Mirahmetjan "Metjan" Muzepper (; ; born 14 January 1991) is a Chinese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Chinese Super League club Chengdu Rongcheng. In 2018, he became the first Uyghur to play for the China national team.
Club career Mirahmetjan Muzepper grew up from a football family with his father Muzepper and grandfather Zunun Mamut both playing within the Xinjiang region. At a young age he would quickly draw the attentions of Shandong Luneng and join their youth team where he would win several youth championships, which attracted the interests of Henan Construction who took him on loan at the beginning of the 2010 Chinese Super League season where he would make his senior debut in a league game against Jiangsu Sainty on April 18, 2010 that was a 0-0 draw.
After a productive season where Mirahmetjan established himself as a regular for Henan he would return to Shandong at the beginning of the 2011 Chinese Super League and would go on to make his first senior appearance for the club in a league game against Chengdu Blades on April 1, 2011 as a substitute Wang Yongpo in a 3-3 draw. He would only be able to establish himself as a squad player within the team. On 5 January 2014, Mirahmetjan transferred to fellow Chinese Super League side Henan Jianye on a free transfer.建业宣布签约鲁能边路悍将 另有中甲门神加盟 at sports.qq.com 2014-01-05 Retrieved 2014-01-09 On 31 December 2016, Henan Jianye officially confirmed that Muzepper had left the club after a disagreement in negotiations for extending his contract.建业官宣两将离队：张力赴国安 买提江或签泰达 at sports.sohu.com 2016-12-31 Retrieved 2017-01-03
On 9 January 2017, Mirahmetjan moved to top tier side Tianjin TEDA.泰达火爆官宣签约11人 3名教练8名球员 at sports.sohu.com 2017-01-09 Retrieved 2017-01-10 He would make his debut in a league game on 4 March 2017 against his former club Shandong Luneng in a 2-0 defeat. He would go on to establish himself as an integral member of the team and once he started to play more in midfield he would score his first goal for the club in a league game on 6 May 2018 against Guizhou Hengfeng in a 5-1 victory.
After three seasons in Tianjin, Mirahmetjan transferred to Shanghai SIPG (later renamed as Shanghai Port) on 17 January 2020.上港官宣买提江加盟 国脚左路多面手增强阵容厚度 On 29 June 2023, Mirahmetjan scored his first goal for the club in a 2-1 away win against Beijing Guoan.
International career Mirahmetjan was called up into China U-20's squad in 2009 where he would take part in the teams 2010 AFC U-19 Championship qualification. After China's successful qualification he would draw significant attention when he became the first Uyghur player to ever be called up to the senior team. The Chinese Head coach Gao Hongbo called him up for several training sessions in preparation for 2010 East Asian Football Championship on the basis of his youth performances, however he did not feature within the tournament. He would return to the Chinese U-20 squad and take part in the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship where he would play in three games and saw China knocked out quarter-finals. After that tournament he was immediately promoted to the Chinese U-23 squad and included in the team that played in the Football at the 2010 Asian Games where he would once more play in three games and see China knocked out in the last sixteen. On 7 September 2018, he made his debut for Chinese national team in a 1–0 away defeat against Qatar, coming on for Gao Lin in the 74th minute, which made him the first Uyghur player to appear for the Chinese national team.
Career statistics Club statistics Statistics accurate as of match played 31 January 2023.买提江 at sodasoccer Retrieved 2018-10-17 + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsHenan (Loan)2010Chinese Super League210-00-210Shandong Taishan2011401031-8120128020--10020133010--40 Total150403100221Henan2014Chinese Super League16010--170201513110--141201612022--142 Total411420000453Tianjin Jinmen Tiger2017Chinese Super League26010--270201827110--281201924110--251 Total772300000802Shanghai Port2020Chinese Super League1601080-25020211807000-250202216010--170 Total500908000670 Career total2043202111002356
International statistics National teamYearAppsGoals201850201940Total90
Honours Shanghai Port Chinese Super League: 2023
References
External links Player stats at Sohu.com