Cha Du-Ri

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Cha Du Ri
Personal information
Full name	Cha Du Ri
Date of birth	July 25, 1980 (age 26)
Place of birth	Frankfurt, Germany
Height	1.84 m
Playing position	Defender, Striker
Club information
Current club	1. FSV Mainz 05
Number	2
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2002–2003 2003–06 2007–present	Arminia Bielefeld Eintracht Frankfurt 1. FSV Mainz 05	22 (1) 54 (4) 8 (0)
National team2
2002–present	South Korea	? (?)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 December 2006 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 29 December 2006 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Cha Du-Ri (born 25 July 1980 in Frankfurt, (West) Germany) is a South Korean football player. He is the son of Cha Bum-Kun, who is frequently regarded as the best Asian football player of all time.

The younger Cha was born in Germany while his father was starring in the German Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt, and spent his first few years in Germany while his father was playing for Eintracht and later for Bayer Leverkusen.

Cha was noticed by Guus Hiddink when the national team played a practice match against Korea University. Strong, aggressive and pacy, he was still playing amateur football when he made the South Korea team that surprised the football world by advancing to the semifinals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, even though his playing time was limited to off-the-bench appearances. He can operate on either wing and also as a striker. He played for one of his father's old clubs, Eintracht, and he was transferred to Mainz 05 in 2006.

He was left off Korea's roster for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and instead provided color commentary for MBC's live telecasts of the tournament's games alongside his father. Pim Verbeek, South Korea's current head coach, has added Cha Du Ri into his squad for the qualification of the 2007 Asian Cup.

Recently Cha Du-Ri has changed his position from Striker to Right Winger (both Defense and Midfield).

He has been known for his immense pace, strength, and very fast running game. But many in Korea frequently joke about him being able to run faster than the ball, he has been criticized for not being able to score a many goal despite being a striker and wing forward for most of his career, and he has been criticized of his inconsistency of his condition.

Some point out that Cha Du-Ri's career has suffered in a similar way to Jordi Cruyff; since most are sons of world-class players and have been constantly compared to their fathers.

[edit] See also

• List of South Korean footballers
• List of Koreans
• List of football (soccer) players

	South Korea squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place
1 Lee Woon‑Jae | 2 Hyun Young‑Min | 3 Choi Sung‑Yong | 4 Choi Jin‑Cheul | 5 Kim Nam‑Il | 6 Yoo Sang‑Chul | 7 Kim Tae‑Young | 8 Choi Tae‑Uk | 9 Seol Ki‑Hyeon | 10 Lee Young‑Pyo | 11 Choi Yong‑Soo | 12 Kim Byung‑Ji | 13 Lee Eul‑Yong | 14 Lee Chun‑Soo | 15 Lee Min‑Sung | 16 Cha Du‑Ri | 17 Yoon Jung‑Hwan | 18 Hwang Sun‑Hong | 19 Ahn Jung‑Hwan | 20 Hong Myung‑Bo | 21 Park Ji‑Sung | 22 Song Chong‑Gug | 23 Choi Eun‑Sung | Coach: Hiddink

1. FSV Mainz 05 - Current Squad
1 Wache | 2 Cha | 4 Noveski | 5 Demirtas | 6 Addo | 7 Feulner | 8 Gerber | 9 Azaouagh | 10 Friedrich | 11 Ruman | 13 Peković | 14 Szabics | 15 Diakité | 17 Rose | 18 Banouas | 19 Babatz | 20 Jovanović | 22 Amri | 23 Sela | 24 Weigelt | 25 Zidan | 26 Gunesch | 29 Wetklo | 30 Ischdonat | 32 Edu | 33 D. Vrančić | 34 M. Vrančić | 35 Pupalović | 36 Damm | 40 Niculae | Manager: Klopp