Goalscoring Shenyang Dongjin chairman Zhuang Yi becomes oldest scorer in China just six weeks short of his 45th birthday
Shenyang Dongjin’s boss slots home a penalty to extend his team’s lead at the top of League Two table 20 years after his last goal
At 44 years and 327 days, Zhuang Yi has become the oldest scorer in Chinese professional football after he scored a penalty for Shenyang Dongjin to put them 4-0 in front against Yanbian Beigou.
The striker only returned to playing on May 12 when he faced Baotou Nanjiao on May 12, 18 years after retiring from professional soccer.
On his return, a 7-1 win for his table-topping side, Zhuang became the oldest professional player in China before setting another record on Sunday.
Local media reported that Zhuang wore the same pair of boots on his return as when he retired and the available statistics suggest it is at least 20 years since he last scored.
The win puts Shenyang four points clear after 10 games.
Shenyang play in the north division of the league, which sees the 28 teams split into northern and southern groups.
Zhuang retired aged 27 in 2000 when he was playing for Shenyang Haishin – the club that went on to become Guangzhou R&F after brief stints in Changsha and Shenzhen. He had previously played for Liaoning in the mid-90s and also turned out for Beijing Guoan and was named young player of the year in 1994.
Zhuang will have to keep going to beat the record for the oldest scorer in world football. Kazuyoshi Miura, better known as Kazu, became the oldest scorer in Japan’s J.League aged 50 least year and is believed to be the oldest professional goalscorer.
