China international captain Zheng Zhi, who spent the end of last season on loan at Charlton, sees this month's AFC Asian Cup as a chance to enhance his reputation as he seeks a return to European football.

Despite Charlton's relegation, Zheng enjoyed his time in the Premier League experience and is hoping to return to Europe. The 26-year-old said: 'The experience of playing in the English Premier League was a very good one for me.

I enjoyed playing at Charlton, I benefited a lot from it and I hope that the experience I gained from playing there can help my national team at the Asian Cup. 'The higher quality of football, the physical contact, the way that we prepared for matches - there was so much that was different about playing in English football. 'I am hoping to move back to Europe again and right now, my agent is trying to secure a deal for me. 'But for sure, the Asian Cup is a big chance to make an impression and to win another move to Europe.' Zheng was a member of the Chinese national side that finished runners-up at the 2004 tournament on home soil, converting two penalties in their 3-0 quarter-final triumph against Iraq.

He feels that there is even more pressure on the team to perform at this year's tournament after reaching the final last time out. 'Of course, there was a lot of pressure for us to do well as the hosts in 2004 but being the home side also gave us many advantages then,' said Zheng, whose side face co-hosts Malaysia in their opening Group C match in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

source : soccernet.com Monday, July 09, 2007 at 4:54 PM