Fan Zhiyi

Fan Zhiyi, born November 21, 1969 in Shanghai, is native to Shanghai. He comes from a sporting family: his father Fan Jiulin was a celebrated Shanghai footballer who, after retiring, worked in youth football development—teaching at the Shanghai sports school and coaching Shanghai Shenhua’s youth teams—and helped guide Fan Zhiyi’s football career. His mother, Huang Wei, was formerly an athlete on the Shanghai athletics team.

Fan entered the Shanghai Sports Technical College in 1984, where he laid his professional foundation. In 1987 he joined the Shanghai city football representative team and became a professional player. He stood out in his youth, helping Shanghai finish as runner-up in 1988 and champion in 1989.

His professional career took off at Shanghai Shenhua, which he joined in 1994. Wearing the number 5 shirt, he played as a defender and served as team captain. In the 1994 season he scored his first professional league goal. He went on to win the league Golden Boot and the Chinese Footballer of the Year titles in 1995 and 1996. From 1996 to 1998 he consecutively won the Chinese Footballer of the Year award, helping Shenhua earn multiple honors, including runner-up finishes and a league championship; the team was again runner-up in 1997.

In 1998 Fan trialed with English Premier League clubs Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur without securing a move, and then joined Crystal Palace in the First Division (then the second tier of English football). He spent three seasons there, earning recognition as one of the team’s best players and serving as captain. In 2001, because he was representing the national team, Crystal Palace listed him for sale; he then transferred to Dundee in Scotland and was later briefly loaned back to Shenhua.

In 2002 Fan signed with Cardiff City in Wales to play in the English Second Division but made only four appearances. In 2003 he joined a Hong Kong club, Pengma Wanderers, as a player-coach. He returned to China in 2004 to join China League One side Zhuhai Zhongbang, helping the club gain promotion to the Chinese Super League at the end of that year. In 2005 the club relocated to Shanghai and was renamed Shanghai Zhongbang, but due to conflicts with the club, Fan announced his retirement in 2006.

On the national team front, Fan was selected for China’s second national team at the end of 1987 and became an important member. He joined the Olympic (U-23) team in 1989 and served as its captain in 1991. That same year he entered the senior national team, participating in the 1992 Asian Cup and World Cup qualifiers. In 1994 he represented China at the Asian Cup in Hiroshima, Japan. From 1996 he was part of a new generation of the national team and served as captain, competing in multiple international tournaments including the Asian Cup and World Cup qualifiers. In 2002 he represented China at the Korea–Japan World Cup but withdrew early due to injury, bringing his national team career to a close with 108 caps and 15 goals.

Fan’s coaching career began in 2003 with a short coaching course at Cardiff City, after which he obtained a B-level coaching certificate. In 2006 he became technical director of Suzhou Qups (Suzhou Qups?), and briefly served as head coach. He later worked at Shanghai East Asia (Shanghai Dongya) as a technical officer and youth team head coach, and in 2010 became the first-team head coach. From 2015 he served as youth training director at Shanghai Shenhua, and in 2016 became the reserve-team head coach. Beginning in 2020 he was technical director at the Genbao Football Base, and in 2024 he joined Liaoning Ironman Football Club as head of the coaching staff and technical director.

In his personal life, Fan’s father Fan Jiulin passed away in 2020. His mother was formerly a member of the Shanghai athletics team. On June 9, 2016, Fan married his long-term girlfriend Zhang Mengjin after five years of dating. Fan is active in charitable and social activities—at a 2017 charity dinner he donated the jersey he wore at the 2002 World Cup—and has held multiple positions with the Shanghai Football Association.