Background and career
Fan Zhiyi (Chinese: 范志毅; pinyin: Fàn Zhìyì; born 6 November 1969) is a Chinese football coach and former player. He played as a defender for Shanghai Shenhua, Crystal Palace, Dundee, Shanghai COSCO Huili, Cardiff City, Buler Rangers and Shanghai Zobon.
He was considered a trailblazer in his native homeland when Sun Jihai and he became the first two Chinese footballers to play in the English leagues, joining Crystal Palace in 1998. Internationally, he would go on to play with the China national team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He made 106 appearances for China, scoring 17 goals. Fan was also the first player from China to be named AFC Player of the Year. He has since gone on to become a football coach and had his first stint as manager at Shanghai East Asia.
