He's the best footballer in China, he's China's captain, and he's a realist. He's even got his own blog: Zheng Zhi in the English Premiership.

"I won't deny I'm the best footballer in China," he was quoted as saying by People's Daily late last year. "But it's only in China."

"To be honest, I'm not getting used to the life here (in England) but I'm trying very hard. I believe I can play as well as I did in China."

Zheng has 11 goals in 37 appearances for China. He's already 1-in-4 at Charlton, a solid start for the new No 9 (No 10 with Chinese team).

Despite his evolution from a defensive bulwark to a force in midfield, Zheng could not prevent China's 2-0 drubbing by Australia on March 24.

"It was just a warm-up and we're aiming for the Asian Cup in July," he said later. "According to our performance in the second half, I think we're still capable of pulling out a good result in the finals."

China hosted the last Asian Cup in 2004 and finished runner-up for the second time. Zheng was one of two Chinese players to rack up three goals but he failed to shine in the title game against Japan. He expects to do better when China faces Group C rivals Iran, Malaysia and Uzbekhistan in Southeast Asia in July.

Zheng caught the attention of Premier League scouts after posting his best season at Shandong Luneng last year, scoring 21 goals in 26 appearances and winning the league and FA Cup to earn his second Chinese Super League Player of the Year award. One more goal would have matched his aggregate score in five previous seasons in the Chinese league.

The results won him the national captaincy last fall, a position coveted by some but considered a poisoned chalice by others in a country where the media can be unforgiving.

China failed to qualify for last year's World Cup after a disastrous campaign at Japan-Korea 2002. Haunted by its Asian Cup loss at Beijing Workers' Stadium in a final marred by rioting, it crashed out of the quarterfinals at the Asian Games in Doha in December following a penalty shootout against Iran.

Zheng's biggest contribution to the 2006 World Cup came in a warm-up against France. He grabbed a goal and gave Cisse his second broken leg to rule the player out for Germany. Occasionally bested by his temper, Zheng was suspended for China's losing final qualifier against Kuwait.

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