Li Weifeng

Li Weifeng (simplified Chinese: 李玮峰; traditional Chinese: 李瑋峰; pinyin: Lǐ Wěifēng; born 1 December 1978) is a Chinese former international footballer.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Li.
Li Weifeng
李玮峰
Personal information
Full name Li Weifeng
Date of birth (1978-12-01) 1 December 1978
Place of birth Changchun, Jilin, China
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Youth career
1990–1995 Tianjin Locomotive
1996–1998 Shenzhen Youth
1998 Tianjin Locomotive
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2005 Shenzhen Ping'an 151 (8)
2002–2003 → Everton (loan) 1 (0)
2006–2008 Shanghai Shenhua 49 (8)
2008 Wuhan Guanggu 2 (0)
2009–2010 Suwon Bluewings 48 (2)
2011–2015 Tianjin Teda 105 (3)
2015 Tongji University
Total 356 (21)
National team‡
1998–2011 China 112 (14)
Teams managed
2019–2020 Tianjin Tianhai
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 May 2015
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 9 May 2015

Club career

Li Weifeng started his football career with Tianjin Locomotive's youth academy before he was spotted by the Chinese national youth program to study football abroad in a training program sponsored by Jianlibao.[1] This then saw him called up to the Chinese under-20 national team and given a chance to play in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship. Upon his return from the tournament Li was returned to his initial youth team of Tianjin Locomotive until top tier club Shenzhen Ping'an showed an interest in him, not wanting to lose a promising young player a contract dispute would arise until a fee of 800,000 yuan was reportedly agree upon.[2] In the 1998 league season he made his debut for the club and quickly established himself at the heart of the team's defense, guiding them to a 12th-place finish and doing enough to avoid relegation.[3]

In the following seasons with Shenzhen, Li establish himself as an integral member of the team and would go on to represent his country in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. With the exposure of the tournament, a short trial at Premier League side Everton immediately followed as part of an Everton deal with Chinese sponsor Kejian. His time at Everton he only made two appearances, playing once in the league against Southampton and once in the League Cup against Wrexham.[4][5] He was unable to make an impact at the club and returned to Shenzhen after the 2002-03 season.[6]

In the 2003 league season, Li returned from his loan spell at Everton and was immediately incorporated back into the team. He was soon made club captain by then manager Zhu Guanghu and within his second spell at the club he would lead them to the 2004 Chinese Super League title for the first time in the club's history.[7] After that success, Zhu Guanghu was offered the Chinese Head coach position and Chi Shangbin came in as his replacement. Unfortunately for Chi, results significantly deteriorated under his reign and Li along with several other members of the team in Li Yi and Yang Chen publicly criticized his management which resulted in his resignation.[8]

In the beginning of the 2006 season, Li left Shenzhen due to the club's financial difficulties and followed many of his teammates out of the club. Shanghai Shenhua bought him for 6 million yuan despite reported interest from Serie A side Fiorentina.[9] In 2008, Li transferred from Shanghai to Wuhan Guanggu due to a lack of playing time for the league runners-up, reuniting him with his former manager Zhu Guanghu who also coached him in the Chinese national team as well as in Shenzhen. Soon after the transfer, Li was involved in an on-the-field scuffle with Lu Jiang which resulted in him being suspended for eight games by the Chinese Football Association.[10] Already on the verge of relegation, Wuhan amounted protests against this ruling which the club deemed to be unjust and extremely damaging to its chance to survive in the top flight. After its efforts were proven to be futile, Wuhan withdrew from the league and was disbanded and Li did not appear in any games for the rest of the season.[11]

Because of Wuhan's withdrawal, most of its non-local and highly paid players were put on the transfer list at the end of the season with Li among one of them. Because of his reputation, high wage demands, gigantic transfer fee, and the unserved eight-game suspension, Li was a hard commodity to move despite being perceived as heads and shoulders above the rest of the Chinese defenders. But the new AFC Champions League rule came to his rescue as it allowed all tournament participants to have one foreign Asian player. Attracting heavy interest from both the Japanese and Korean leagues, Li moved to K-League side Suwon Samsung Bluewings in January 2009, signing a two-year contract for a reported $400,000 and reuniting him with another one of his former managers. Some pundits suggested that Li moved on a free transfer because Wuhan's withdrawal made all of its players free agents under FIFA's rules. However, Wuhan immediately released statements announcing its intention to obstruct the move if it was not at least partly remunerated and media reports stated that Li would pay his former club himself in order to play for the Korean outfit.[12] In his debut appearance, he was sent off against Sparta Prague in a friendly match in Hong Kong; however, Li redeemed himself in his first official match for Suwon in an AFC Champions League match in a 4-1 win against Kashima Antlers by scoring the opening goal.[13]

On 18 January 2011, Li signed with Chinese Super League side Tianjin Teda and was named as the club captain.[14] On 20 July 2015, Li was released by the club midway through the 2015 season.[15]

Li was appointed as the vice managing director of Tianjin Quanjian in September 2015.[16]

International career

Li made his first appearance for the Chinese national team on 22 November 1998 in a friendly match against South Korea, which ended in a 0-0 draw.[17] His performances for the national team would see him called up to China's squads for the 2000 AFC Asian Cup and 2002 FIFA World Cup.[18] In 2003, he was promoted to team captain by then manager Arie Haan and would lead China to a runners-up position at the 2004 AFC Asian Cup.[19] In September 2006, he was banned from the national team for attacking an opposing player and hence earning his sixth red card in fourteen months during an AFC Champions League game with Shanghai Shenhua. His position as captain of the national team was stripped and later assigned to Zheng Zhi.[20] The ban was removed after a year, but since then he never had any significant role in the national team anymore. He returned as Captain during the 2014 World Cup qualifying, but his return could not help China pass through the Third Round, after two shocking losses to Iraq.[21]

Playstyle

He has strength in a strong fighting spirit and an interpersonal mark. And the timing of the jump and heading is really good, so the ability to take control of the airborne ball is excellent.

