Chinese footballer Chen Zhizhao is set to make his Corinthians debut on Wednesday as the defending Série A champions travel to Minas Gerais to take on Cruzeiro in Varginha.
Chen, who is known in the Brazilian media as Zizão, joined Corinthians in March from Shanghai Shenxin as the Brazilian side looked to establish an influence in China.
The 24-year-old has, though, been forced to wait for his debut after picking-up an injury early in his time in Brazil, before being left-out by choice for the majority of the campaign.
The midfielder has, though, been selected on the bench for Corinthians’ past three fixtures and the side’s manager, Tite, confirmed his intention to hand Chen a debut in the fixture with Cruzeiro.
“He knows his job on the pitch,” Tite told reporters. “With the amount of good training he has under his belt, I realise I can stop talking about the need for him to train more first.
“I will not adapt him to any role, he is a wide player. He has speed, he counter-attacks, he drives forward and helps in transitions. I will never ask him to fill the midfield.”
