Dream Market I want to retire in China A mercenary from the K League, naturalized at K-League? China's futile expectation to play in the next World Cup qualifying round?

Sep 01, 2025

사진=산둥

There are constant rumors that Zeka, a striker who played in the K-League in the past, will be naturalized as a member of the Chinese national team.

China's Sohu Dotcom confirmed the naturalization of the 27-year-old K-League MVP on the 31st (Korea time). Zeka will play in the Chinese national team uniform in the next World Cup Asian regional qualifying tournament, and will work directly with Zhang Winning, according to the report. However, there is an error in the content. Zeka has won the K-League Best Eleven, but has never won the MVP award.

In addition, the media clearly wrote that Zeka was naturalized in the title, but in terms of content, Zeka's naturalization to China has not yet been confirmed. Zeka's naturalization to China is expected to be discussed in earnest after the renewal of his contract with Shandong.

Anyway, this is not the first time that Zeka has been naturalized as a Chinese national university. In early August, Sohu also reported that Shandong Taishan could meet the conditions for naturalization in China if it approaches renewing its contract with Zeka.

Zeka is a striker who was active in the K League before moving to Shandong Taishan. Daegu FC, where Edgar, a key striker of the 2022 season, collapsed, hired Zeka on a surprise loan. Zeka replaced Edka immediately. He became the core of Daegu by playing an active role in the Asian Champions League (ACL) and the league.

사진=신화뉴스

Pohang Steelers, who watched Zeka, fully recruited Zeka from Brazilian club Mirasol. After adjusting to the K-League, Zeka also showed outstanding performance in Pohang and became a foreign striker representing the K-League. Zeka, who is tall, has a wide range of activities, and can even play a role as a scorer and helper, landed in China ahead of the 2024 season.

It was Zeka who worked with coach Choi Kang-hee, but he decided for a long time due to a major injury such as a cruciate ligament rupture in his first season. Zeka, who returned at the end of the league, finished the 2024 season without much performance. Since the ACL group stage, which began at the end of 2024, Zeka has regained his scoring ability and has 10 goals and 6 assists in 18 games in the Chinese Super League this season. He leads Shandong's attack perfectly with Baco, who played in Ulsan HD in the past.

Zeka is now difficult to naturalize in China because his stay in China has not been met, but if he plays until 2028, he can play as a Chinese player. The reason for this positive outlook is that Zeka is a player with a very positive view of the Chinese league.

사진=ACL

In an interview with Brazilian media in the past, Zeca said "China is a place where many players can achieve their dreams. You can live by earning a lot of money. I'm not considering a transfer anymore. I want to retire here and end my career", he said himself.

Zeka was born in 1997, so she is likely to remain in her prime until 2028. In 2028, World Cup qualifiers are in full swing for the 2030 World Cup, so naturalization will not be difficult if Zeka really wants to play for China.

Sohu said in an interview with Brazilian media that Zeca likes the soccer environment here and wants to play in the Chinese league for a few more years. To put it more bluntly, he said he wanted to spend the last years of his career on this stage. Behind this wind, there is also a realistic reward. Salaries and expectations for a stable future gave him a reason to take root,' it added.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.