33·Legends

‹ All XIs

China

The thirty-three greatest. Build your eleven, then settle the duels.

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The 33 of China

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1 SJ 84 Sun Jihai 80 caps · Dalian Shide, Manchester CityOn 26 October 2002 at Birmingham, Sun rose to head Manchester City in front after 24 minutes, the first goal an East Asian player had scored in the Premier League. Four Chinese league titles with Dalian between 1996 and 2001, the 2001 FA Cup, 130 appearances for Manchester City, 80 caps, the 2002 World Cup and a runners-up medal at the 2004 Asian Cup preceded his induction into English football's Hall of Fame in 2015. RB1996–2015

84 Zheng Zhi 76 caps · Shenzhen, Shandong TaishanTianhe Stadium, 9 November 2013: 1-1 with FC Seoul, 3-3 on aggregate, away goals, and Zheng Zhi lifting the first AFC Champions League a Chinese club had ever won. Asian Footballer of the Year that same season, ten league titles across three clubs, 108 caps for China, a place in the 2004 Asian Cup Team of the Tournament, and two seasons at Charlton in between. CB2004–13

3 FZ 83 Fan Zhiyi 106 caps · Shanghai Shenhua, Crystal PalaceShanghai Shenhua used their centre-back as a stand-in striker in 1995 and he ended the year as the Chinese league's top scorer on fifteen goals, and in 1998 he and Sun Jihai became the first Chinese footballers in England. Asian Footballer of the Year in 2001, the first Chinese winner, three times Chinese Player of the Year, a league title and FA Cup with Shanghai Shenhua, 106 caps with 17 goals, and China's one World Cup, in 2002. CB1995–2002

4 HH 83 Hao Haidong 106 caps · 41 goals · Bayi Football Team, Dalian ShideHis first season at Dalian in 1997 ended with the league title and both the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball, and the nickname that stuck was the Chinese Alan Shearer. He remains China's record international scorer from 106 caps, with five league titles at Dalian, a title and a cup earlier at Bayi, three Jia-A top-scorer awards in 1997, 1998 and 2001, Footballer of the Year in 1998 and silver at the 2004 Asian Cup. CM1997–2004

5 GG 82 Gu Guangming 7 caps · Guangdong Hongyuan, TuS KoblenzThey called him the Weatherfish, for the way he wriggled out of corners where there was no room left, and in 1987 he carried that to Darmstadt 98 and 107 league games across five seasons in the 2. Bundesliga. Runner-up at the 1984 Asian Cup and third in 1980, AFC All-Star in 1985, a Chinese league title with Guangdong in 1979, and 50 caps with 12 goals. CAM1979–87

82 Wu Lei Shanghai Port, RCD Espanyol de BarcelonaA substitute at Camp Nou on 4 January 2020, he equalised in the 88th minute for Espanyol and became the first Chinese player to score against Barcelona, in a 2-2 draw. Chinese Super League titles in 2018 and 2023, Golden Boots in 2018 and 2024, the league's all-time leading scorer, a single-season record of 31 goals, Asian Cup team of the tournament in 2019, and past 100 caps with 36 goals. LM2018–24

7 LT 81 Li Tie 92 caps · Liaoning, EvertonHe started all three group games at the 2002 World Cup, still China's only appearance at the tournament, and spent that same season at Everton, where David Moyes used him 29 times in the Premier League. Ninety-two caps, that World Cup, a China League One title with Liaoning Whowin in 2009 and a seventh-place Everton finish make up the playing record; a 2024 conviction for bribery and match-fixing brought a 20-year sentence and a lifetime ban. CDM2002–24

8 RZ 81 Rong Zhixing In 1979 a journalist named Qiu Zhenqi gave Chinese football a phrase of its own, the Zhixing style, coined for a man who went a whole career without a yellow or red card and never argued a referee's decision. Third at the 1976 Asian Cup, bronze at the 1978 Asian Games, a national league title with Guangdong in 1979, three straight years among China's top ten athletes, and the AFC's Golden Star Award in 2013. CAM1976–2013

