Former Celt Zheng Zhi is celebrating Guangzhou Evergrande winning the Asian Champions League over FC Soeul who included Cha Du Ri in their side.
A 1-1 draw at home saw Guangzhou Evergrande through on away goals after securing a 2-2 draw in the first leg in South Korea.
After leaving Celtic at the end of the 2009/10 season Zhi moved straight to Evergrande whose fortunes have been revived under the guidance of Marcello Lippi.
No Chinese side has won the Champions League since 1990 with hopes high that this success will pave the way for greater fortunes for the international side as well as the club scene.
Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, president of the Asian Football Confederations said: ” Guangzhou Evergrande has infused a new life into Chinese football and I am confident that this will benefit not only the Chinese Super League but also the national team in a big way.
“Chinese football plays an important role in the growth of Asian football and this triumph will help spreading the game to a larger audience in the world’s most populous country.”
Looking at his latest success coach Lippi said: “Everything went as we planned. We started off very well in the first half and created a lot of opportunities, but the goal didn’t come.
“In the second half, we scored the goal through Muriqui and Elkeson and they had some chances too, but they weren’t able to score. When they did score it was a pretty dangerous situation for us because it made the game 50-50 for us and we were pretty worried. But in the end we won this trophy and I think we deserved it.”
Prior to the final Zhi said: “It means a lot to me to win this game, although winning is not just about me but about the team and football in China.
“I have won awards in England and China, but this would be my first international award and it would mean a lot.
“We’re in great shape and the players who were injured are back and we feel very excited about the game. With the help of the fans here we can win the title this year.”
Sincere congratulations to the man. H×2