Xie Hongjun

Xie Hongjun
谢鸿钧
Personal information
Full name	Xie Hongjun
Date of birth	2 August 1929
Place of birth	Zhongshan, Guangdong, China
Date of death	17 October 2020 (aged 91)
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Youth career
	Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard
Senior career*
Years	Team
1951–1952	Shanghai Team
	Navy Team
1952–1954	Bayi
International career
1953–1956	China
	* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Xie Hongjun (simplified Chinese: 谢鸿钧; traditional Chinese: 謝鴻鈞; pinyin: Xiè Hóngjūn; 2 August 1929 – 17 October 2020) was a Chinese footballer.

Club career

As an 11-year-old, Xie Hongjun played for Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard's football team. Throughout his career, Hongjun played for Shanghai Team, East Team, the Navy football team and Bayi.^{[citation needed]} Xie was regarded as China's fastest football player, running 100 metres in 11.2 seconds.^[1]

International career

Xie made his debut for China in 1953. In 1954, Xie travelled with the Chinese national team on a year-and-a-half long tour of Hungary and eastern Europe.^[2] In 1956, Xie was selected to play for China at the 1956 Summer Olympics, however China withdrew.^{[citation needed]}

Coaching career

In 1975, Xie became a youth team coach for Beijing.^[3] Xie began to coach his son, Xie Feng, when he was three years-old.^[4]

Personal life

Xie Hongjun was married to former Chinese sprinter Zheng Yuru (Chinese: 郑玉茹).^[5] Together they had a son, Xie Feng, who played for Beijing Guoan and Shenzhen Pingan. Xie Hongjun died on 17 October 2020, at the age of 91.^[6]