9 JX 80 Jia Xiuquan 55 caps · Bayi Football Team, FK PartizanThe 1984 Asian Cup ended with China beaten 2-0 by Saudi Arabia in the final and their centre-back walking off as both joint top scorer, on three goals, and most valuable player of the tournament. Two Chinese league titles with Bayi in 1981 and 1986, China's Golden Ball in 1983, 1984 and 1986, 55 caps with the armband from 1987, and firsts for a Chinese player in both the UEFA Cup and the J.League. CB1981–87

10 LW 80 Li Weifeng 112 caps · Shenzhen, Shanghai ShenhuaBetween 1998 and 2011 he answered China's call 112 times, more than anyone else in the country's history, and started at centre-back against Costa Rica and Turkey at the 2002 World Cup. Shenzhen's 2004 title, the first Chinese Super League championship ever awarded, is his, along with the 2009 Korean FA Cup at Suwon Samsung Bluewings, a runners-up medal at the 2004 Asian Cup and four Chinese Team of the Year selections. CB1998–2011

80 Shao Jiayi 40 caps · 8 goals · Beijing Guoan, TSV 1860 MünchenTwo goals against Indonesia on 21 July 2004 and another past Iran in the semi-final carried him into the All-Star team of the Asian Cup China hosted and then lost in the Beijing final. Runner-up there and fourth in 2000, a place in the 2002 World Cup squad, 40 caps and eight goals for China, and nine years in Germany that included 100 league games for Energie Cottbus. CM2000–04

12 YC 80 Yang Chen China went through the 2002 World Cup without scoring, and the nearest they came was his volley smacking the post against Turkey in a 3-0 defeat. First Chinese footballer to play in the Bundesliga, 21 goals in 94 games for Eintracht Frankfurt between 1998 and 2002, Chinese Footballer of the Year in 2000, a Chinese league title with Shenzhen Jianlibao in 2004, 35 caps with 11 goals, and Asian Games bronze in 1998. SS1998–2004

80 Zhang Linpeng 48 caps · Shanghai Port, GuangzhouChinese fans called him Zhangmos for the resemblance to Sergio Ramos, and on 9 November 2013 he played the 1-1 second leg at Tianhe that carried Guangzhou Evergrande past FC Seoul on away goals. Asia's biggest club prize came twice, in 2013 and 2015, on top of eight Chinese Super League championships at Guangzhou and three more at Shanghai Port, three FA Cups, 105 caps across four Asian Cups and two ACL Dream Team places. RB2013–15

14 FX 79 Feng Xiaoting Sichuan First City, Dalian ShideAt 17 he took the armband at Sichuan Guancheng, the youngest club captain professional Chinese football has had, and the same authority carried him through nine seasons of Guangzhou's title years. Two AFC Champions League crowns in 2013 and 2015, eight Chinese Super League titles between 2011 and 2019, three FA Cups, Chinese Footballer of the Year in 2017 and 76 caps for China. CB2011–19

15 GL 79 Gao Lin Shanghai Shenhua, GuangzhouNearly four years passed between his China debut in July 2005 and his first international goal, and when it finally came on 21 January 2009 he took three in one night against Vietnam. He finished with 109 caps and 22 goals for China, two AFC Champions League titles in 2013 and 2015, eight Chinese Super League championships and the Guangzhou Evergrande club scoring record. LM2005–15

16 JJ 79 Jiang Jin 51 caps · Bayi Football Team, Tianjin Jinmen TigerAll three of China's World Cup matches in June 2002 were played in front of him, and he picked the ball out of his net nine times while the team ahead of him never scored. Best goalkeeper of the 2000 Asian Cup and of the 1998 Asian Games, where China took bronze, he also won the 1990 Chinese FA Cup with Bayi and finished on 51 caps. GK1990–2002

17 LJ 79 Li Jinyu Liaoning, A.S. Nancy-LorraineShandong's 2006 double ran through him, 26 league goals in a single season and a Golden Boot he had already won in 2002 and would take again a year later. Three Chinese Super League titles in 2006, 2008 and 2010, two FA Cups, runner-up at the 2004 Asian Cup, 24 goals in 70 caps for China and the most league goals in Chinese professional history. ST2002–10

