Mei Fang

In this Chinese name, the family name is Mei.
Mei Fang
梅方
Fang with China in 2016
Personal information
Full name Mei Fang[1]
Date of birth (1989-11-14) 14 November 1989 (age 35)[2]
Place of birth Wuhan, Hubei, China
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
2005–2008 Wuhan Optics Valley
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008 Wuhan Optics Valley 0 (0)
2009–2013 Wuhan Zall 107 (7)
2014–2021 Guangzhou FC 106 (1)
Total 213 (8)
International career
2014–2019 China 24 (1)
Managerial career
2022-2023 Guangzhou FC (Assistant Coach)
2023- Guangxi Hengchen (Assistant Coach)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mei Fang (Chinese: 梅方; pinyin: Méi Fāng; Mandarin pronunciation: [měɪ fáŋ]; born 14 November 1989) is a former Chinese professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

Club career

Mei Fang started his football career with Wuhan Optics Valley in 2008 when he was promoted to the first team. In August 2008, he had a brief trial with Ligue 2 side RC Strasbourg along with his teammate Wang Yang.[3] In October 2008, Wuhan withdrew from the league for what it claimed was unfair punishment by the Chinese Football Association. Without a club, Mei was invited to a trial with Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg with Wang in November 2008.[4] They continued their trials in Europe and moved to Belgian Pro League side Cercle Brugge in December 2008.[5] Cercle Brugge's board later decided to offer contracts to Mei and Wang; however, Mei returned to Wuhan and joined Hubei Luyin which was newly founded by Wuhan's youth academy and Hubei's youth academy in early 2009.

Mei made his professional debut for Hubei during the 2009 season and quickly integrated himself as a starter as the club won promotion to China League One in the 2009 season. On 28 November 2009, he scored his first league goal but missed a penalty in the penalty shootout as Hubei lost to Hunan Billows in the League Two playoff final.[6] He refused Cercle Brugge's invitation to sign with the club again in January 2010.[7] Mei extended his contract for two years in early 2012 after Hubei Greenery changed its name to Wuhan Zall.[8] He was named as the club's captain on 12 March 2012[9] and made an impression within the team as Wuhan gained promotion to the top tier in the 2012 season. On 8 March 2013, he made his first tier debut against Jiangsu Sainty.[10] He then scored his first goal that season on 1 June 2013 in a 1-1 draw against Qingdao Jonoon.[11] His captaincy was stripped by the club on 18 August 2013 after a 5-1 loss against Guangzhou R&F and was handed to Cho Won-hee.[12]

After Wuhan relegated back to the second tier, Mei was linked with fellow Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan;[13] however, on 1 January 2014, Mei signed for Guangzhou Evergrande.[14] He made his debut for the club on 26 February 2014 in a 4-2 win against Melbourne Victory in the first group match of the 2014 AFC Champions League, coming on as a substitute for Alessandro Diamanti in the 88th minute.[15] He scored his first goal for the club on 21 May 2014 in a 1-1 draw against Guizhou Renhe. On 29 July 2017, Mei suffered a cruciate ligament injury in a league match against Guangzhou R&F, which ruled him out for the rest of the 2017 season.[16] On 18 July 2018, he made his return in a 4-0 home win against Guizhou Hengfeng.[17]

Mei announced his retirement on 10 March 2022.[18]

International career

Mei made his debut for the Chinese national team on 18 June 2014 in a 2-0 win against Macedonia.[19] Mei was selected in China's 23-man squad for 2015 AFC Asian Cup and played all 4 games in the tournament. On 12 November 2015, Mei scored his first international goal in a 12-0 victory over Bhutan in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification.

Career statistics

Club statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition [20]
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Wuhan Optics Valley 2008 Chinese Super League 0 0 - - - 0 0
Wuhan Zall 2009 China League Two 13 1 - - - 13 1
2010 China League One 20 0 - - - 20 0
2011 20 2 0 0 - - 20 2
2012 26 2 1 0 - - 27 2
2013 Chinese Super League 28 2 1 0 - - 29 2
Total 107 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 109 7
Guangzhou Evergrande 2014 Chinese Super League 18 1 2 0 5 0 0[a] 0 25 1
2015 21 0 0 0 9 0 1[a] 0 31 0
2016 25 0 7 0 2 0 0[a] 0 34 0
2017 13 0 2 0 4 0 0[a] 0 19 0
2018 10 0 0 0 0 0 0[a] 0 10 0
2019 6 0 0 0 2 0 - 8 0
2020 10 0 1 0 4 0 - 15 0
2021 3 0 0 0 0 0 - 3 0
Total 106 1 12 0 26 0 1 0 135 1
Career total 213 8 14 0 26 0 1 0 254 8
  1. ^ a b c d e Appearances in Chinese FA Super Cup

International statistics

National team
Year Apps Goals
2014 7 0
2015 12 1
2016 1 0
2017 2 0
2018 0 0
2019 2 0
Total 24 1

International goals

Scores and results list China's goal tally first.
No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 12 November 2015 Helong Stadium, Changsha, China  Bhutan 1–0 12–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier

Honours

Club

Guangzhou Evergrande

References

  1. ^ "FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2015: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 11 December 2015. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2015.
  2. ^ Mei Fang at Soccerway
  3. ^ "梅方汪洋今日赴法试训". Hubei Daily. 26 August 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  4. ^ "双子星汪洋梅方试训狼堡 拜仁前主帅将面授机宜". sohu. 6 November 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  5. ^ "汪洋梅方试训比甲球队 基本功一点也不逊色". sina. 4 December 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  6. ^ "实录：[中乙]湖南点杀湖北夺冠 功臣梅方失点球". sohu. 28 November 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  7. ^ "国奥新星放弃留洋比利时 梅方决定留守绿茵战中甲". sina. 18 January 2010. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  8. ^ "武汉宣布前国奥大将留队 梅方：被卓尔诚意打动". sohu. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  9. ^ "汉军选出史上最年轻队长 老将忻峰辅佐小将梅方". sohu. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  10. ^ "Jiangsu Sainty vs. Wuhan Zall 2 - 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  11. ^ "Wuhan Zall vs Qingdao Jonoon 1 - 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  12. ^ "武汉卓尔宣布与主帅图拔科维奇解约 同时撤换队长". sina. 18 August 2013. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  13. ^ "大国安终要出手买人了! 卓尔队长梅方已接近加盟". Netease. 9 December 2013. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  14. ^ Atkins, Christopher. "GUANGZHOU EVERGRANDE SHOCK RIVALS WITH MEI FANG CAPTURE". Wild East Football. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  15. ^ "GUANGZHOU EVERGRANDE (CHN) 4-2 MELBOURNE VICTORY (AUS)". AFC. 26 February 2014. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  16. ^ "屋漏偏逢连夜雨!斯科拉里:梅方重伤6个月赛季报销". Netease. 29 July 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  17. ^ "中超-塔利斯卡戴帽助郜林神倒钩 10人恒大4-0贵州". Sina. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  18. ^ "前国脚梅方宣布退役：告别的时刻终究还是到了". Dongqiudi (in Chinese). 10 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  19. ^ "热身赛-佩兰首秀于汉超高迪破门 国足2-0马其顿". xinhuanet.com. 18 June 2014. Archived from the original on 3 August 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  20. ^ "梅方". sodasoccer (in Chinese). Archived 2018-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ 足协杯-黄博文世界波救主 恒大总分3-3苏宁夺冠 (in Chinese). Sports.sina.com.cn. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Wuhan Zall F.C. captain
2012–2013 		Succeeded by