China was a dominant force in the world of women's football. Their scintillating displays were a testament to the brilliance of the individual players who championed a passion for the game that could be barely matched.
Boasting a goal scoring record of 106 in 152 matches, Sun Wen was known for showing up whenever China needed her to. Yet another player who was just as good a scorer as she was a creator, Wen has the rare achievement of winning both the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball In the 1999 World Cup.
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At the Sydney Olympics in 2000, Wen scored a spectacular 32-yard free kick that is unforgettable for anyone who witnessed it. The Chinese legend is also the first woman to be nominated for the Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year award.
She has not been as successful as her contemporaries on this list when it comes to international accolades. China led by Sun Wen finished runners-up in the 1996 Olympics as the 1999 World Cup.
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But her individual accolades can’t be questioned. Wen shared FIFA’s female footballer of the 20th-century award with USA’s Michelle Akers.
Sun represented two clubs in her career, Shanghai SVA and Atlanta Beat of the Women’s United Soccer Association. In the 2001-02 season, an array of inspired performances from Wen got Atlanta Beat into the finals but they lost out on winning the season title to San Jose CyberRays on penalties.
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About the author
Shambhu Ajith
Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.
For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.
Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.
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