Gao Leilei

Infobox Football biography
playername = Gao Leilei
高雷雷


fullname = Gao Leilei
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1980|7|15
cityofbirth = Beijing
countryofbirth = China
height = height|m=1.80
position = Attacking Midfielder
currentclub = Wellington Phoenix
clubnumber = 21
contractend = 2009
youthyears =
youthclubs = Beijing Guoan
years = 1999-2006
2006-2007
2007
2008-present
clubs = Beijing Guoan
→ New Zealand Knights "(loan)"
MyPa
Wellington Phoenix
caps(goals) =
7 0(1)
4 0(2)
3 0(0)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate = 22 September 2008
ntupdate = 28 December 2006

Gao Leilei (Simplified Chinese: 高雷雷) (born July 15, 1980 in China) is a Chinese football (soccer) player who has played for the Finnish Premier Division, Veikkausliiga club MyPa. Gao Leilei was the first Chinese player to play in Veikkausliiga.

Club career

Gao first gained the public notice of Chinese football when he scored an equalizer against Liaoning FC in the last round of 1999 Jia A. In the past seven seasons, he was between a regular and a substitute of the Beijing Guoan.

Towards the end of the 2006 season, Gao expressed his wish to leave the team and seek other options. There were spectulations that Gao is going to a team in the Segunda División of Spain. However, it was revealed in December, 2006 that Gao Leilei was loaned to A-League club New Zealand Knights FC for a short period. Gao made this debut in the A-League for the Knights on December 3, 2006 against Newcastle Jets and scored his first A-League goal in his second match against Adelaide United.

Following the dissolution of the Knights franchise, Gao signed with Finnish team MyPa. He became the first Chinese footballer to play in the Veikkausliiga. Gao made his debut against FC Honka as a substitute in the 46th minute on April 22, 2007. He made his first start for MyPa against TPS Turku on April 26, 2007.

On March 18, 2008, Gao signed a one-year contract with Wellington Phoenix FC, rejoining his former manager from the Knights, Ricki Herbert. [cite web
url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/4444283a1823.html
title=Phoenix strengthen midfield with speedy Gao
date=March 18, 2008]

References

External links

* [http://www.wellingtonphoenix.com/default.aspx?s=wellfc_playerprofile_item&pid=1241 Wellington Phoenix profile]
* [http://blog.sina.com.cn/m/gaoleilei Personal blog]