Mei Fang

Mei Fang (Chinese: 梅方; pinyin: Méi Fāng; Mandarin pronunciation: [měi fáŋ]; born 14 November 1989) is a Chinese footballer who currently plays for Guangzhou Evergrande in the Chinese Super League.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Mei.
Mei Fang
梅方
Personal information
Full name Mei Fang
Date of birth (1989-11-14) 14 November 1989[1]
Place of birth Wuhan, Hubei, China
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Guangzhou Evergrande
Number 3
Youth career
2005–2008 Wuhan Guanggu
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008 Wuhan Guanggu 0 (0)
2009–2013 Wuhan Zall 107 (7)
2014– Guangzhou Evergrande 103 (1)
National team‡
2014– China 23 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 November 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 December 2019

Club career

Mei Fang started his football career with Wuhan Guanggu in 2008 when he was promoted to the first team. In August 2008, he had a brief trial with Ligue 2 side RC Strasbourg along with his teammate Wang Yang.[2] In October 2008, Wuhan withdrew from the league for what it claimed was unfair punishment by the Chinese Football Association. Without a club, Mei was invited to a trial with Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg with Wang in November 2008.[3] They continued their trials in Europe and moved to Belgian Pro League side Cercle Brugge in December 2008.[4] Cercle Brugge's board later decided to offer contracts to Mei and Wang; however, Mei returned to Wuhan and joined Hubei Greenery which was newly founded by Wuhan's youth academy and Hubei's youth academy in early 2009.

Mei made his professional debut for Hubei during the 2009 season and quickly integrated himself as a starter as the club won promotion to China League One in the 2009 season. On 28 November 2009, he scored his first league goal but missed a penalty in the penalty shootout as Hubei lost to Hunan Billows in the League Two playoff final.[5] He refused Cercle Brugge's invitation to sign with the club again in January 2010.[6] Mei extended his contract for two years in early 2012 after Hubei Greenery changed its name to Wuhan Zall.[7] He was named as the club's captain on 12 March 2012[8] and made an impression within the team as Wuhan gained promotion to the top tier in the 2012 season. On 8 March 2013, he made his first tier debut against Jiangsu Sainty.[9] He then scored his first goal that season on 1 June 2013 in a 1-1 draw against Qingdao Jonoon.[10] His captaincy was stripped by the club on 18 August 2013 after a 5-1 loss against Guangzhou R&F and was handed to Cho Won-hee.[11]

After Wuhan relegated back to the second tier, Mei was linked with fellow Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan;[12] however, on 1 January 2014, Mei signed for Guangzhou Evergrande.[13] He made his debut for the club on 26 February 2014 in a 4-2 win against Melbourne Victory in the first group match of the 2014 AFC Champions League, coming on as a substitute for Alessandro Diamanti in the 88th minute.[14] He scored his first goal for the club on 21 May 2014 in a 1-1 draw against Guizhou Renhe. On 29 July 2017, Mei suffered a cruciate ligament injury in a league match against Guangzhou R&F, which ruled him out for the rest of the 2017 season.[15] On 18 July 2018, he made his return in a 4-0 home win against Guizhou Hengfeng.[16]

International career

Mei made his debut for the Chinese national team on 18 June 2014 in a 2-0 win against Macedonia.[17]

Career statistics

Club statistics
As of 1 December 2020 [18]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Wuhan Guanggu 2008 Chinese Super League 00---00
Wuhan Zall 2009 China League Two 131---131
2010 China League One 200---200
2011 20200--202
2012 26210--272
2013 Chinese Super League 28210--292
Total 10772000001097
Guangzhou Evergrande 2014 Chinese Super League 18120500[lower-alpha 1]0251
2015 21000901[lower-alpha 1]0310
2016 25070200[lower-alpha 1]0340
2017 13020400[lower-alpha 1]0190
2018 10000000[lower-alpha 1]0100
2019 600020-80
2020 1001040-150
Total 1031120260101321
Career total 2108140260102518
  1. Appearances in Chinese FA Super Cup

International statistics
National team
YearAppsGoals
201470
2015121
201610
201720
201800
201910
Total231

International goals
As of 12 November 2015
Scores and results list China's goal tally first.
NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.12 November 2015Helong Stadium, Changsha, China Bhutan1–012–02018 FIFA World Cup qualifier

Honours

Club

Guangzhou Evergrande

References
  1. Mei Fang at Soccerway
  2. "梅方汪洋今日赴法试训". Hubei Daily. 26 August 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  3. "双子星汪洋梅方试训狼堡 拜仁前主帅将面授机宜". sohu. 6 November 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  4. "汪洋梅方试训比甲球队 基本功一点也不逊色". sina. 4 December 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  5. "实录：[中乙]湖南点杀湖北夺冠 功臣梅方失点球". sohu. 28 November 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  6. "国奥新星放弃留洋比利时 梅方决定留守绿茵战中甲". sina. 18 January 2010. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  7. "武汉宣布前国奥大将留队 梅方：被卓尔诚意打动". sohu. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  8. "汉军选出史上最年轻队长 老将忻峰辅佐小将梅方". sohu. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  9. "Jiangsu Sainty vs. Wuhan Zall 2 - 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  10. "Wuhan Zall vs Qingdao Jonoon 1 - 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  11. "武汉卓尔宣布与主帅图拔科维奇解约 同时撤换队长". sina. 18 August 2013. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  12. "大国安终要出手买人了! 卓尔队长梅方已接近加盟". Netease. 9 December 2013. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  13. Atkins, Christopher. "GUANGZHOU EVERGRANDE SHOCK RIVALS WITH MEI FANG CAPTURE". Wild East Football. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  14. "GUANGZHOU EVERGRANDE (CHN) 4-2 MELBOURNE VICTORY (AUS)". AFC. 26 February 2014. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  15. "屋漏偏逢连夜雨!斯科拉里:梅方重伤6个月赛季报销". Netease. 29 July 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  16. "中超-塔利斯卡戴帽助郜林神倒钩 10人恒大4-0贵州". Sina. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  17. "热身赛-佩兰首秀于汉超高迪破门 国足2-0马其顿". xinhuanet.com. 18 June 2014. Archived from the original on 3 August 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  18. "梅方". sodasoccer (in Chinese).
  19. 足协杯-黄博文世界波救主 恒大总分3-3苏宁夺冠 (in Chinese). Sports.sina.com.cn. 2016-11-27. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Yao Hanlin		 Wuhan Zall F.C. captain
2012–2013		 Succeeded by
Cho Won-Hee
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