Career statistics

Club statistics
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
China PR League FA Cup CSL Cup Asia Total
1998Shenzhen Ping'anChinese Jia-A League11200--112
199923100--231
2000240--240
200124100--241
200210000--100
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2002-03EvertonPremier League100010-20
China PR League FA Cup CSL Cup Asia Total
2003Shenzhen JianlibaoChinese Jia-A League24330--273
2004Chinese Super League1313010-171
2005220206050350
2006Shanghai ShenhuaChinese Super League27421-30325
2007224--20244
200800---00
Wuhan GuangguChinese Super League20---20
South Korea League KFA Cup League Cup Asia Total
2009Suwon BluewingsK-League241512052364
2010241505090431
China PR League FA Cup CSL Cup Asia Total
2011Tianjin TedaChinese Super League24130-70341
201228010-50340
201327110--281
201419110--201
20157000--70
Total China PR 307191617022035220
England 1000100020
South Korea 48210170142795
Career total 3562126215036243325

International goals
Results list China's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
112 December 1998Bangkok, Thailand Oman5–06–11998 Asian Games
226 January 2000Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Guam4–019–02000 AFC Asian Cup qualifier
33 September 2000Shanghai, China Iraq1–04–12000 Four Nations Tournament
43 September 2000Shanghai, China Iraq3–14–12000 Four Nations Tournament
522 April 2001Xi'an, China Maldives10–110–12002 FIFA World Cup qualifier
613 May 2001Kunming, China Indonesia1–15–12002 FIFA World Cup qualifier
77 September 2001Doha, Qatar Qatar1–11–12002 FIFA World Cup qualifier
815 September 2001Shenyang, China Uzbekistan1–02–02002 FIFA World Cup qualifier
916 February 2003Wuhan, China Estonia1–01–0Friendly international
1017 November 2004Guangzhou, China Hong Kong7–07–02006 FIFA World Cup qualifier
1122 February 2006Guangzhou, China Palestine2–02–02007 AFC Asian Cup qualifier
1221 October 2007Foshan, China Myanmar7–07–02010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
1325 May 2008Kunshan, China Jordan2–02–0Friendly international
1415 November 2011Singapore Singapore2–04–02014 FIFA World Cup qualifier

Honours

Club

Shenzhen Ping'an

Shanghai Shenhua

Suwon Bluewings

Tianjin Teda

International

China PR national football team

Individual

References
  1. 李玮峰 (in Chinese). sports.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2015-02-16.
  2. 中国"阿贾克斯"天津火车头 走出李玮峰、李毅 (in Chinese). sports.163.com. 2007-10-29. Retrieved 2015-02-16.
  3. "China League 1998". rsssf.com. 2003-07-16. Archived from the original on September 29, 2012. Retrieved 2015-02-16.
  4. "Wrexham 0-3 Everton". BBC. 1 October 2002. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  5. "Pahars punishes Everton". BBC. 11 September 2002. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  6. "Chinese defender leaves Everton". BBC. 20 January 2003. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  7. "Shenzhen Jianlibao win super league title". newsgd.com. 2004-11-25. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
  8. "Shenzhen has given in to "ruffian" players". en.people.cn. 2005-05-19. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
  9. 李玮峰抵达上海 蓝魔球迷机场迎接感动大头 (in Chinese). people.com.cn. 2006-02-01. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  10. 国安震怒主裁执法不公 高层威胁要退出中国足坛 (in Chinese). sports.sohu.com. 2008-09-29. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  11. 足协维持李玮峰处罚 武汉宣布罢赛正式退出中超 (in Chinese). sports.sohu.com. 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  12. "Li Weifeng is Suwon bound". FIFA. 2009-02-12. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  13. "Suwon Bluewings vs. Kashima Antlers 4-1". uk.soccerway.com. 2009-03-11. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  14. 李玮峰已正式加盟天津泰达足球俱乐部 (in Chinese). sports.enorth.com.cn. 2011-01-18. Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  15. 李玮锋正式与泰达解约离队 先回深圳休息再打算 (in Chinese). sports.enorth.com.cn. 2015-07-21. Archived from the original on 2015-07-25. Retrieved 2015-07-21.
  16. 定了!权健内部宣布李玮锋任副总 总经理一职空缺 (in Chinese). sports.163.com. 2015-09-22. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  17. "李玮锋106场国际A级比赛记录 102次首发进13球" (in Chinese). Titan24. 2008-07-28. Archived from the original on 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  18. -월드컵- 중국.나이지리아.우루과이, 엔트리 발표(종합) (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  19. "Asian Cup 2004 China » Finale » China - Japan 1:3" (in German). weltfussball.de. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  20. 国足动员会又强调整风 李玮峰遭到撤职停赛重罚 (in Chinese). sports.enorth.com.cn. 2006-10-03. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  21. "中 축구, 싱가포르에 4대0 대승 화풀이...이라크 승리로 탈락은 확정". www.mydaily.co.kr. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  22. "足协杯-王新欣于大宝联手逆转 天津2-1胜山东夺冠" (in Chinese). Sports.sina.com.cn. 2011-11-19. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Ma Mingyu		 China national football team captain
2003–2006		 Succeeded by
Zheng Zhi
Preceded by
Xiao Zhanbo		 Shanghai Shenhua F.C. captain
with Jiang Kun
2007		 Succeeded by
Du Wei
Preceded by
Zheng Zhi		 China national football team captain
2011		 Succeeded by
Sun Xiang
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