Despite being only seventeen years old, Wang started his football career with Shanghai United, making his debut on 11 March 2006 in a 1-1 draw against Inter Xian which made him the youngest professional goalkeeper in Chinese football history. He quickly made an impact within the team by establishing himself as their first-choice goalkeeper.[1] This saw Serie A side Internazionale interested within him and invited him to train with them during the summer break.[2] Wang returned to Shanghai where he continued to be the club's starting goalkeeper, making 22 appearances in his debut season at the end of the 2006 season and winning the Chinese Football Association Young Player of the Year award.[3]
Shanghai Shenhua
The following season saw Shanghai United merged with Shanghai Shenhua, leading to Wang having to fight for his position as the first-choice goalkeeper for the significantly larger squad.[4] Nevertheless, at the end of the 2007 season, Premier League side Manchester City decided to give him a trial along with several other Shanghai players.[5] While nothing came out of the trial, Wang's form significantly improved after a disappointing 2007 season and he established himself as the starting goalkeeper the following season where he saw the club narrowly miss out on the league title.[6] During the league break, Wang would once again have another trial, this time with Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven; however, because of this certain trial, Wang missed out on the club's preseason and he lost starting role to Qiu Shengjiong. With the introduction of then manager Miroslav Blažević in the 2010 season, Wang would once again be placed as the club's first-choice goalkeeper; however, his commitments to the Chinese under-23 national team saw him miss much of the season.
Shandong Taishan
After a stellar 2013 season, Wang transferred to fellow Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng on 1 January 2014. He made his debut for the club on 7 March 2014 in a 1-0 win against Harbin Yiteng. He won the 2014 Chinese FA Cup with Shandong and was awarded with the Chinese Football Association Goalkeeper of The Year award in November 2014.[7] He would be part of more success at the club when he was part of the team that won the 2021 Chinese Super League title.[8]
International career
Wang rose to prominence when he was part of the Chinese under-17 national team that won the 2004 AFC U-17 Championship while he also won several caps for the Chinese under-23 national team in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics; however, he was ultimately dropped from the final squad because he had lost his place to Qiu Shengjiong. Despite this, Wang won his place back into the team in time for the 2010 Asian Games; however, after the match against Japan which the under-23 side lost 3-0 and in a game that saw Wang highly criticised for his performance, he posted on his microblog: "It would be flattery to call you fans. You're just a bunch of dogs. You bunch of morons are the main reason why Chinese football can't make progress. You throw in stones after a man has fallen into a well." His comments would see him suspended from the team despite making an apology.[9]
Wang received his first call-up to the Chinese national team in May 2006 for the international friendly against Switzerland and France. He made his debut for the national team six years later on 6 September 2012 in a 1-0 loss against Sweden and was named man of the match after an impressive performance.
Wang was China's first choice goalkeeper for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, where China reached the quarter-finals, losing to hosts and eventual winners Australia in Brisbane.[10]
^"国足亚洲杯名单初步敲定：郭全博留队，张鹭替补" [The squad of the national football team for the Asian Cup finalized: Guo Quanbo stayed in the team and Zhang Lu removed]. Sina Sports (in Chinese). 27 December 2018. Archived from the original on 27 December 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
^"中国男足亚洲杯集训名单出炉 唯一新面孔是个门将" [Chinese men's football team's Asian Cup roster released, the only new face is a goalkeeper] (in Chinese). China Youth Net. 12 December 2023. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
^"王大雷". sodasoccer (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
^"足协杯-麦克格文压哨绝杀 鲁能5-4舜天夺冠". Sports.sina.com.cn. 22 November 2014. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
