Wang Dalei

Despite being only seventeen years old, Wang Dalei started his football career with Shanghai United, making his debut on 11 March 2006 in a 1-1 draw against Inter Xian which made him the youngest professional goalkeeper in Chinese football history. He quickly made an impact within the team by establishing himself as their first-choice goalkeeper.[1] This saw Serie A side Internazionale interested within him and invited him to train with them during the summer break.[2] Wang returned to Shanghai where he continued to be the club's starting goalkeeper, making 22 appearances in his debut season at the end of the 2006 season and winning the Chinese Football Association Young Player of the Year award.[3]

The following season saw Shanghai United merge with Shanghai Shenhua, leading to Wang having to fight for his position as the first-choice goalkeeper for the significantly larger squad.[4] Nevertheless, at the end of the 2007 season, Premier League side Manchester City decided to give him a trial along with several other Shanghai players.[5] While nothing came out of the trial, Wang's form significantly improved after a disappointing 2007 season and he established himself as the starting goalkeeper the following season where he saw the club narrowly miss out on the league title.[6] During the league break, Wang would once again have another trial, this time with Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven; however, because of this certain trial, Wang missed out on the club's preseason and he lost starting role to Qiu Shengjiong. With the introduction of then manager Miroslav Blažević in the 2010 season, Wang would once again be placed as the club's first-choice goalkeeper; however, his commitments to the Chinese under-23 national team saw him miss much of the season.

After a stellar 2013 season, Wang transferred to fellow Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng on 1 January 2014. He made his debut for the club on 7 March 2014 in a 1-0 win against Harbin Yiteng. He won the 2014 Chinese FA Cup with Shandong and was awarded with the Chinese Football Association Goalkeeper of The Year award in November 2014.[7]

Wang rose to prominence when he was part of the Chinese under-17 national team that won the 2004 AFC U-17 Championship while he also won several caps for the Chinese under-23 national team in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics; however, he was ultimately dropped from the final squad because he had lost his place to Qiu Shengjiong. Despite this, Wang won his place back into the team in time for the 2010 Asian Games; however, after the match against Japan which the under-23 side lost 3-0 and in a game that saw Wang highly criticised for his performance, he posted on his microblog: "It would be flattery to call you fans. You're just a bunch of dogs. You bunch of morons are the main reason why Chinese football can't make progress. You throw in stones after a man has fallen into a well." His comments would see him suspended from the team despite making an apology.[8]

Wang received his first call-up to the Chinese national team in May 2006 for the international friendly against Switzerland and France. He made his debut for the national team six years later on 6 September 2012 in a 1-0 loss against Sweden and was named man of the match after an impressive performance.

• Wang Dalei profile at Shanghai Shenhua
• Wang Dalei at National-Football-Teams.com
• Wang Dalei at Soccerway
• Wang Dalei player statistics at Sohu.com