Yu Dabao (; born 18 April 1988) is a Chinese professional

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, rugb ...

who currently plays for

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 ...

club

Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan 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 the Chaoyang District in Beijing and their hom ...

Club career

Yu Dabao started his football career playing for second-tier side Qingdao Hailifeng and was soon called up to the Chinese under-17 national team. With the under-17 side, he played well during the

2004 AFC U-17 Championship The 2004 AFC U-17 Championship was the 11th AFC U-17 Championship, which was held between 4 and 18 September 2004 in Japan. China national football team, China won their second title after beating Korea DPR national football team, Korea DPR 1-0 i ...

and was quickly regarded as one of the best prospects in China due to his aerial and counterattacking abilities. This saw many clubs reportedly interested in the Yu including

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East En ...

, and Rangers; however, he joined Benfica on a three-year deal. In his debut match, only five days and three training sessions after he arrived in Portugal, Yu scored three goals and assisted a fourth in a reserve match against Portimonense. Due to Yu's strong performances for Benfica's reserves, he was given the chance of training with the first team during preseason and was thus officially added to the first team. He made his debut for the club on 26 September 2007 in a 0-0 draw against

Estrela da Amadora Club Football Estrela da Amadora (), sometimes just Estrela, is a Portuguese sports club (predominantly football) based in Amadora, northwest of Lisbon. It's the successor of Clube de Futebol Estrela da Amadora, founded in 1932 and extinct in 2 ...

in the

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tiers ...

, winning 5-4 on penalties. He was then soon loaned out to second-tier side C.D. Aves and then third-tier side Olivais Moscavide but was unable to save them from relegation as they suffered defeat in the last match of the season. Speculation then grew that Yu was willing to leave Benfica after his loan period at C.D. Mafra ended. By 13 May 2009, Yu revealed in a telephone interview that he was about to leave to spend the offseason back in his homeland; however, he received a call from Benfica asking him to stay until further notice. By February 2010, Yu's contract with Benfica had ended and he went on trial with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

side

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

; however, he was unable to receive a contract with them. He then signed a contract with top-tier side

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 ...

before the start of the 2010 season. His move turned out to be a big success and he went on to win the 2011 Chinese FA Cup, which saw him become one of the most sought-after players in China. On 27 February 2012, it was reported that Yu transferred to reigning league champions

Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...

for a reported fee of ¥15 million; however, Guangzhou withdrew from the transfer talk in the afternoon that day and he transferred to the newly promoted side

Dalian Aerbin Dalian Professional Football Club () is a professional Chinese football club based in Dalian, Liaoning, that participates in the China Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). Their home stadium is Dalian Sports Ce ...

the next day. On 27 December 2014, Yu transferred to fellow

side

after Dalian was relegated at the end of the 2014 season. By the 2018 league season, coach Roger Schmidt would name Yu as the club's captain and convert him into a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. This change in position would see Yu lead Beijing to go on to win the

2018 Chinese FA Cup Yanjing Beer 2018 Chinese FA Cup (Chinese: 燕京啤酒2018中国足球协会杯) was the 20th edition of the Chinese FA Cup. On 29 December 2017, Yanjing Beer extended their sponsorship contract for another four years (2018–2021). Schedule The ...

International career

Yu was called up to the Chinese national team by then manager

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. Appoint ...

and made his debut on 18 December 2010 in a 3-0 win against

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

. After making several further appearances, he scored his first goal for China on 22 February 2012 in a 2-0 unofficial friendly win against

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Ku ...

. Yu did not have to wait long before he scored his first official goal when he scored on 29 February 2012 in a 3-1 win against

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

during 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification.

Career statistics

Club statistics

International statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list China's goal tally first.''

Honours

Tianjin Teda *

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 title ...

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 celebrates ...

Beijing Guoan *

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

China U-17 * AFC U-17 Championship:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

References

External links

Player profile
at Sina.com.cn
Player profile
at Sohu.com * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yu, Dabao 1988 births Living people Chinese footballers Footballers from Qingdao China youth international footballers China international footballers S.L. Benfica footballers C.D. Olivais e Moscavide players C.D. Mafra players C.D. Aves players Chinese expatriate footballers Chinese expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Chinese Super League players China League One players Tianjin Jinmen Tiger F.C. players Dalian Professional F.C. players Beijing Guoan F.C. players 2019 AFC Asian Cup players Association football midfielders Association football forwards