundesliga side Austria Wien on a one-year deal with the possibility of a one-year extension, becoming the first ever Chinese footballer to play in the Austrian Bundesliga.[6] He made his debut on 9 July 2008 in a 1–1 draw against SK Austria Kärnten.[7] This was followed by his first league goal for the club on 7 March 2009 in a 4–0 victory against LASK Linz.[8] When his loan period expired, he returned to Shanghai where he played for the remainder of the 2009 season.

Guangzhou Evergrande

On 28 April 2010, Sun announced that he gave up joining A-League side Sydney FC and transferred to second-tier side Guangzhou Evergrande instead.[9] He made his debut for the club alongside Zheng Zhi on 21 July 2010 in a 10–0 win against Nanjing Yoyo. He scored his first goal for the club on 18 September 2010 in a 2–1 win against Yanbian FC. In the 2010 season, he made fourteen appearances as Guangzhou finished first place in the second tier and won promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt. The following season Sun continued to be a major part of the club that invested heavily in improving the squad; and with the club bringing in two-time Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Player of the Year winner Darío Conca, the club won its first ever top tier title in the 2011 season.

Shanghai SIPG

On 5 January 2015, Sun transferred to fellow Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG.[10] He made his debut for the club on 7 March 2015 in a 2–1 win against Jiangsu Sainty. On 17 July 2016, Sun accidentally collided with Demba Ba and broke Ba's left leg in a 2–1 loss against Shanghai Shenhua.[11] In December 2016, it was revealed that Sun was diagnosed as highly aggressive B-cell lymphoma.[12] Sun did not clarify or confirm the report. On 6 February 2017, Shanghai SIPG announced Sun had left the club due to "physical problems".[13]

Career statistics

Club

As of 30 October 2016
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other[a] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Shanghai 02 2000 China League Two – – – –
2001 – – – –
Total
Shanghai Shenhua 2002 Chinese Jia-A League 25 2 1 0 – 3 0 2 0 31 2
2003 25 2 4 0 – – – 29 2
2004 Chinese Super League 20 0 4 0 – 3 0 3 0 30 0
2005 22 3 2 0 – – – 24 3
2006 15 2 1 0 – 2 0 – 18 2
2007 14 2 – – – – 14 2
2008 4 0 – – – – 4 0
2009 11 2 – – – – 11 2
2010 0 0 – – – – 0 0
Total 136 13 12 0 0 0 8 0 5 0 161 13
PSV Eindhoven (loan) 2006–07 Eredivisie 5 0 0 0 – 4 0 – 9 0
Austria Wien (loan) 2008–09 Austrian Bundesliga 19 2 4 1 – 4 0 – 27 3
Guangzhou Evergrande 2010 China League One 14 1 – – – – 14 1
2011 Chinese Super League 25 1 – – – – 25 1
2012 25 0 2 0 – 8 0 1 0 36 0
2013 23 1 4 0 – 14 0 4 0 45 1
2014 23 0 0 0 – 10 0 0 0 33 0
Total 110 3 6 0 0 0 32 0 5 0 153 3
Shanghai SIPG 2015 Chinese Super League 25 0 1 0 – – – 26 0
2016 26 0 1 0 – 7 0 – 34 0
Total 51 0 2 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 60 0
Career total 321 18 24 1 0 0 55 0 10 0 410 19
  1. ^ Includes A3 Champions Cup, Chinese FA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup

International goals

As of 6 October 2011
Scores and results list China's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sun goal.
List of international goals scored by Sun Xiang
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 19 June 2005 Helong Stadium, Changsha, China  Costa Rica 2–2 2–2 Friendly
2 31 July 2005 Daejeon World Cup Stadium, Daejeon, South Korea  South Korea 1–0 1–1 2005 East Asian Football Championship
3 11 October 2006 King Abdullah Stadium, Amman, Jordan  Palestine 2–0 2–0 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualifier
4 22 June 2008 Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia  Australia 1–0 1–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
5 6 October 2011 New Shenzhen Stadium, Shenzhen, China  United Arab Emirates 1–0 2–1 Friendly

Honours

Club

Shanghai Shenhua

PSV Eindhoven

Austria Wien

Guangzhou Evergrande

International

China

Individual

References

  1. ^ "FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2013: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 11 December 2013. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2013.
  2. ^ "China 2003". RSSSF. 18 April 2004. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  3. ^ "Details of soccer referee investigation released to public". China Daily. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  4. ^ "China Strips Shenhua of 2003 League Title, Bans 33 People for Life". english.cri.cn. 18 February 2013. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Dutch courage not enough for Sun Xiang". shanghaiist.com. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  6. ^ "Sun Xiang darf gegen Kärnten auflaufen: Arbeitsbewilligung & Freigabe eingetroffen". news.at. 9 July 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  7. ^ "AUSTRIA WIEN VS. AUSTRIA KÄRNTEN 1-1". soccerway.com. 9 July 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  8. ^ "AUSTRIA WIEN VS. LASK LINZ 4-0". soccerway.com. 7 March 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  9. ^ 现身中甲新贵恒大训练场 孙祥不出国门留守广州 (in Chinese). sports.sohu.com. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  10. ^ 上海上港官方宣布孙祥自由身加盟球队 (in Chinese). sports.sina.com. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  11. ^ Valente, Allan (17 July 2016). "Demba Ba suffers horrific leg break while playing for Shanghai Shenhua". Skysports.com. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  12. ^ "医学专家:若所曝病历真为孙祥 那他生命有危险". Netease. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  13. ^ "王燊超或出任上港新队长 孙祥因身体原因暂离队". Sohu. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  14. ^ "中甲最新积分榜:恒大稳胜摘联赛桂冠 南京有有降级". sports.sina.com.cn. 3 April 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  15. ^ "足协杯-张琳芃传射8024两球 恒大总分5-3贵州夺冠". Sports.sina.com.cn. 18 November 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2019.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by China national football team captain
2012 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Shanghai SIPG captain
2015–2016 		Succeeded by