Gu Chao ( Chinese: 顾超;

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

: ''Gù Chāo''; born 20 August 1989) is a Chinese footballer who currently plays for Zhejiang Pro 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 ...

Club career

Gu Chao joined the Genbao Football Academy in 2000 and was promoted to Shanghai East Asia's first team squad during the 2006 season. He played regularly as the starting goalkeeper and made an impression within the team as Shanghai won promotion to the second tier in the 2007 season. On 15 March 2011, Gu transferred to

side

Hangzhou Greentown Zhejiang Professional Football Club (), commonly referred to as Zhejiang FC or simply Zhejiang, is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association ( ...

for a fee of ¥2 million. On 6 July 2011, he made his debut for Hangzhou in a 1–1 away draw 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 l ...

. He mainly played as the backup goalkeeper for Jiang Bo in the 2011 season and 2012 season. However, it was not until the 2014 season when Gu cemented his role as the team's starting goalkeeper. On 31 December 2015, Gu moved to Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning on a five-year contract with a transfer fee of ¥50 million, which being above

Wang Dalei Wang Dalei (, meaning "Great Thunder"; born 10 January 1989) is a Chinese professional footballer who currently plays for Chinese Super League club Shandong Taishan. Club career Despite being only seventeen years old, Wang Dalei started his ...

's transfer record fee of ¥30 million, made him the most expensive goalkeeper in China. He played as a back-up for Zhang Sipeng at the beginning of the season. Gu made his debut for Jiangsu on 9 April 2016 in a 1–0 win against

Henan Jianye Henan Songshan Longmen Football Club (), previously known as Henan Jianye Football Club (), is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The tea ...

. He became the first choice goalkeeper of the club after the match. At the end of the

2020 Chinese Super League The 2020 Chinese Super League, officially known as the 2020 Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League () for sponsorship reasons, was the 17th season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League. The league title sponsor is Ping A ...

he would repay the club by winning the league title with them. On 28 February 2021, the parent company of the club

Suning Holdings Group Suning Holdings Group Co., Ltd. () is a Chinese privately held company. The company shared the same founder Zhang Jindong with the listed company Suning.com, but Suning Holdings was the unlisted portion of Zhang's unincorporated Suning Group. Ac ...

announced that operations were going to cease immediately due to financial difficulties. On 15 March 2021, Gu returned to Hangzhou by joining second tier club Zhejiang Pro on a free transfer. In his first season back he quickly established himself as a vital member of the team as the club gained promotion to the top tier at the end of the 2021 campaign.

International career

Gu was called up to the senior China squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

and

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 Turkm ...

. Gu made his debut for the China on 6 September 2016 in a 0-0 draw against Iran, coming on as a substitute for injury

Zeng Cheng Zeng Cheng (; born 8 January 1987) is a Chinese footballer who currently plays for Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League. Club career Zeng Cheng started his football career at top tier side Wuhan Guanggu; however, he was soon loane ...

in the 12th minute.

Career statistics

''Statistics accurate as of match played 31 December 2021.''顾超
at sodasoccer Retrieved 2015-11-01

Honours

Club

Shanghai East Asia *

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 A ...

: 2007 Jiangsu Suning *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gu, Chao 1989 births Living people Chinese footballers Footballers from Shanghai Shanghai Port F.C. players Zhejiang Professional F.C. players Jiangsu F.C. players Association football goalkeepers Chinese Super League players China League One players China League Two players China international footballers