Manchester United’s only ever Chinese player, Dong Fangzhuo, has recalled his move to Old Trafford and his subsequent experience at the club.
Speaking to the club’s official website, the former Chinese striker said: “I’m very satisfied and excited to be back. “
The 38-year-old, now 38, took a quick jaunt around northwest England in November and returned to his old playground for a quick visit.
The player made 3 appearances for the first team and never scored a goal after his arrival in 2004.
Fangzhuo talked about the opportunity that allowed him to make his dream move. “The trial was supposed to last two weeks. But ten days after the trial, United gave me two more weeks to test my skills. Halfway through the trial, the decision had been made for me to sign, but they wanted to see if my functionality was consistent .
The Chinese forward had his issues however. Despite putting pen to paper in 2004, he could not make his debut until 2007 due to being “ineligible for a work permit upon arrival in the UK”.
In the meantime, the player went out on loan to Belgian side, Royal Antwerp, and despite original difficulties with the language barrier and a solitary hotel life, he went on to become the team’s top scorer.
The former China foreigner believes his good fortune is due to the addition of his own coaches.
“I hired my own trainer in Antwerp. I explained to him why I needed a trainer and why I had done additional training. The argument was: “I respect you, I respect your training, but my ambition is to stay in Antwerp. My ambition is to one day return to Manchester United. “
Finally, after his good form in Belgium and the solution of his documentation problems, the player returned to Old Trafford and signed a new contract, in order to prove his ability at the top of European football.
However, coming into a squad that includes Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, he said he “feels tension, even politeness with those big players. There is a constant maximum intensity in daily workouts. The more tension I felt playing with them, the more I wanted to get out and be able to do it too.
Dong was finally given his chance at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea at the end of the 2006/2007 season, when the Red Devils were already crowned champions and receiving a west London guard of honour.
On our debut: “On the pitch, I felt a bit nervous and when I look back, I feel like maybe I did even better. Some content creators have laughed at me, made fun of me by describing highlights as “weak spots. “”Showing up throwing the ball into the stands.
However, the player would only get two more chances and believes his decision to forget about Sir Alex Ferguson’s recommendation and not go under the knife for an injury would possibly have meant the end of his career at the club.
“Maybe Sir Alex took me continuing to play as a sign that I wasn’t professional, that I didn’t have a long-term plan for myself. Sir Alex thought about the club, he cared about his players and didn’t want them to risk their careers to keep playing with injury.”
The reason why the Chinese foreigner delayed the surgery so that he could be part of his national team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“He (Ferguson) called to let me know [he was sold], and I was disappointed and sad. It was the ultimate honour to take my country to such a tournament, so I would probably make the same decision again, but what I would replace is that I had more communication with the manager and made smarter decisions.
Fangzhou struggled with injury during the rest of his career and was forced to retire at only 30 years old. He now works as a pundit and runs the Dong Fangzhuo Football Club in Xiamen, which aims to develop players who “might one day follow in his footsteps but also at helping youngsters with special needs”.
The former attacker signed off the interview by stating, “maybe you have already forgotten me, but I have to say thank you for your support because as a Chinese player, having that opportunity to play in the red shirt at Old Trafford was already a dream come true.”
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