18 LM 79 Li Ming Dalian went through the entire 1996 Jia-A season without losing a league match, and Li Ming was its first choice right midfielder, one club from 1989 to 2005. Eight league titles and three FA Cups came out of those years, along with 86 caps for China, second place at the 2004 Asian Cup, third in 1992 and Asian Games silver in 1994. CAM1989–2005

19 PW 79 Peng Weiguo 53 caps · 11 goals · Guangzhou, Chongqing Liangjiang AthleticWhen Chinese football turned professional in 1994, he wore the captain's armband at Guangzhou Apollo and took them to second place in that first Jia-A season, six points behind Dalian Wanda. He took bronze at the 1992 Asian Cup and silver at the 1994 Asian Games, and between 1992 and 1997 he scored 11 goals in 53 games for China. CM1992–97

20 WC 79 Wu Chengying 52 caps · Shanghai Shenhua, Dalian ShideA loan to Dalian Wanda put him in the Asian Club Championship, where his goal against Pohang Steelers in February 1998 was voted the best in Asia that month. Champion of Jia-A with Shanghai Shenhua in 1995, winner of the 1998 FA Cup, 52 caps between 1996 and 2002, both international goals from the 2001 qualifying run and the number four shirt in Bora Milutinović's World Cup squad. LB1995–2002

21 FY 78 Fu Yubin 15 caps · Liaoning, Chengdu TianchengChinese club football had no continental champion until 29 April 1990, when Liaoning drew 1-1 with Nissan Yokohama to seal a 3-2 aggregate win in the Asian Club Championship final. Fu was the club's goalkeeper from 1983 to 1994, taking seven Jia-A titles, two Chinese FA Cups and that Asian crown from it, plus 15 caps for China and third place at the 1992 Asian Cup. GK1983–94

22 ML 78 Ma Lin Liaoning's centre forward through the campaign that ended on 29 April 1990 with a 3-2 aggregate win over Nissan Yokohama, he made his club the first from China to be crowned champion of Asia. Six league titles between 1985 and 1993 came with that Asian Club Championship, the FA Cups of 1984 and 1986, a silver medal at the 1984 Asian Cup and 21 goals in 45 games for China. ST1984–93

23 QH 78 Qi Hong 39 caps · Shanghai Shenhua, Guizhou RenheThree times in the autumn of 2001 his name went on the scoresheet in World Cup qualifying: inside twenty minutes against the UAE in Shenyang on 25 August, breaking the deadlock in Muscat six days later, then the only goal in Abu Dhabi on 27 September. A Jia-A title with Shanghai Shenhua in 1995, the 1998 FA Cup, 11 goals in 39 caps and a place in the squad that qualified for the 2002 World Cup. CDM1995–2002

24 SM 78 Su Maozhen 53 caps · 27 goals · Shandong TaishanEverything landed in 1999: Shandong took the league and the FA Cup, Su finished as the division's top scorer, and the season closed with him named Chinese Footballer of the Year. For China he scored 27 goals in 53 appearances, better than one every other match, reached the semi-finals of the 2000 Asian Cup and played once at the 2002 World Cup, against Costa Rica. ST1999–2002

25 SX 78 Sun Xiang 69 caps · Shanghai Shenhua, FK Austria WienOn 20 February 2007 he played for PSV against Arsenal and became the first Chinese footballer to appear in the Champions League, three days after becoming the first to play in the Eredivisie. Home again, he won four Chinese Super League titles in a row with Guangzhou Evergrande from 2011 and the 2013 AFC Champions League, and he finished runner-up with China at the 2004 Asian Cup in a career of 69 caps. LB2004–13

26 WX 78 Wu Xi He had given Jiangsu 207 league matches by the night of 12 November 2020, when they beat Guangzhou Evergrande over two legs for the only championship the club would ever hold, and three months later Jiangsu no longer existed. That 2020 Chinese Super League title, three Team of the Year selections in 2015, 2016 and 2019, 90 caps and nine goals for China, and the armband at the 2023 Asian Cup. CM2015–23

27 ZC 78 Zeng Cheng Henan, GuangzhouOn 9 November 2013 he stood in the Guangzhou goal at Tianhe with 55,847 watching, and a 1-1 draw with FC Seoul was enough to take Evergrande through on away goals, the first Chinese club champions of Asia since Liaoning in 1990. He won the Champions League again in 2015, six Chinese Super League titles, and was named the country's goalkeeper of the year in 2013, 2015 and 2016. GK1990–2016

