Yu Ziqian (, born 3 June 1985) is a Chinese retired

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Club career

Yu Ziqian played for the

Dalian Yiteng Shaoxing Keqiao Yuejia Football Club () is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the China League Two division under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Shaoxing, Zhejiang and their home s ...

youth team before it was sold-off and then merged with Dalian Shide's own youth team. At Dalian Shide, Yu was trained by former England international goalkeeper Jimmy Rimmer, however before he had a chance to establish himself within the team he was seriously injured in a training session where he received a ruptured spleen and one year out of football. Upon his return from injury Yu was allowed to join third-tier club

Shanxi Wosen Luhu Hohhot Black Horse (呼和浩特黑马) is a defunct Chinese football club based in Hohhot, China and were based at the Hohhot People's Stadium. Founded as Beijing Zangying Xuequan, a team based in Beijing but dedicated to unearthing and develop ...

in the 2002 league campaign before he returned to Dalian Shide after they needed a third choice goalkeeper the following season. At the top-tier club he would have to wait to establish himself until on April 9, 2003, in a

2002–03 AFC Champions League The 2002–03 AFC Champions League was the twenty-second edition of Asia's premier football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and the first edition under the AFC Champions League title. Sixteen teams competed in this ed ...

semi-final match he was given his debut after the first choice goalkeeper

An Qi An Qi () (born 21 June 1981) is a Chinese former international association football goalkeeper. He represented Guangzhou Matsunichi, Dalian Shide, Dalian Changbo, Xiamen Blue Lions and Changchun Yatai while internationally he participated for ...

was sent-off and Yu had to deputize as Dalian Shide lost to

Al Ain FC Al Ain Football Club ( ar, نادي العين لكرة القدم; transliterated: Nady al-'Ayn) or Al Ain FC or simply Al Ain is a professional football club, based in the city of Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is one of many spo ...

4–2. After making very little progress at Dalian Shide he was sold to top-tier club

Qingdao Jonoon F.C. 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 ...

for 1.5 million Yuan and was expected to fight for the goalkeeping position against Liu Zhenli. After spending two seasons at the club Yu, however was unable to make the position his and he was allowed to leave for third-tier club Dalian Aerbin. The move would be a huge success and he would go on to win not only the successive league titles but promotion to the top tier of Chinese football, 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 ...

. At the beginning of the 2012 season Yu was even named vice-captain, however after a series of bad performance culminating in a 5-2 league defeat to

Liaoning Whowin Liaoning Football Club (), officially known as Liaoning Hongyun (), was a professional association football club with a long history in Chinese football. The club can predate their formation to 1953, when Shenyang government sports body joined ex ...

on July 28, 2012, Yu was dropped from the team. In February 2015, Yu returned to Dalian Aerbin. On 9 July 2020, Yu announced his retirement.

Career statistics

''Statistics accurate as of match played 31 December 2019.''

Honours

Dalian Aerbin *

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 ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

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 ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Qingdao Hainiu *

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 ...

References

External links

*
Player profile
at Sodasoccer.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Yu, Ziqian 1985 births Living people Chinese men's footballers Footballers from Dalian Dalian Shide F.C. players Qingdao Hainiu F.C. players Qingdao F.C. players Dalian Professional F.C. players Chinese Super League players China League One players Men's association football goalkeepers