Zhao Junzhe, once the flag-bearer of the Chinese Football Super League side Liaoning, has decided to leave the club due to a lack of confidence in the club's future.

 

 

Zhao said he has submitted a transfer application to the club he has served for more than a decade.

 

This is not the first time the midfielder has said farewell to the team embattled by poor management and financial problems, but his previous attempts all ended in a draw.

 

Zhao told Web site sohu.com he wanted to join an ambitious team that is able to claim the league match title.

 

He said several teams have contacted him about a transfer, but declined to give their names.

 

Earlier reports said Shandong Luneng and Tianjin Kangshifu are among the favorites chasing Zhao, who played for China in the 2002 World Cup and the Asian Cup in 2004.

 

The Liaoning team dominated the Chinese football circle before the country's professional league kicked off in 1994. But the team's performance started to backslide in the late 1990s and has slumped into management trouble in recent years.

 

(CRI December 24, 2007)