28 ZJ 78 Zhao Junzhe 71 caps · LiaoningAgainst Brazil on 8 June 2002 his shot came back off the post, and that remains as close as China have come to scoring at a World Cup. He gave Liaoning nineteen seasons and 405 league games before retiring in October 2016, was named Chinese footballer of the year in 2004, made the team of the tournament as China finished runners-up at that summer's Asian Cup, and won 71 caps. CDM2002–16

29 LH 77 Liu Haiguang 58 caps · 20 goals · Shanghai Shenhua, FK PartizanIn 1988 he and Jia Xiuquan left Shanghai for Partizan Belgrade, among the first Chinese footballers to play club football in Europe, and he left with three goals from six appearances. Runner-up at the 1984 Asian Cup in Singapore, a Yugoslav Cup with Partizan, the Chinese FA Cup with Shanghai in 1991, 20 goals in 58 caps and a spell as China's all-time leading scorer before Hao Haidong passed him. ST1984–91

30 XY 77 Xie Yuxin 120 caps · 11 goals · Guangdong Hongyuan, Guangzhou MatsunichiAt eighteen he left for PEC Zwolle in 1987, among the first Chinese footballers to turn professional in Europe, and the following December he scored twice against Syria as China won 3-0 in Qatar. He finished with 42 caps and eight goals for China, a place in the team of the tournament at the 1988 Asian Cup, bronze in 1992 and silver at the 1994 Asian Games. RM1987–94

31 XY 77 Xu Yunlong 72 caps · Beijing GuoanSeventeen seasons in Beijing Guoan green produced 415 league appearances, and he was the centre back wearing the armband when the club finally won its first championship in 2009. He had already taken the 2003 FA Cup and Super Cup, scored against Qatar as China reached the 2004 Asian Cup final, won the 2005 East Asian Championship, and was chosen in seven Super League teams of the year. CB2003–09

77 Zhang Yuning SBV Vitesse, Zhejiang ProfessionalOn 14 November 2024 he waited until the 91st minute in Bahrain, then scored the only goal of the night, eight years after marking his China debut against Trinidad and Tobago with two goals and an assist at 19. Golden Boot in the 2022 Chinese Super League with 19 goals, Chinese Footballer of the Year that season, 63 league goals for Beijing Guoan and 10 goals in 49 caps as China's captain. SS2022–24

33 XG 76 Xu Genbao Bayi Football TeamOne training session in 2003 was enough: Xu watched Wu Lei, then eleven and turned away elsewhere for being too small, and took him into the Chongming academy he had founded two years earlier. His own playing career was cut short by the Cultural Revolution, leaving four caps and a 1974 league title with Bayi; as a coach he won championships with China B in 1989, Shanghai Shenhua in 1995 and Dalian Wanda in 1998. RM1974–2003

About this XI

The three highest rated names in China's pool are Sun Jihai, Zheng Zhi and Fan Zhiyi. The 33 covers 3 goalkeepers, 10 defenders, 14 midfielders and 6 forwards. Sun Jihai leads the pool at 84 overall. Pick a formation, drag your eleven onto the pitch, then settle the duels below. Your votes reorder the people's ranking of these 33 in real time.

Who is the greatest China footballer of all time?

In the 33 Legends editorial ranking, Sun Jihai leads China with an overall rating of 84. The editorial top five: Sun Jihai, Zheng Zhi, Fan Zhiyi, Hao Haidong, Gu Guangming. The people's ranking on this page moves with every duel vote and can disagree.

How were these 33 China players chosen?

The pool covers every position across China's football history. Ratings weigh peak level, longevity, honours and historical standing, then the full methodology page explains the tiers. Fan votes in the duels build a second, independent ranking.

Which China players reach the Immortal tier or higher?

None yet. Sun Jihai leads the China pool at 84, in the Icon tier.

Can I build and share my own China all-time XI?

Yes. Pick one of eight formations, drag any of the 33 onto the pitch, and export your lineup as a PNG. There is no account and no sign-up.