Cao Yunding, the former Chinese national football team player, passed away on January 27th, 2021 in Beijing due to complications from COVID-19. He was 54 years old.

Born in Tianjin, Cao started his professional career with Shandong Luneng in 1998 and played for various clubs including Wuhan Huilin, Guangzhou Evergrande, and Shanghai Shenhua. In 2016, he signed with Shenzhen Suning, where he spent two seasons before joining Shanghai Shenhua in 2018.

During his time at Shenhua, Cao made over 100 appearances for the club and helped them win the Chinese Super League title in 2018. However, his career was cut short by injuries and he retired from professional football in 2019.

Despite not playing professionally anymore, Cao continued to be involved in football as a coach and mentor. He served as a youth coach at Shenzhen Suning and later joined Shanghai Shenhua's coaching staff. His passing is a great loss to the football community, and we send our condolences to his family and friends.

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