Introduction
Sun Xiang (simplified Chinese: 孙祥; traditional Chinese: 孫祥; pinyin: Sūn Xiáng; born 15 January 1982) is a Chinese footballer who currently plays for Shanghai SIPG in the Chinese Super League.
Club career
Sun Xiang started his football career playing for Shanghai Cable 02 before the club was taken over by Shanghai Shenhua. He was then promoted to the club's first team in the 2002 season along with his twin brother Sun Ji where they both quickly established themselves within the team. In the 2003 season, he became the club's first-choice left back and won the top tier title with the club. Unfortunately in 2013 the Chinese Football Association would revoke the league title after it was discovered the Shenhua General manager Lou Shifang had bribed officials to be bias to Shenhua in games that season.
Sun, along with Sun Ji, attracted the interests of multiple clubs abroad and had trials with Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven in 2006, but PSV decided to not sign the pair. The club then decided to sign Sun on loan for the 2006-07 season with an option to sign him on a three-year contract at the end of the season. He made his debut for the club on 17 February 2007 in a 2-0 win against Heracles Almelo, becoming the first ever Chinese footballer to play in the Eredivisie. He made his European continental debut on 20 February 2007 in a 1-0 win against Arsenal, becoming the first ever Chinese player to play in the UEFA Champions League. Then manager Ronald Koeman remarked that Sun had an impressive debut and contributed to the game through his good vision and precise passing. After the end of his loan period, he was not offered a long-term contract with the club despite appeals from Sun to stay with the club.
On 1 July 2008, Sun was loaned to Austrian Bundesliga side Austria Wien on a one-year deal with the possibility of a one-year extension, becoming the first ever Chinese footballer to play in the Austrian Bundesliga. He made his debut on 9 July 2008 in a 1-1 draw against SK Austria Kärnten. This was followed by his first league goal for the club on 7 March 2009 in a 4-0 victory against LASK Linz. When his loan period expired, he returned to Shanghai where he played for the remainder of the 2009 season.
On 28 April 2010, Sun announced that he gave up joining A-League side Sydney FC and transferred to second tier side Guangzhou Evergrande instead. He made his debut for the club alongside Zheng Zhi on 21 July 2010 in a 10-0 win against Nanjing Yoyo. He scored his first goal for the club on 18 September 2010 in a 2-1 win against Yanbian FC. In the 2010 season, he made fourteen appearances as Guangzhou finished first place in the second tier and won promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt. The following season Sun continued to be a major part of the club that invested heavily in improving the squad; and with the club bringing in two-time Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Player of the Year winner Darío Conca, the club won its first ever top tier title in the 2011 season.
On 5 January 2015, Sun transferred to fellow Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG. He made his debut for the club on 7 March 2015 in a 2-1 win against Jiangsu Sainty. On 17 July 2016, Sun accidentally collided with Demba Ba and broke Ba's left leg in a 2-1 loss against Shanghai Shenhua.
Career statistics
Club statistics
- As of 30 October 2016
| 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 | Others1 | Total | ||||||||
| 2000 | Shanghai Cable 02 | China League Two | - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| 2001 | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||
| 2002 | Shanghai Shenhua | Chinese Jia-A League | 25 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 2 | |
| 2003 | 25 | 2 | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | 29 | 2 | |||||
| 2004 | Chinese Super League | 20 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 0 | ||
| 2005 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | 24 | 3 | |||||
| 2006 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | 2 | 0 | - | 18 | 2 | ||||
| Netherlands | League | KNVB Cup | League Cup | Europe | Others | Total | ||||||||
| 2006-07 | PSV Eindhoven | Eredivisie | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 4 | 0 | - | 9 | 0 | ||
| China PR | League | FA Cup | CSL Cup | Asia | Others | Total | ||||||||
| 2007 | Shanghai Shenhua | Chinese Super League | 14 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 14 | 2 | ||||
| 2008 | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 4 | 0 | ||||||
| Austria | League | Austrian Cup | League Cup | Europe | Others | Total | ||||||||
| 2008-09 | Austria Wien | Austrian Bundesliga | 19 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | 4 | 0 | - | 27 | 3 | ||
| China PR | League | FA Cup | CSL Cup | Asia | Others2 | Total | ||||||||
| 2009 | Shanghai Shenhua | Chinese Super League | 11 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 11 | 2 | ||||
| 2010 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2010 | Guangzhou Evergrande | China League One | 14 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 14 | 1 | ||||
| 2011 | Chinese Super League | 25 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 25 | 1 | |||||
| 2012 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 0 | |||
| 2013 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 0 | - | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 45 | 1 | |||
| 2014 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |||
| 2015 | Shanghai SIPG | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | 26 | 0 | ||||
| 2016 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 7 | 0 | - | 34 | 0 | ||||
| Total | China PR | 297 | 16 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 374 | 16 | |
| Netherlands | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| Austria | 19 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 321 | 18 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 410 | 19 | ||
1Other tournaments include A3 Champions Cup.
2Other tournaments include Chinese FA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
International goals
- As of 6 October 2011
- Results list China's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 June 2005 | Helong Stadium, Changsha, China |  Costa Rica | 2–2 | 2–2 | Friendly international |
| 2 | 31 July 2005 | Daejeon World Cup Stadium, Daejeon, South Korea |  South Korea | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2005 East Asian Football Championship |
| 3 | 11 October 2006 | King Abdullah Stadium, Amman, Jordan |  Palestine | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualifier |
| 4 | 22 June 2008 | Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia |  Australia | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 5 | 6 October 2011 | New Shenzhen Stadium, Shenzhen, China |  United Arab Emirates | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly international |
Honours
Club
Shanghai Shenhua
- Chinese FA Super Cup: 2002
PSV Eindhoven
- Eredivisie: 2006-07
Austria Wien
- Austrian Cup: 2008-09
Guangzhou Evergrande
- Chinese Super League: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
- Chinese League One: 2010
- Chinese FA Cup: 2012
- Chinese Super Cup: 2012
- AFC Champions League: 2013
International
China PR national football team
- East Asian Football Championship: 2005, 2010
Individual
- Chinese Super League Team of the Year: 2005, 2012
- AFC Champions League Dream Team: 2013