Liu Cheng (footballer, born 1983)
{{short description|Chinese footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Liu Cheng
刘成
| image =
| fullname = Liu Cheng
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1983|10|23|df=y}}
| birth_place = Changsha, Hunan, China
| height = {{convert|1.84|m|abbr=on}}
| position = Defender
| currentclub = Shijiazhuang Gongfu (Caretaker)
| clubnumber =
| youthyears1 = 1995–1998
| youthyears2 = 1998–1999
| youthclubs1 = Shanghai Oriental Pearl Youth
| youthclubs2 = Sichuan Quanxing
| years1 = 2000–2004
| years2 = 2005
| years3 = 2006
| years4 = 2007–2009
| years5 = 2010–2014
| clubs1 = Sichuan Quanxing
| clubs2 = Hunan Billows
| clubs3 = Dalian Shide
| clubs4 = Chengdu Blades
| clubs5 = Guangzhou R&F
| caps1 = 48
| goals1 = 0
| caps2 = ?
| goals2 = ?
| caps3 = 8
| goals3 = 0
| caps4 = 46
| goals4 = 3
| caps5 = 52
| goals5 = 0
| nationalyears1 = 2001
| nationalteam1 = China U-20
| nationalcaps1 =
| nationalgoals1 =
| pcupdate = 4 November 2013
| ntupdate = 4 November 2013
| manageryears1 = 2022
| managerclubs1 = China U19 (Trainer)
| manageryears2 = 2023
| managerclubs2 = Shijiazhuang Gongfu (Assistant Coach)
| manageryears3 = 2024-
| managerclubs3 = Shijiazhuang Gongfu (Caretaker)
}}
{{family name hatnote|Liu|lang=Chinese}}
Liu Cheng ({{zh|s=刘成|t=劉成|p=Liú Chéng}}, born 23 October 1983 in Changsha, Hunan) is a retired Chinese footballer.
Club career
Liu Cheng began his professional football career with Sichuan Quanxing in 2000 as a highly regarded seventeen-year-old youth player who made ten league appearances in his debut season.{{cite web|url=http://www.sodasoccer.com/search/player/8298A9940B04717F.html|title=刘成|publisher=sodasoccer.com|date=|accessdate=2012-08-06}} He would eventually go on to gradually establish himself as a regular within the team until the 2005 league season saw second tier side Hunan Billows willing to pay 3.8 million RMB for him.{{cite web|url=http://sports.163.com/10/0327/13/62PKEFP100051C89.html|title=昔日最年轻国脚为尽孝险退役 刘成欲重返国足|publisher=sports.163.com|date=2010-03-27|accessdate=2012-08-06}} Liu Cheng left after only one season to go on to join reigning league champions Dalian Shide F.C. where he struggled to hold down a regular place within the team. In the 2007 league season he would go on to join second tier side Chengdu Blades and quickly see them win promotion when they came second within the league.{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesc/china07.html |title=China 2007 |date=18 Apr 2008 |accessdate=2012-08-06 |url-status=live |website=RSSSF |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017135851/http://www.rsssf.com/tablesc/china07.html |archivedate=2012-10-17 }} With Chengdu he would go on to establish himself as their first choice right-back and see the team become mid-table regulars until the team were relegated at the end of the 2009 league season after it was discovered that the club had fixed a game in their 2007 promotion.{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1172760.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108082639/http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1172760.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 8, 2012|title=Chengdu Blades demoted|publisher=fifa.com|date=23 February 2010|accessdate=2012-08-06}}
While none of the players were implicated with match fixing, Liu Cheng decided to leave the club and at the beginning of the 2010 league season he joined top tier club Changsha Ginde, which brought him back to his hometown of Changsha on a swap deal with Song Zhenyu and the club quickly made him their first choice right-back. His initial time at the club was not a success and in his debut season he saw the club relegated at the end of the season.{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesc/china2010.html|title=China 2010|date=21 Jun 2012|website=RSSSF|accessdate=2012-08-06}} Liu Cheng stayed with the club as they eventually moved to Guangzhou and rename themselves Guangzhou R&F, which seemed to revive the club's fortunes and saw them win promotion at the end of the 2011 China League One season.
Liu retired from football in January 2016.[http://weleague.sports.163.com/16/0111/18/BD2MLD7K00050HQ4.html 富力2016第一战VS塞尔维亚劲旅&功臣退役仪式] at 163.com 11 January 2016 Retrieved 12 January 2016
International career
In 2000 Liu Cheng was the surprise choice of Chinese Head coach Bora Milutinović's first squad despite the player having little to no first team experience. Liu did not go on to make his debut and after injury as well as a lack of form the following seasons saw his international career all but end until 2010 when Chinese Head coach Gao Hongbo recalled into the squad.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Cheng}}
Category:Sportspeople from Changsha
Category:Chinese men's footballers
Category:Footballers from Hunan
Category:Sichuan First City F.C. players
Category:Dalian Shide F.C. players
Category:Hunan Billows F.C. players
Category:Guangzhou City F.C. players
Category:Chinese Super League players
Category:China League One players