Qu Bo (; born 15 July 1981) is a Chinese retired

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 ...

Club career

Qu Bo started his football career playing for Tianjin Locomotive's youth team where he was spotted by and then transferred to top-tier side

Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

in 2000. He would quickly establish himself as an exciting young player and go on to play in seventeen league games while scoring eight goals, which would be enough to personally win the

Chinese Football Association The Chinese Football Association (CFA) is the governing body for association football, beach soccer and futsal in People's Republic of China (Mainland China). The CFA organizes the men's and women's national teams and administers the country's ...

Young Player of the Year award at the end of the 2000 league season. Qu would continue to be a vital member of the team and after playing in the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

where he would draw considerable interest from

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

where he had a month-long stint with them before leaving due to the lack of a work permit. On his return to Qingdao, he would show his importance to the team by helping the team win the club's first ever

Chinese FA Cup The Chinese FA Cup (, abbreviated as CFA Cup) is the national knockout cup competition in China organized by the Chinese Football Association. Its current holders are Shandong Taishan, having beaten Shanghai Port in 2021 for a record seventh titl ...

at the end of the 2002 league season. On 22 February 2010, after spending ten years at Qingdao, Qu transferred to top-tier side Shaanxi Chanba. He soon made his debut for the club in a league game against

Dalian Shide Dalian Shide was a professional Chinese football club based in Dalian, Liaoning province, China who played in China's football league system between 1955 and 2012. Their home stadiums were the 55,843 capacity Dalian People's Stadium and then lat ...

on 28 March 2010 in a 1–1 draw. After waiting several months, he would eventually score his first goal for the club on 14 July 2010 in a 2–1 win against

Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai Shenhua F.C. () is a Chinese professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The term ''shen hua'' literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" in ...

. At the beginning of the 2012 season, Qu followed the club when it decided to move to Guizhou and rename themselves Guizhou Renhe. On 3 June 2014, Qu transferred to

China League One The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League. Prior to the formation of ...

side Qingdao Hainiu. He made his debut for the club on 19 July 2014 in a 4–1 loss to

Shijiazhuang Yongchang Cangzhou Mighty Lions Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Cangzhou, Hebei and their home stadium i ...

and scored his first goal for the club on 27 July 2014 in a 2–1 win against Chengdu Tiancheng. On 5 January 2016, Qu transferred to his hometown club

Tianjin Teda Tianjin Jinmen Tiger 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 Tianjin, and their home stadium is t ...

in the

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 ...

. He announced his retirement on 2 March 2017.

International career

Qu's lightning pace first caught the eye of many at the 2000 AFC Youth Championship where he scored four goals for his country. After playing in the

2001 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Argentina between 17 June and 8 July 2001. The 2001 championship was the 13th contested. The tournament took part in six cities, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza, Rosario, Salta, and Mar de ...

, he would quickly catch the attention of

Bora Milutinovic Bora may refer to: Geography * Bora (Australian), the site of an initiation ceremony in Australian aboriginal culture, sometimes known as Bora rings * Bora, Punjab, a village in India * Borá, a city in the São Paulo state in Brazil * Bora (wind ...

who included him into the

squad where he preferred to place Qu at the wing so he can get the best out of the young prospect's pace. Following his initial rise to the national team, Qu had difficulty in retaining his position as a consistent member of the team. He was not selected for the

2004 AFC Asian Cup The 2004 AFC Asian Cup was the 13th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held from 17 July to 7 August 2004 in China. ...

squad and was forced out with injury in the

2007 AFC Asian Cup The 2007 AFC Asian Cup was the 14th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held from 7 to 29 July 2007. For the first time in its h ...

squad. He was however brought back to the national team for several qualifying games and worked his way back into the side. He represented China for the final time in 2013.

Career statistics

International goals

:''Results list China's goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

Qingdao Jonoon Qingdao Hainiu Football Club (, known as Hai-niu or literally Sea Bull) is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the China League Two division under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is b ...

: 2002 Guizhou Renhe *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Chinese FA Super Cup The Chinese FA Super Cup (), formerly named Chinese Football Super Cup (), is a pre-season association football, football competition held before the season begins in China PR, China. It is a Chinese football championship contested by the winners ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

International

China PR national football team China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

* East Asian Football Championship:

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Individual

Young Player of the Year: 2000 *

Team of the Year:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Personal life

Qu Bo and Zhu Yanxiang () married on 11 November 2011. On 26 January 2014, they had a boy named Qu Jiahe ().

References

External links

chinasuperleague.com
2002 China Team Player Profile at Sinosoc website *
news.bbc.co.uk
2002 World Cup Player Profile at BBC website *
football-lineups.com
Player stats at football-lineups website {{DEFAULTSORT:Qu, Bo 1981 births Living people Chinese footballers Footballers from Tianjin China international footballers 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2011 AFC Asian Cup players Qingdao Hainiu F.C. (1990) players Beijing Renhe F.C. players Qingdao F.C. players Tianjin Jinmen Tiger F.C. players Chinese Super League players China League One players Association football forwards Association football wingers Footballers at the 2002 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for China