Cao Tianbao (; Former name Cao Ming, born 3 April 1982 in

Shenyang Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...

) is a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who currently plays as a striker for Chinese club

Changchun Shenhua Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 c ...

Club career

Tianbao started his professional football career with

Changchun Yatai Changchun Yatai Football Club () is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Changchun, Jilin and their home stadi ...

in 2001 after he graduated from their youth team. He gradually established himself within the Changchun squad as they fought for promotion to the top tier, eventually achieving this in the 2005 league season when they came second in the league. Playing in the top tier, Cao found it difficult to start many games since the club brought in Elvis Scott and then Guillaume Dah Zadi as their main strikers within the club, nevertheless Cao found his role within the team as a prolific goalscorer coming off the bench and go on to win the league title in the 2007 season with the club. It was only with the introduction of

Li Shubin Li Shubin (; ; born January 10, 1955) is a Chinese football manager and a former international player. In his playing career he was a striker and spent his whole career with Liaoning F.C. before retiring. In 1995, he would move into management ...

as the team's new manager did Cao Tianbao actually establish himself as the club's first-choice

second striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

within the team and help guide the club to a runners-up position at the end of the

2009 Chinese Super League The 2009 Chinese Super League season was the sixth season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League, the sixteenth season of a professional football league and the 48th top-tier league season in China. Beijing Guoan won their first eve ...

season. When the club brought in

Shen Xiangfu Shen Xiangfu (; ; born May 27, 1957 in Beijing) is a Chinese football coach who is the joint manager of The Regional Preferente de la Comunitat Valenciana side Atlético Museros as well as also being a former international football player. As ...

as their next manager, Cao found himself dropped from the starting line-up once more; however, this time when used as a substitute he wasn't able to find his goal scoring touch and was allowed to leave for second-tier club Shenzhen Phoenix at the beginning of the 2011 league season. At the club, he was reunited with Li Shubin and was given the number 14 shirt once again. He was released by Changchun at the end of 2014 season. In July 2015, Cao transferred to

China League Two The Chinese Football Association Division Two League (Simplified Chinese: 中国足球协会乙级联赛), or China League Two, is the third tier league of the People's Republic of China. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football As ...

side

Meizhou Kejia Meizhou Hakka Football Club (; Hakka language: Mòi-Chû Hag-Ga chuk-khiù khî-lo̍k-phu) is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). ...

. In March 2016, Cao transferred to fellow

side

Shenzhen Renren Shenzhen Ledman Football Club is a defunct Chinese professional football club from the People's Republic of China. The club was based in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. History Shenzhen Renren Football Club was established in March 2015. They play ...

. On 23 February 2017, Cao transferred to

Chengdu Qbao Chengdu Qbao Football Club () was a Chinese football club that participated in the China League Two division under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Chengdu, Sichuan. History The club was established by Qba ...

. Despite finishing tenth out of twenty-four teams, the club withdrew from the League before the 2018 season when the its owner was under investigation for an illegal fund raising scandal. On 20 March 2018,

Chengdu Better City Chengdu Rongcheng Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Chengdu, Sichuan and their home stadium is the Chengdu Phoenix Hill Football Stadium that has a seating capacity of 50,695. The club currently participates in th ...

was established on its ashes, and Cao remained in its squad as they played within the fourth tier and immediately gained successive promotions. On 26 March 2021 the contract Cao had with Chengdu would expire and he joined second tier football club Sichuan Minzu on a free transfer.

International career

Cao was called up for the first time to the Chinese national team by his former coach

Gao Hongbo Gao Hongbo (; born January 25, 1966 in Beijing) is a retired Chinese football striker and head coach of China League One side Beijing Enterprises. He previously managed the China national football team from 2009 to 2011, and in 2016. Appointed ...

who gave Cao his international debut in a friendly against

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in a 1–0 win on 1 June 2009.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

*Chinese Jia-B League: 2003

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

References

External links

*
Player profile at sports.163.com
(Chinese)
Player stats at Sohu.com
(Chinese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Tianbao 1982 births Living people Footballers from Shenyang Chinese footballers China international footballers Changchun Yatai F.C. players Changsha Ginde players Meizhou Hakka F.C. players Chengdu Better City F.C. players Chinese Super League players China League One players China League Two players Association football forwards