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, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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

Guangzhou F.C. Guangzhou Football Club (), previously Guangzhou Evergrande (), was a Chinese professional Association football, football club based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. Historically, Guangzhou FC played its home matches at various grounds in their home ci ...

, 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 The 1984 AFC Asian Cup was the 8th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were hosted by Singapore between 1 Decemb ...

. He had to retire early in 1986 due to injury and moved to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

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 athletic clothing, including footwear, worn for sports activity or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Typical spor ...

manufacturing with a company called Ucan.

Playing career

Zhao Dayu studied within the specialist sport schools within

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

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, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in the 1984

Nehru Cup The Nehru Cup was an international 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 2006. After ...

. While the Nehru Cup was a friendly competition Zhao showed what he was capable of when he played in

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 League 1 (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (), is the second level of professional football in China, under the Chinese Super League. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association ...

club Guangdong Sunray Cave. 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 in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center in Guangzhou, aged 54.Yi Zhao Dayu former Gold partner: He proved that all can play
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Career statistics

International statistics

References

External links

at sodasoccer.com
Team China Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhao, Dayu 1961 births 2015 deaths Chinese men's footballers Footballers from Guangzhou Chinese football managers Chinese expatriate men's footballers China men's international footballers Chinese expatriate sportspeople in Japan Guangzhou F.C. players Businesspeople from Guangzhou Men's association football forwards Expatriate men's 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 20th-century Chinese sportsmen