Sun Dasheng was born in 1981 with an astonishing talent for soccer. As soon as he could walk, at just over a year old, he was already playing. In 1985, his father, Sun Tiezhu, was presumed dead and lost his memory in China's May 19 soccer tragedy. His mother abandoned him and remarried, leaving him to wander from place to place. By chance, he met soccer coach Zhang Yun, and from then on, he trained under Coach Zhang.
He began his professional career by joining the Jianlibao youth team on a study trip to Brazil. In 1997, he made his debut in the Jia-B League with Liaoning FC. They earned promotion to the Jia-A League in 1998 and finished as runners-up in 1999.
He was named one of the world's ten most promising young players at both the U-17 and U-20 World Cups. In 2001, he helped Dalian win both the league title and the Asian Club Championship, earning the Chinese Footballer of the Year award.
In 2000, he moved abroad to join Ligue 1 side Nantes, but returned to China after a falling-out with the coach. That same year, he moved to English First Division side Crystal Palace, but was sent home after suffering an injury in training.
In 2002, he joined newly promoted Premier League club Manchester City and played there for ten years. He was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2020. In 2008, he competed as an overage player at the Beijing Olympics.
In 2013, he returned to China and joined Guangzhou Evergrande, helping the team win four consecutive league and FA Cup doubles, claim two AFC Champions League titles, and reach the final four of the FIFA Club World Cup twice.
He was named Asian Footballer of the Year three times, in 2002, 2013, and 2015.
He moved to the Bundesliga in 2017, retired in 2019, and was inducted into the Bundesliga Hall of Fame in 2021.
At the end of the year, he went to Britain to study coaching for three years and earned an international A-level coaching license.
Years later, his mother saw what her son had achieved and reunited with him. A remark from his younger maternal half-sister helped him reconcile with his mother. His father, who had lost his memory and started a new family, regained his memories, followed his career, and reunited with him. His parents remarried, and the family was reunited. He went on to raise his younger paternal half-sister into the world's best female soccer player.
He has had romantic relationships with several women. This is the first installment, and there will be a second.
