| Hu Hetao | |
| Fullname: | Hu Hetao |
| Birth Date: | 5 October 2003 |
| Birth Place: | Wanzhou, Chongqing, China |
| Height: | 1.73 m |
| Currentclub: | Chengdu Rongcheng |
| Clubnumber: | 2 |
| Position: | Left wing-back |
| Youthyears1: | –2022 |
| Youthclubs1: | Chengdu Rongcheng |
| Years1: | 2022– |
| Clubs1: | Chengdu Rongcheng |
| Caps1: | 30 |
| Goals1: | 1 |
| Nationalteam1: | China U20 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2023 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 7 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalteam2: | China U23 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2023– |
| Nationalcaps2: | 3 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 20 April 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 20 April 2024 |
Hu Hetao (; born 5 October 2003) is a Chinese professional footballer who plays as a left wing-back for Chinese Super League club Chengdu Rongcheng.
Born in Wanzhou, Chongqing,[1] Hu Hetao attended Chongqing Yucai Secondary School until 2018, prior to starting a professional football career. In 2022, after spending the few years prior preparing for Gaokao, he was called up to the Chengdu Rongcheng first-team.[2]
Before the 2022 Chinese Super League season, Hu Hetao was named in Chengdu Rongcheng's 31-man first-team squad,[3] to which Hu Hetao reacts as "fulfilling his dream."[2] He made his professional debut in the Chinese Super League on 4 June 2022 in a match against Shenzhen, playing 74 minutes as a starter at left wing-back.[4] He scored his first senior goal a month later on 11 July 2022, providing an equalising goal after coming on as a substitute, to see Chengdu Rongcheng eventually turn the game around, winning 2–1 away against Meizhou Hakka.[5] After putting in a good shift against Wuhan Three Towns on 23 December 2022, Hu Hetao was selected as the CSL's Player of the Round.[6] After a successful debut season with Chengdu Rongcheng, he was shortlisted as a candidate for the club's player of the season.[7]
In the 2023 season, Hu Hetao was regularly called up to the China U20 and the China U23 national teams, participating in months-long national team training camps. As a result, he could not find consistent game time at club level, and caused a steep dip in his form,[8] only managing eight appearances in all competitions throughout the season.
In February 2023, Hu was selected as part of the China U20 squad for the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup.[9] Throughout the year of 2023, Hu Hetao was called up to several months-long training camps at the U20 and the U23 levels.[10] [11] [12]
On 5 April 2024, Hu was included in the China U23 squad for the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.[13]
Hu Hetao was a ball boy at the 2021 Chinese FA Cup final.[14]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Chengdu Rongcheng | 2022 | Chinese Super League | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 1 | |||
| 2023 | Chinese Super League | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 0 | ||||
| 2024 | Chinese Super League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1 | |||