Yao Hanlin 姚翰林

Yao Hanlin (Chinese: 姚翰林, born 16 April 1985 in Wuhan) is a Chinese professional footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Wuhan Zall.

Club Career

Yao Hanlin began his professional football career in 2004 when he was promoted to the senior team of second tier club Wuhan Guanggu by Head coach Pei Encai and was part of the squad that won the division title and promotion to the top tier. The following seasons he would gain more playing time and was often deployed as a substitute until the team were disbanded during the 2008 league season after the club had a dispute with the Chinese Football Association over their on-field behaviour after the club's management did not accept the punishment given to them by the Chinese Football Association after a scuffle broke out during a league game against Beijing Guoan on 27 September 2008. With several other Wuhan players he would transfer to the newly promoted side Jiangsu Sainty at the beginning of the 2009 league season to join up with his former manager Pei Encai. His time at Jiangsu saw him become an integral member within the side and he would personally make 28 league appearances before he had a chance to return Hubei with second tier club Hubei Oriental at the beginning of the 2010 league season.

As the club renamed themselves Wuhan Zall, Yao would be an integral member of the squad that came runners-up within the division and gain promotion to the top tier. After only one season within the top flight the club were relegated at the end of the 2013 Chinese Super League season. Yao would remain an integral member of the squad until the club eventually won promotion again by winning the 2018 China League One division.