Cha Du-ri

Arminia Bielefeld

Cha started out at Korea University before beginning his club career in Germany, starting at Bayer Leverkusen, which he joined on 28 July 2002. However, he did not get straight into the first team at Bayer Leverkusen instead getting loaned out to Arminia Bielefeld for the 2002–03 season. On 11 September 2002, he made his Arminia Bielefield debut in his first start, a 1–1 draw against 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Thereafter, Cha established himself in the first team at Arminia Bielefield. On 25 January 2003, he scored his first goal for the club, as well as setting up a goal, in a 2–2 draw against Werder Bremen. In the 2002–03 season, Cha made 22 appearances and scored once for the club.

Eintracht Frankfurt

Despite Arminia Bielefield's interest to keep him on for a second term, Cha opted to join Eintracht Frankfurt on a two-year loan deal. Cha made his Eintracht Frankfurt debut in the opening game of the season, a 3–1 loss against Bayern Munich. Since making his debut for Eintracht Frankfurt, Cha began to play as a striker and remained in the first team despite struggling to score. On 22 February 2004, he scored his first Eintracht Frankfurt goal, in a 2–1 win over Hertha BSC. After finishing the season, which saw the club relegated to 2. Bundesliga, Cha made 33 appearances and scored once in all competitions. Following this, he joined the club on a permanent basis in the summer, signing a two–year contract, keeping him until 2006. After missing a…

Cha was noticed by coach Guus Hiddink when the South Korea national team played a practice match against Korea University. Strong, aggressive and pacey, he was still playing amateur football when he made his debut for the national team in 2001. Cha then scored his first goal for the national team in a friendly match against Costa Rica on 20 April 2002. Cha 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. South Korea surprised the football world by advancing to the semi-finals of the tournament, beating Spain and Italy along the way. Their run ended in the semi-finals when they were eliminated after losing, 1–0, to Germany, with Michael Ballack netting the only goal. Cha played in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup, scoring a goal against Kuwait. However, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals after a 4–3 loss to Iran. Cha 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. Pim Verbeek, South Korea's head coach, added him into his squad for the qualification of the 2007 AFC Asian Cup but was not selected for the final team. On 14 October 2009, Cha was called back to international duty against Senegal. It was the first time Cha had been selected for the Korean national team since late 2006. After being called up by the national team for the provisional squad for the World…

Cha was born in Frankfurt am Main in then-West Germany, when his father Cha Bum-kun was playing in the German Bundesliga for Eintracht Frankfurt. He spent his childhood in Germany while his father was playing for Frankfurt and later for Bayer Leverkusen. Cha lived in West Germany until he moved to South Korea when he was ten. Growing up, Cha was described by his father as having "a very optimistic mindset" and being "open and honest".

Cha married his wife Shin Hye-sung, the daughter of a wealthy hotel magnate, in 2008. Their daughter, the first of two children, was born in February 2010. In August 2012, Cha and his wife separated after she was reportedly unwilling to live in Germany following his move to Fortuna Düsseldorf. Cha was given a special leave as a result. In April 2013, Cha filed for divorce. Three years on, the divorce was finalized and the court ruled in favor of Shin after rejecting claims that Cha was treated unfairly by his wife due to lack of evidence. His request for parental rights and custody of the couple's two children was also rejected. He is the son of Cha Bum-kun, one of the greatest Asian footballers in history. Fluent in English and Dutch, Cha is a native speaker of German and Korean.