34 Facts About Cha Du-ri

Cha Du-ri played as a right back, right winger, or striker.

Cha Du-ri played for one of his father Cha Du-ri Bum-kun's clubs, Eintracht Frankfurt.

Cha Du-ri was born in Frankfurt am Main in then-West Germany, when his father Cha Du-ri Bum-kun was playing in the German Bundesliga for Eintracht Frankfurt.

Cha Du-ri spent his childhood in Germany while his father was playing for Frankfurt and later for Bayer Leverkusen.

Cha Du-ri lived in West Germany until he moved to South Korea when he was ten.

Cha Du-ri started out at Korea University before beginning his club career in Germany, starting at Bayer Leverkusen, which he joined on 28 July 2002.

Since then, Cha Du-ri established himself in the first team at Arminia Bielefield.

Since making his debut for Eintracht Frankfurt, Cha Du-ri began to play as a striker and remained in the first team despite struggling to score.

Bundesliga, Cha Du-ri made 33 appearances and scored once in all competitions.

Cha Du-ri played in the roles of right winger, supporting striker, and the centre forward position, after his failure to adjust to right wingback for Mainz 05.

Cha Du-ri finished his first season at Freiburg, making 25 appearances and scoring once in all competitions.

Cha Du-ri signed for Celtic pending approval of a work permit.

Cha Du-ri then scored his first Celtic goal against St Johnstone in the SPL on 26 December 2010.

On 8 June 2012, Cha Du-ri agreed a two-year contract with newly promoted Bundesliga club Fortuna Dusseldorf.

However, Cha Du-ri who preferred defensive position didn't want to play as a forward for Dusseldorf, and sometimes took special leave due to family trouble.

On 25 March 2013, Cha Du-ri agreed a two-year contract with FC Seoul in K League 1, marking his first time that he played professionally for a club in his home country.

The 2014 season saw Cha Du-ri continue to be a first team regular at the club and make an impressive display that would see him almost earn a spot for the World Cup in Brazil.

Cha Du-ri was shortlisted for K League 1 Most Valuable Player, but lost out to Lee Dong-gook.

The 2015 season saw Cha Du-ri continued to be in the first team regular despite suffering from injuries.

Cha Du-ri was noticed by coach Guus Hiddink when the South Korea national team played a practice match against Korea University.

Cha Du-ri then scored his first goal for the national team in a friendly match against Costa Rica on 20 April 2002.

Cha Du-ri was included in the South Korea football team for 2002 FIFA World Cup, even though his playing time was limited to off-the-bench appearances.

Cha Du-ri played in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup, scoring a goal against Kuwait.

Cha Du-ri was left off of Korea's roster for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and instead acted as a colour commentator for MBC's live telecasts of the tournament's games alongside his father.

On 14 October 2009, Cha Du-ri was called back to international duty against Senegal.

Cha Du-ri was influential in the next match against Nigeria.

Cha Du-ri was made captain of the team in the third place match against Uzbekistan, replacing Park Ji-sung, who had retired from international duty following the loss to Japan.

Cha Du-ri was not selected for the 2014 FIFA World Cup but was called up to play in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

Cha Du-ri was called up again for a final international match in a friendly against New Zealand in a testimonial match, where he received a standing ovation following his substitution at half time.

Cha Du-ri married his wife Shin Hye-sung, the daughter of a wealthy hotel magnate, in 2008.

Three years on, the divorce was finalized and the court ruled in favor of Shin after rejecting claims that Cha Du-ri was treated unfairly by his wife due to lack of evidence.

Cha Du-ri is the son of Cha Bum-kun, one of the greatest Asian footballers in history.

Fluent in English and Dutch, Cha Du-ri is a native speaker of German and Korean.

On 6 December 2024, Cha Du-ri was officially announced as manager of Hwaseong FC starting from 2025 season.