Sun Jihai

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Sun.
Sun Jihai
孙继海

Sun playing for Manchester City
against Liverpool in April 2007
Personal information
Full name Sun Jihai
Date of birth (1977-09-30) 30 September 1977
Place of birth Zhuanghe, Liaoning, China
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
 Beijing Renhe
Number 17
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–2002 Dalian Shide 123 (7)
1998–1999 → Crystal Palace (loan) 23 (0)
2002–2008 Manchester City 130 (3)
2008–2009 Sheffield United 12 (1)
2009 Chengdu Blades 10 (0)
2010–2014 Guizhou Renhe 118 (1)
2015 Chongqing Lifan 28 (0)
2016– Beijing Renhe 9 (0)
National team‡
1996–2008 China 80 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 October 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 September 2016

Sun Jihai (simplified Chinese: 孙继海; traditional Chinese: 孫繼海; pinyin: Sūn Jìhǎi; born 30 September 1977) is a Chinese footballer who currently plays for Beijing Renhe in the China League One.

Club career

Dalian Shide

Sun Jihai started his football career with Dalian Shide in 1995 and made his first appearance on 28 May 1995 against Sichuan Quanxing. Like many of the top young Chinese players of his generation, he wanted to go to the Chinese youth training camp in Brazil that was sponsored by Jianlibao. However, he was not selected as he was not deemed to possess enough potential. Sun showed great character by not letting this huge disappointment derail him and worked very hard to establish himself at his club. Sun enjoyed a successful spell with Dalian as the club won four league titles and one Chinese FA Cup title during his time there.

Crystal Palace

After three successful years at Dalian Shide, Sun along with Fan Zhiyi signed for Crystal Palace in August 1998. They became the first ever Chinese footballers to play in the English leagues. Sun made his debut for Crystal Palace in a 3–0 loss against Bury in the first leg of a 1998–99 Football League Cup match. He was recalled by Dalian who struggled heavily at the bottom of league in the 1999 season.

Manchester City

In February 2002, Sun signed for English side Manchester City from Dalian Shide for £2 million and became the first Asian player to sign for the club. He made his debut for the club in a 4–2 win against Coventry City. His solid defence and dangerous attacking forays won over many City fans. He was voted the best player for the club in September 2002. In October 2002, Sun became the first East Asian footballer to score in the Premier League when he headed home the first goal in a 2–0 win over Birmingham City.[1]

At the beginning of the 2004–05 season, Sun damaged his cruciate ligaments in a tackle with Chelsea striker Eiður Guðjohnsen and missed the rest of the season. After recuperating and following a strict physical regimen devised by his father, Sun re-installed his place as a regular in the club's starting lineup. In the 2006–07 season, Sun was set back yet again by another injury and he made his return on 10 February 2007, against Portsmouth which his side lost 2–1. With the arrival of Sven-Göran Eriksson as the new manager, Sun rarely played in the 2007–08 season. He was replaced by Vedran Ćorluka at right back and Michael Ball played as the defensive substitute instead of Sun.

Sheffield United

On 2 July 2008, Sun signed a two-year deal with English Championship club Sheffield United.[2] Sun only managed nineteen minutes in his first match for Sheffield United, getting sent off after picking up two yellows in a friendly.[3] He went on to make his full debut in the opening fixture of the 2008–09 season against Birmingham City.[4] He was sent off during a game against Coventry City after a lunging tackle from behind on opposing player Michael Mifsud. The Football Association charged him for his behavior after receiving a red card even with his past good disciplinary record and handed him an additional one-match ban. Having played regularly until November he succumbed to an injury and subsequently failed to force his way back into the first team and made only a handful of appearances in the FA Cup in the second half of the season. Sun was then released from his contract in July 2009 with Sheffield United claiming he had "failed to settle" in Yorkshire.[5]

Return to China

In July 2009, Sun was loaned to Sheffield United's satellite team Chengdu Blades in the Chinese Super League, hoping to make an impact. He steadily established himself at Chengdu and helped them to achieve the club's best ever league position at seventh place. However, the club was relegated to China League One in the fallout of a match fixing scandal. He returned to Sheffield United after the loan was finished, but his contract ended and was left without a club to play for.

