Zhao Dayu (; 17 January 1961 – 18 March 2015), also known as , was a Chinese coach, businessman and a former international

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 ...

striker. He was a naturalized citizen of Japan. As a footballer he played his whole career for

Guangzhou F.C. 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 ...

, where he was Nicknamed "Dwarf Tiger" because of his short sature, while internationally he was called up to the Chinese national team, where he took part in the 1984 Asian Cup. He had to retire early in 1986 due to injury and moved to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

to become the coach of Mitsubishi Motors F.C. youth team in 1988. Zhao had a brief stint at senior management with Guangzhou F.C. before concentrating on football youth development by starting up his own school named Guangzhou Yida in his hometown while outside football he moved into

sportswear Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Typical sport-specific garments ...

manufacturing with a company called Ucan.

Playing career

Zhao Dayu studied within the specialist sport schools within

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

before being picked up by

, where he showed himself to be a technically gifted player before going on to break into the senior team and soon help guide the club to win promotion to the top tier when the club won the 1981 division title. Zhao's performances for his club soon saw him called up to the Chinese national team, and he soon gained national attention when he scored the winning goal against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in the 1984

Nehru Cup The Nehru Cup was an international association football tournament organised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), named after the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. It was launched in 1982, but was not held from 1998 to ...

. While the Nehru Cup was a friendly competition Zhao showed what he was capable of when he played in 1984 Asian Cup and helped guide China to a runner-up position within the tournament. It turned out to be the highlight of his career, and in 1986 he had to retire after he was unable to overcome a persistent tibia and fibula fracture in his left leg. In 1988, Zhao moved to

to become the coach of Mitsubishi Motors F.C. youth team and spent several years with his wife and family living in Japan. He switched nationality from China to Japan and changed his name as Tatsuyu Matsuki (松木達裕) before returning to China in 1998. He then had a brief stint with senior management when he returned to Guangzhou F.C. in 1999 as their head coach; however, it has been in youth development where Zhao has concentrated on when he formed a football school named Guangzhou Yida in his hometown of Guangzhou. He is also the owner of a

company named Ucan which had secured a kit sponsorship deal with

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 ...

club

Guangdong Sunray Cave Shaanxi Wuzhou Football Club () was a Chinese professional football club based in Xi'an, Shaanxi which last played in the China League One division. The club was originally formed on February 5, 2007 as Guangdong Sunray Cave F.C. and was once ow ...

. On 18 March 2015, Zhao died of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (), abbreviated as SYSUCC, is a public hospital in Guangzhou, China. It is affiliated with Sun Yat-sen University. The hospital was founded in March 1964. It is a Level III Class A hospital (the highest rank ...

in Guangzhou, aged 54.Yi Zhao Dayu former Gold partner: He proved that all can play
/ref>

Career statistics

International statistics

References

External links

at sodasoccer.com
Team China Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhao, Dayu 1961 births 2015 deaths Chinese footballers Footballers from Guangzhou Chinese football managers Chinese expatriate footballers China international footballers Chinese expatriate sportspeople in Japan Guangzhou F.C. players Businesspeople from Guangzhou Association football forwards Expatriate footballers in Japan 1984 AFC Asian Cup players Guangzhou F.C. managers Deaths from liver cancer Deaths from cancer in the People's Republic of China Naturalized citizens of Japan