Yu Tao

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Yu.
Yu Tao
于涛
Personal information
Full name Yu Tao
Date of birth 15 October 1981 (1981-10-15) (age 30)
Place of birth Shanghai, China
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current club Shanghai Shenhua
Number 6
Youth career
1995-1999 Shanghai Cable 02
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2000-2001 Shanghai Cable 02 ? (?)
2002- Shanghai Shenhua 204 (17)
National team‡
2002- China 7 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 December 2010.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 December 2010

Yu Tao (simplified Chinese: 于涛; traditional Chinese: 于濤; pinyin: Yú Tāo; born October 15, 1981 in Shanghai) is a Chinese international football player who currently plays for Shanghai Shenhua as a midfielder and their captain in the Chinese Super League.

Contents

Club career

Yu Tao began his football career playing for Shanghai Cable 02 before the club were taken over by Shanghai Shenhua and he was premoted to their senior side at the beginning of the 2002 league season where he made twenty four league games and would score four goals.[1] By the following season he would become an integral member of the Shenhua team due to his ability to play in numerous positions in midfield and would help them to win the league title.[2] Despite several changes in management and the influx of players from the Shanghai United F.C. merger Yu Tao has been a constant regular for Shanghai Shenhua throughout his career.[3] By the 2010 league season his loyalty towards Shanghai would be rewarded when he was named the clubs captain and on September 14, 2010 in a league game against Shaanxi Zhongjian Chanba he would become the clubs most capped player when he made his one hundred and eighty sixth league appearance for the club.[4]

International career

After his impressive performances for Shanghai Shenhua in the 2002 league season he was called into the National team for the first time.[1] He would be called up into the Chinese managers Arie Haan's first game against Syria in a friendly on 7 December 2002 in a 3-1 win.[5] After that game he would become an irregular member for the national team, but this would not be enough to make the squad for the 2004 AFC Asian Cup. After several years in the international wilderness the next Chinese manager Zhu Guanghu would call him up for a friendly against Kazakhstan on February 7, 2007 in a 2-1 victory.[6] In preparation for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup Zhu Guanghu included Yu Tao in several further squads but decided not in include him for the final tournament. The introduction of Gao Hongbo as the Chinese manager that saw Yu Tao given his chance of a competitive tournament when he was called him up for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.

Honours

Shanghai Shenhua

References

  1. ^ a b http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=21564
  2. ^ http://www.rsssf.com/tablesc/china03.html
  3. ^ http://www.china.org.cn/sports/news/2007-02/09/content_1199541.htm
  4. ^ http://csldata.sports.sohu.com/gameinfo.php?season=2010&gameid=A12094
  5. ^ http://teamchina.freehostia.com/en/match.php?date=2002-12-07
  6. ^ http://teamchina.freehostia.com/en/match.php?date=2007-02-07

External links

Shanghai Shenhua F.C. – current squad
China squad – 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship
1 Yang Zhi • 2 Li Xuepeng • 3 Wang Qiang • 4 Zhao Peng • 5 Du Wei (c) • 6 Zhou Haibin • 7 Zhao Xuri • 8 Hao Junmin • 9 Yang Xu • 10 Deng Zhuoxiang • 11 Qu Bo • 12 Guan Zhen • 13 Liu Jianye • 14 Wang Song • 15 Yu Tao • 16 Huang Bowen • 17 Zhang Linpeng • 18 Gao Lin • 19 Yang Hao • 20 Rong Hao • 21 Yu Hai • 22 Zeng Cheng • 23 Li Jianbin • Coach: Gao Hongbo