Full name Ye Jia | Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Name Ye Jia | |
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Date of birth (1981-12-01) December 1, 1981 (age 34) | ||
Playing position | ||
Ye Jia (simplified Chinese: 叶佳; traditional Chinese: 葉佳; pinyin: Yè Jiā; Jyutping: jip6 gaai1, born (1981-12-01)December 1, 1981), is a former Chinese born Hong Kong professional football player. He was an all-rounded player who can play as an attacking midfielder or a striker on the field.
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Early life
Ye Jia was born on 1 December 1981 in Shanghai, China. He played for amateur football team Shanghai Tiannuo in China Amateur Football League in 2002. After a season, the boss of Zhu Jun bought Tiannuo and founded professional football team Shanghai Jiucheng in China League Two, so Ye Jia became a professional football player.
Shanghai Jiucheng
As his first professional team experience, Ye Jia did not contemplate breaking into the first team immediately but looked up to senior players like Ebelio Ordóñez. He always was a substitution player in league matches.
Tai Po
In 2007-2008, Tai Po was the finalist of the FA Cup.Ye scored an important goal for the club against South China AA and brought the club to the final. This is the first time of the club to be the finalist of the FA Cup.
Tai Po got 3 straight wins against Tuen Mun Progoal, Sheffield United (HKG) and TSW Pegasus in the season 2008-2009. As Ye was suspended for the first match, he played as a striker in the next 2 matches, giving 2 assists and a goal for the club. He also scored for the club in the semi-finals of FA Club against Kitchee SC and Tai Po got into the final.
In the year 2009-2010, Ye scored 7 in the first 6 matches. Moreover, in the match against Tuen Mun Progoal he scored 4 goals.
International career
As a Chinese national, according to the FIFA Statues, he became eligible for the Hong Kong national football team following two years of residency in Hong Kong. Hong Kong coach Tsang Wai Chung selected Ye Jia for the training section before 2010–11 season in Hong Kong.