After becoming a superstar in his own country, Sun jihai broke new ground in another one by becoming the first Chinese player to score in one of Europe’s top soccer leagues: England’s Preniership.

　　Sun, who has played on China’s national team since 1996, attracted the attention of several European teams after his excellent performance during the World Cup qualifying rounds. Though he has injured in the first game of the World Cup finals, a bidding war had already begun for the 25-year-old defender. After working out with Manchester City for a week, he finally singed with the British team, which paid a record 2 million pound transfer fee to Sun’s old team, Dalian Shide.

　　“As soon as I came here to look around and train with the team, I knew Manchester City was a place where I could develop my skill and technique,”he said.

　　This wasn’t Sun’s first trip to England though. In 1998 he played for Crystal Palace, a lower division UK team, but returned to China after realizing that the team would never become a top contender.

　　But Sun’s move to Man City puts him under tremendous pressure, with many people calling him China’s best hopes for an international soccer star. While he dislikes being called an“ambassador”for Chinese soccer, he realizes that if he plays well he could open doors for other players. So far he has lived up to expectations, and was named“Player of the Month”during his first month with the team.

　　“If we do well, with the whole world watching, then it could give other Chinese players the chance to move abroad and widen their footballing education,”he said.