Zhao Junzhe

In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhao.

Zhao Junzhe (Chinese: 肇俊哲; pinyin: Zhào Jùnzhé; born 19 April 1979) is a Chinese football coach and former professional footballer who was most recently the manager of Chinese Super League club Cangzhou Mighty Lions. He spent his entire playing career at Liaoning FC. He's related to the ruling clan of the former Qing imperial dynasty, the Aisin-Gioro clan.

Zhao Junzhe
肇俊哲

Personal information
Full name	Zhao Junzhe
Date of birth	(1979-04-19) 19 April 1979 (age 46)
Place of birth	Shenyang, Liaoning, China
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1985–1997	Liaoning FC
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–2016	Liaoning FC	405	(51)
International career‡
1998–2008	China	71	(2)
Managerial career
2017	Liaoning FC (caretaker)
2022	China (assistant)
2022	Guangzhou City (caretaker)
2023–2024	Cangzhou Mighty Lions
Medal record Men's football Representing  China Asian Games 1998 Bangkok Football
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10 September 2016 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 30 October 2016

Club career

Zhao Junzhe was promoted to Liaoning F.C.'s first team from the club's youth academy and made his debut in the 1998 season. He continued to be a vital member for Liaoning that season when he aided them to being runners-up and the Chinese FA Cup.^[1] He was soon promoted to club captain and won the Chinese Football Association Player of the Year award in 2004. The following seasons saw the club's fortunes fall and Zhao unfortunately led the team to relegation to the second tier at the end of the 2008 season. Despite this setback, he remained with the team and immediately led Liaoning back up to the top tier when they won the second tier title in the 2009 season. Zhao announced his retirement from football at the end of the 2016 season. On 30 October 2016, he made last appearance in his career in a league match against Jiangsu Suning.^[2]

International career

Zhao was included into the Chinese national team by then manager Bora Milutinović for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.^[3] Though his chances were limited on the national team at the time, he did play in two group stage matches during the tournament and nearly scored by hitting the post against Brazil.^[4] He played a vital role in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup in which China finished the tournament as runners-up.

Managerial career

On 29 September 2017, Zhao was appointed as the caretaker manager of Liaoning FC, who sat at the bottom of the league table.^[5] On 14 October, in his first game as manager, he guided Liaoning to a 3–3 draw against second place team Shanghai SIPG.^[6] However, Liaoning finally relegated to the second tier after losing the last three matches of the season. On 12 December 2017, Zhao's caretaker spell ended when Chen Yang became the manager of Liaoning.^[7]

On 21 February 2023, Zhao was appointed as the head coach of Chinese Super League club Cangzhou Mighty Lions.^[8] On 16 July 2024, he swapped positions with Li Xiaopeng to become the team's general manager.^[9]

Career statistics

Club

As of 30 October 2016 ^[10]

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Others		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
China PR			League		FA Cup		CSL Cup		Asia		Others		Total
1998	Liaoning F.C.	Chinese Jia-B League		3			-	-	-	-	-	-		3
1999		Chinese Jia-A League	25	3	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	25	3
2000			24	4	4	1	-	-	-	-	1[a]	0	29	5
2001			25	4	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	26	5
2002			27	3	5	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	32	4
2003			27	5	3	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	30	8
2004		Chinese Super League	21	3	1	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	22	3
2005			15	0	2	1	3	0	-	-	-	-	20	1
2006			28	3	1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	29	3
2007			28	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	28	4
2008			29	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	29	4
2009		China League One	24	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	24	5
2010		Chinese Super League	29	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	29	0
2011			28	5	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	28	5
2012			26	4	4	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	30	5
2013			24	1	1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	25	1
2014			20	3	1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	21	3
2015			2	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	0
2016			3	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	0
Career total			405	51	23	8	3	0	0	0	1	0	432	59

1. Appearances in Chinese Football Super Cup

International

National team
Year	Apps	Goals
1998	8	1
1999	0	0
2000	0	0
2001	0	0
2002	10	1
2003	8	0
2004	20	0
2005	5	0
2006	8	0
2007	5	0
2008	7	0
Total	71	2

International goals

Results list China's goal tally first.

Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition
8 December 1998	Bangkok, Thailand	Tajikistan	3–1	1998 Asian Games
7 December 2002	Manama, Bahrain	Syria	3–1	Friendly international

Managerial statistics

As of 15 July 2024.

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Liaoning F.C. (caretaker)		29 September 2017	12 December 2017	4	0	1	3	000.00
Cangzhou Mighty Lions		21 February 2023	15 July 2024	51	12	12	27	023.53
Total				55	12	13	30	021.82

Honours

Player

Club

Liaoning Whowin

• China League One: 2009^[11]
• Chinese FA Super Cup: 1999

Individual

• AFC Asian Cup All-Star Team: 2004
• Chinese Football Association Player of the Year: 2004
• Chinese Super League Team of the Year: 2002, 2003

Personal life

Zhao is of Manchu ethnicity from Aisin Gioro clan. He is a descendant of Boolungga, who is the brother of Giocangga.^[12]