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Sun Jihai (Simplified Chinese: 孙继海) (born September 30, 1977 in Dalian, China) is a Chinese football (soccer) player who currently plays for Manchester City as a defender and for the China national football team as a midfielder. Sun's main strengths are his speed, physical strength, crossing and attacking forays down the wings. He is a highly versatile player, having played on both wings, central defense, holding midfielder. Sun is a valuable utility player in Manchester City and one of the most important players in the China national team.
Professional career Sun started his professional career with Dalian Wanda in 1995 and made his first appearance on May 28, 1995. After three successful years at Dalian, Sun along with Fan Zhiyi signed for Crystal Palace in 1998. They became the first Chinese footballers to play in the English leagues. Sun made his debut for Crystal Palace in a 0-3 defeat at Bury in the first leg of the Worthington Cup match. In 2002, Sun signed for Manchester City from Dalian for £2,000,000. He made his City debut in a 4-2 win over Coventry City. In October 2002, Sun became the first Chinese footballer to score in the Barclaycard Premiership when he headed home the first City goal in their 2-0 win over Birmingham City. At the beginning of the 2004/2005 season, Sun damaged his cruciate ligaments in a tackle with Chelsea striker Eiður Guðjohnsen and missed the rest of the season. After recuperating and following a strict physical regimen devised by his father, Sun Jihai is now a regular starter under current manager, Stuart Pearce. National Team Sun made his international debut for China on December 6, 1996 against Uzbekistan. At China's first match during the 2002 FIFA World Cup against Costa Rica, Sun picked up an ankle injury after a wild collision with Costa Rican defender, Gilberto Martinez after just 25 minutes. Unable to play, he sat out for the rest of China's matches. | ||||||||
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