Zhang Enhua

Dalian Wanda

Zhang Enhua began his professional football career when he joined his local native Chinese football team Dalian Wanda at the beginning of the 1994 league season. At the club, he would gradually establish himself in defence and help it win the league title. With Dalian he would establish himself as an integral member of their defence the following season, however they were unable to retain the league title and came third within the league. Nevertheless, the following season would see Zhang Enhua help Dalian stamp their dominance within the league and for the next three seasons they would win consecutive league titles.

Grimsby Town

In 2000, Zhang was made a transfer target of second tier English club Grimsby Town and was then brought to the club on a 3-month loan deal to play in the Football League Championship. The defender would be part of a new wave of foreign imports at the club as newly installed manager Lennie Lawrence brought in David Nielsen, Knut Anders Fostervold and Menno Willems. Enhua was originally sent in as cover for the injured Peter Handyside, and after a nervous first game, he settled into life at Grimsby, even scoring three times for the club. Lawrence admitted talking to the club over a possible deal being made more permanent but his wages were too big for the club, and Enhua departed the club after his loan spell. He is still regarded as a minor cult hero amongst Grimsby supporters, who took very well to the player while he…

Zhang Enhua would make his international debut against South Korea in a 0–0 draw on 19 February 1995 in the Dynasty Cup. After several further friendlies his performances would be impressive enough to see him included in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup squad, however, while he would score his debut goal for his country against Saudi Arabia in the quarter-finals he would, unfortunately, see his team lose 4–3 and get knocked out of the competition. A firm member of the national team he would play a large part in the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) campaign that saw China narrowly miss out on a World Cup spot. He was, however, able to help China qualify for the 2000 AFC Asian Cup and while he started in the early stages he would miss the knock out stages of the competition and only play in the Third place play-off game which China lost 1–0. On 19 May 2002, Zhang was included in China's 23-man squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but eventually did not make an appearance in the tournament as China was knocked out in the group stage.

Enhua retired in 2006 and took up coaching in Hong Kong. On 2 March 2011, it was announced that Enhua would be returning to England to complete his coaching badges with the Football Association, and that he would return to former club Grimsby Town as a special guest for the club's home fixture with AFC Wimbledon on 5 March. Upon his return to Grimsby he presented the club with a gift that included Chinese writing which translated into 'it might be a long road back, but you can do it and will achieve success eventually'. He also described his visit to the club as a homecoming.

Dalian Wanda

Chinese Jia-A League: 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 Chinese FA Cup: 2001 Chinese Super Cup: 1997, 2003