Former Man United striker Dong joins Chinese club
December 24th, 2011 - 8:25 pm ICT by IANS
Beijing, Dec 24 (IANS) Former Manchester United striker Dong Fangzhuo has joined Chinese first division football league side Hunan Xiangtao.
Fangzhou joined the Chinese club from Mika in the Armenian Premier League.
“I am back home,” Dong said. “But my return to China doesn’t mean that I am incapable of playing abroad.”
The 26-year-old Dong, who joined Mika in March, scored six goals for the club, including one each in the semi-final and final when they won the title of the Armenian FA Cup.
“Mika wanted to extend the contract with me, but I refused,” he said.
Dong signed for Manchester United from Dalian Shide in January 2004, for an initial fee of 500,000 pounds which could have risen to 3.5 million, depending upon appearances.
But he failed to impress Alex Ferguson in the following four years. For most of the time, he played on loan for Royal Antwerp in Belgium, where he scored 37 goals in three seasons.
He went back to Manchester United in 2007 but played only three times in the Premier League. His contract was terminated in 2008.
Dong then joined home team Dalian Shide in the Chinese Super League but struggled to score goals and was relegated to the reserves as a result.
His poor performances in the league also prevented him from being called up for the national team.
“This time I am sure I will play well in China,” Dong said.
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Tags: 5 million, alex ferguson, armenian, beijing, chinese club, dec 24, dong fangzhuo, fa cup, first division football, football league, initial fee, man united, manchester united, mika, poor performances, premier league, royal antwerp, shide, striker, three seasons