On 8 January 2010, Sun signed a two-year contract with fellow top tier side Shaanxi Chanba.[6] He was promoted as the team captain immediately and he extended his contract for another two years in December 2011.[7] At the beginning of the 2012 season, Sun followed the club when it decided to move to Guizhou and rename themselves Guizhou Renhe.[8] He played nineteen league matches and five Chinese FA Cup matches in the 2012 season as the club achieved fourth place that league season and were runners-up in the cup which gained them entry into AFC Champions League for the first time in the club's history.

On 4 February 2015, Sun moved to fellow top tier side Chongqing Lifan on a free transfer.[9] He made his debut for the club on 8 March 2014 in a 3–0 loss against Beijing Guoan.

On 8 December 2015, Sun returned to second tier side Beijing Renhe on a free transfer.[10]

International career

Sun made his international debut for Chinese national team on 6 December 1996 against Uzbekistan. During the 2002 FIFA World Cup in a group stage match against Costa Rica, Sun picked up an ankle injury after a tackle from behind by Mauricio Solís after just 17 minutes. Unable to play, Sun was replaced after 25 minutes and sat out the rest of group stage matches. On 7 June 2008, during a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Qatar, Sun was shown a straight red card for dissent while he was warming up as a substitute on the bench. China lost the match 1–0. He was given a ban of five matches by FIFA and did not receive any call-ups to the national team after this incident.

International goals

Scores and results list China's goal tally first.
Goal DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1 9 June 2004 Worker's Stadium, Beijing, China  Malaysia 2–0 4–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier

Career statistics

Club statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
China PR League FA Cup CSL Cup Asia Total
1995Dalian ShideChinese Jia-A League130--130
1996210--210
1997190-190
1998181-181
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1998–99Crystal PalaceFirst Division2301010-250
China PR League FA Cup CSL Cup Asia Total
1999Dalian ShideChinese Jia-A League81--81
200021210-20242
200123340-10283
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2001–02Manchester CityFirst Division700000-70
2002–03Premier League2821020-312
2003–04331301051422
2004–05600010-70
2005–062904010-340
2006–071301000-140
2007–081400020-160
2008–09Sheffield UnitedEnglish Championship1204010-170
China PR League FA Cup CSL Cup Asia Total
2009Chengdu BladesChinese Super League100---100
2010Guizhou Renhe270---270
201120030--230
201219050--240
201328150-61392
201424020-50310
2015Chongqing Lifan28000--280
2016Beijing RenheChina League One9000--90
Total China PR 2878200001413219
England 165314090511934
Career total 452113409019251413

International statistics

National team
YearAppsGoals
199650
1997220
1998120
199900
200020
2001110
200240
200330
2004111
200520
200600
200750
200830
Total801

Honours

Club

Dalian Shide

Manchester City

Guizhou Renhe

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Man City back to winning ways". BBC. 26 October 2002. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
  2. ↑ "Boss makes double swoop". Sheffield United F.C. 2 July 2008. Retrieved 2 July 2008.
  3. ↑ "KVK Tienen 1–3 Sheffield United – report". Sheffield United F.C. 17 July 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  4. ↑ "Birmingham City 1 Sheffield United 0". The Sheffield Star. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  5. ↑ "Sun Jihai leaves Sheffield United". bbc.co.uk. 6 July 2000. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
  6. ↑ "孙继海证实签约陕西两年 坦言将与朱广沪配合默契". Sina. 8 January 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  7. ↑ "孙继海与浐灞续约留队效力 赵旭日确认转会下家不明". Sina. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  8. ↑ "Only in the CSL: Shaanxi Chanba Moving to Guizhou in 2012". wildeastfootball.net. 2011-12-06. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  9. ↑ 力帆官方宣布今冬内援首签 老将孙继海正式加盟 at sports.sohu.com 2015-02-04 Retrieved 2015-02-13
  10. ↑ 贵州官方宣布孙继海重返球队 盼其继续书写传奇 at sports.sina.com 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-08


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