Chen Tao

Changsha Ginde

Chen Tao started his football career with Shenyang Ginde in the 2003 season where he made an immediate impact by playing in eighteen league games and scoring one goal. He would continue to establish himself as an important member of the squad throughout the following seasons and would further cement his position within the team by playing as captain throughout the 2004 season. Though he often lead Shenyang Ginde to mid-table or lowly positions within the league he would be a loyal member of the team even when they decided to move to Changsha and changed their name to Changsha Ginde, however during the start of the 2008 season he was involved in a bitter transfer dispute with his club. He made an announcement that if he failed to secure a transfer to FC Luch-Energiya, then he would retire from football and the Chinese national team. FC Luch-Energiya announced that they had agreed a price with Changsha Ginde and agreed personal terms with the player, but the transfer papers from Changsha failed to materialize, therefore the transfer has fallen through.

Shanghai Shenhua

After an entire season where Chen was unable to secure a move yet still contractually obliged to Changsha Ginde, he was finally released by the club at the beginning of the 2009 season where he moved to Shanghai Shenhua. He made his competitive debut for Shenhua on his 24th birthday, in their first Asian Champions League group stage match against Singapore Armed Forces, where…

Tao joined Shenzhen FC in 2020 as head coach of the elite team, before being promoted to assistant coach in 2021. In 2023, Tao was appointed as head coach of Shenzhen FC. On 14 July 2023, Tao resigned as the head coach of Shenzhen. On 8 September 2025, Chen joined Chinese Super League club Shenzhen Peng City as assistant coach. On 31 May 2026, the club has annouanced Chen's departure. On 21 June 2026, Chen was named as the head coach of China League One club Shaanxi Union.

Chen would play for the Chinese under-20 national team that took part in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship and would play in four games in a tournament that saw China knocked out in the last sixteen. This would see him promoted to the senior team and called up for the squad that took part in the 2005 East Asian Football Championship where he made his debut on 31 July 2005 against South Korea in a 1-1 draw. China would win the tournament and under the team's manager Zhu Guanghu, Chen would start to become a regular within the side, however still being under twenty years old the Chinese under-20 national team manager Liu Chunming would make him the captain for the team that took part in the 2007 Toulon Tournament in France and would make history by taking China to the finals for the first time, where they eventually lost to the hosts France. He was awarded the Souvenir Jean-Philippe Rethacker, which roughly means the most graceful player of the tournament. He also scored one of the best goals of the tournament, a match-winning free kick against Ghana. With the 2008 Summer Olympics looming, Chen was expected to captain the Chinese under-23 national team, however due to the lack of competitive playing time due to his off-field problems he had with his club, he only played in two games, both as a substitute.

International goals