Fan Zhiyi (; born 6 November 1969) is a Chinese football coach and former player. He played as a defender for Shanghai Shenhua, Crystal Palace, Dundee, Shanghai COSCO Huili, Cardiff City, Buler Rangers and Shanghai Zobon.
He was considered a trailblazer in his native homeland when Sun Jihai and he became the first two Chinese footballers to play in the English leagues, joining Crystal Palace in 1998. Internationally, he would go on to play with the China national team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He made 106 appearances for China, scoring 17 goals. Fan was also the first player from China to be named AFC Player of the Year. He has since gone on to become a football coach and had his first stint as manager at Shanghai East Asia.
Club career Fan Zhiyi was considered a talented youngster and integrated into the China national B team which was allowed to take part in the Chinese football league system for a season. His time with them was extremely successful and he was even able to win the Chinese league title with the team in the 1989 league season before he had to return to Shanghai Shenhua.1994：中国足球拉开竞技体育职业化大幕 at news.QQ.com 17 January 2009 Retrieved 23 July 2012 After returning to Shanghai and playing in his first season as a professional, Fan's best was brought out of him due to the improved level of play. His superb fitness and hardworking ethics as well as his excellent positional play as a central defender would see him become a regular within the team. By the 1995 league season, he had already gained a reputation as tough tackler who had superb aerial ability especially from set-piece plays, however he would also show his versatility as a player when he played in several positions including a provisional striker when he was the league's top goalscorer with fifteen goals as he guided Shanghai Shenhua towards the league title in the 1995 season.范志毅 at Sodasoccer.com Retrieved 23 July 2012 After several seasons he had now settled into central defense as a sweeper and would captain his side as they won Chinese FA Cup in 1998.China 1998 – FA Cup at rsssf.org 6 December 1999 Retrieved 23 July 2012
In the 1998–99 season, Fan made national headlines when he left Shanghai to join First Division side Crystal Palace where he and Sun Jihai became the first Chinese footballers in the English leagues.Appearances for Crystal Palace at neilbrown.newcastlefans.com Retrieved 23 July 2012 Fan soon established himself as an important player at Crystal Palace and was very popular with the fans and staff as well as winning the club many new fans back in China.FYP Top 50 Players Countdown: No.38 – Fan Zhiyi at fiveyearplanfanzine.co.uk 30 June 2012 Retrieved 23 July 2012 He was also the captain of Crystal Palace for a while and scored several important goals for the club. As he played for Crystal Palace, Fan would also play in the 2000 AFC Asian Cup for the China national team before personally winning Asian Footballer of the Year in 2001. After helping China qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in October 2001, Fan transferred to Scottish Premier League side Dundee for £350,000. He managed to score against Celtic in a 3–1 loss with a good long-distance shot after positioning himself well after he received a pass from Nacho Novo.
After returning from the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Fan decided not to return to Dundee and decided to return to China to join top-tier club Shanghai International for a brief period. He would soon return to the United Kingdom, where he had a trial with Gillingham; however, Fan decided to join Second Division side Cardiff City in November 2002.
In October 2003, he signed a one-year contract to become player-coach of Hong Kong First Division League side Buler Rangers. However, his stay in Hong Kong lasted only a few months when, in early 2004, he moved back to Shanghai to become the captain of China League One side Zhuhai Zobon. He led the club to promotion to the Chinese Super League one year later and the club renamed to Shanghai Zobon after it moved to Shanghai. Fan left the club after the 2005 season and joined Buler Rangers for a second stint but, after five games, he decided to end his playing career and retired.
International career Fan was a key veteran of the China national team that qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, their first time qualifying for the tournament. After returning from the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Fan announced his retirement from the national team after ten years where he was an anchor in the defense and was capped 106 times for his country.
Managerial career Fan often stated that his desire was to move into management and had brief spells as an assistant coach with Buler Rangers and Shanghai Zobon while he was still playing. Once he retired from playing football, he became a technical director and assistant coach at China League Two side Suzhou Trips. Fan became manager of China League One side Shanghai East Asia in 2010, but he was sacked at the end of the 2010 season. Between 2016 and 2018, Fan worked as the manager of Shanghai Shenhua youth team.
In 2022, Fan was elected as the vice president of Shanghai Football Association.
Career statistics Scores and results list China's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fan goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Fan ZhiyiNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition14 February 1996Hong Kong2–01996 AFC Asian Cup qualification221 February 1997Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia3–11997 Dunhill Cup Malaysia328 February 1997Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia3–11997 Dunhill Cup Malaysia4520 April 1997Beijing, China5–0Friendly625 May 1997Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam3–11998 FIFA World Cup qualification722 June 1997Beijing, China4–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification813 September 1997Dalian, China2–41998 FIFA World Cup qualification931 October 1997Dalian, China2–31998 FIFA World Cup qualification1030 November 1998Surat Thani, Thailand4–11998 Asian Games1114 December 1998Bangkok, Thailand3–01998 Asian Games1219 December 1998Bangkok, Thailand3–01998 Asian Games1313 October 2000Tripoli, Lebanon2–22000 AFC Asian Cup1422 April 2001Xi'an, China10–12002 FIFA World Cup qualification151631 August 2001Muscat, Oman2–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification1715 September 2001Shenyang, China2–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
Honours Player China B Chinese Jia-A League: 1989
Shanghai Shenhua Chinese Jia-A League: 1995 Chinese FA Cup: 1998
Individual Asian Footballer of the Year: 2001 Chinese Football Association Player of the Year: 1995, 1996, 2001 Chinese Jia-A League Team of the Year: 1995, 1996, 1997 Chinese Jia-A League Top goalscorer: 1995 Crystal Palace Player of the Year: 2001
Filmography Variety shows Year Name Notes 2016 Running Man episode – 283
Film Year English title Chinese title Role Notes 2021Never Stop 超越Himself
TV Drama Year English title Chinese title Role Notes 2023Blossoms Shanghai 繁花Lao Fan
See also List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
References
External links Fifa World Cup 2002 at bbc.co.uk