[citation needed] Despite Arminia Bielefield's interest to keep him on for a second term,[9] Cha opted to join Eintracht Frankfurt instead on a two-year loan deal.

[10][11] Cha made his Eintracht Frankfurt debut in the opening game of the season, in a 3–1 loss against Bayern Munich.

[12] Since making his debut for Eintracht Frankfurt, Cha began to play as a striker and remained in the first team despite struggling to score.

[24] After helping the club achieve promotion back into the top flight, Cha went on to finish the 2004–05 season, making 32 appearances and scoring nine times in all competitions.

FC Köln[27] Cha then played in a right–back position on 9 December 2005 for the first time, in a 1–0 win over Borussia Dortmund[28] and scored against them again in their second meeting of the season, in a 1–1 draw on 6 May 2006.

[citation needed] After two years at the club, Cha left TuS Koblenz despite their attempts to keep him when his contract expired at the end of the 2008–09 season.

[58] Cha scored an own goal in a UEFA Europa League match against Rennes, which resulted a 1–1 draw, after Benoît Costil was making its way harmlessly through to Fraser Forster but there appeared to be no communication between him and Cha Du-ri, who helped it on and then watched in horror as the ball slipped past the Hoops keeper and in to the net.

[64] On 8 June 2012, Cha agreed a two-year contract with newly promoted Bundesliga club Fortuna Düsseldorf.

"[66] Despite appearing as an unused substitute in a match against Wacker Burghausen in the first round of DFB–Pokal, which saw Fortuna Düsseldorf win 1–0,[67] Cha was out of the squad for weeks,[68] which was later revealed to be due to personal issues.

On 22 September 2012, he made his Fortuna Düsseldorf debut, where he came on as a late substitute in a 0–0 draw against his former club, SC Freiburg.

[69] However, Cha who preferred defensive position didn't want to play as a forward for Düsseldorf, and sometimes took special leave due to family trouble.

[71] On 25 March 2013, Cha agreed a two-year contract with FC Seoul in K League 1, marking his first time that he returned to play for a club in his home country.

The 2014 season saw Cha continue to be a first team regular at the club and make an impressive display that would see him almost earn a spot for the World Cup in Brazil.

[77] Despite missing several matches, due to international commitments on two occasions,[78] Cha made 37 appearances in all competitions and, at the end of the 2014 season, was named in the K League 1 Best XI.

[86] After making 35 appearances and scoring two times in all competitions, Cha announced his retirement on 31 October 2015 after winning the final of Korean FA Cup despite 3 matches remaining in the 2015 K League 1.

Strong, aggressive and pacey,[citation needed] he was still playing amateur football when he made his debut for the national team in 2001.

[89] Cha was included in the South Korea football team for 2002 FIFA World Cup, even though his playing time was limited to off-the-bench appearances.

[90] South Korea surprised the football world[citation needed] by advancing to the semi-finals of the tournament, beating Spain and Italy along the way.

Cha was left off of Korea's roster for the 2006 FIFA World Cup,[94] and instead acted as a colour commentator for MBC's live telecasts of the tournament's games alongside his father.

Pim Verbeek, South Korea's head coach, added him into his squad for the qualification of the 2007 AFC Asian Cup but was not selected for the final team.

[citation needed] During the second half, South Korea were leading so he stayed back in a more defensive role for his side.

[100][101] He was made captain of the team in the third place match against Uzbekistan, replacing Park Ji-sung, who had retired from international duty following the loss to Japan.

In August 2012, Cha and his wife separated after she was reportedly unwilling to live in Germany following his move to Fortuna Düsseldorf.

[107] Three years on, the divorce was finalized[108] and the court ruled in favor of Shin after rejecting claims that Cha was treated unfairly by his wife due to lack of evidence.