Li Haiqiang

Li Haiqiang is a former professional footballer. He played for various professional clubs in Hong Kong, as well as the national team as a midfielder and is nicknamed "The Golden Left Foot" because of his brilliant free kick skills. Born in China, he represented Hong Kong internationally.

Club career South China

2006–07 season He signed for South China in 2006. He was appointed as the captain in the second half of the season as the original captain Au Wai Lun served as a reserve player for most of the matches.

On 21 May 2007, Li Haiqiang was awarded the Hong Kong Footballer of the Year after scoring 6 goals in the 2006–07 season. It was his debut season in Hong Kong First Division League and he was the first Mainland player to receive this award in its 30-year history.

On Tuesday 24 July 2007, he played an integral part of South China's Barclays Asia Trophy 2007 tournament when he scored a terrific free-kick from approximately 40-yards out against Liverpool. The goal embarrassed Liverpool goalkeeper Scott Carson and recalled memories of Ronaldinho's World Cup 2002 goal against England. South China eventually lost the game by 3–1.

2007–08 season In the 2007–08 season, Li scored 4 goals, and all of them came from free kicks. Li Haiqiang was named Hong Kong Footballer of the Year at the end of the season for the second year in a row, as well as being named a member of the Best Eleven.

2008–09 season In the 2009 AFC Cup second-round match against Home United FC, Li Haiqiang scored two goals and helped South China win by 4:0 to progress to the quarter finals. On 1 August 2009, at the Panasonic Invitation Cup against Tottenham Hotspur, in the 68th minute, the referee pointed to the spot following a fairly innocuous challenge by Jake Livermore on Chao Pengfei and Li Haiqiang stepped up to chip the ball into the net, scoring the second goal which resulted in South China's 2–0 victory.

2009–10 season In the 2009 AFC Cup semi final second leg against Kuwait SC, Li Haiqiang received a back heel pass from Leandro Carrijo and scored in the 65th minute, but was ruled off-side, causing huge uproar from the capacity crowd in the Hong Kong Stadium. South China in the end lost the tie 1–3.

2010–11 season In January 2011, Li Haiqiang received praise from South China's new signing Mateja Kežman after their first training session together.

In the 2011 AFC Cup, Li Haiqiang scored the third goal for South China against East Bengal FC in the final minutes to lead the match 3:2, but the visitors were denied victory when East Bengal FC scored a late penalty and the match ended 3:3.

In the summer of 2011, Kitchee received permission from South China to approach Li about a transfer, but Li decided to stay with South China.

Tuen Mun In the summer of 2012, Li joined Tuen Mun.

On 30 October 2012, due to the divestment of Tuen Mun president Chan Keung, various key players, including Li, and the whole coaching team were released by the club.

International career In 1999, Li was called up to the Chinese national football team's squad, but he did not play in any matches.

After spending two seasons in Hong Kong, Li qualified to play for Hong Kong national football team. On 19 November 2008, Li made his international debut for Hong Kong in a friendly match against Macau.

Li took part as captain in Round 2 of the 2010 East Asian Football Championship tournament, held in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, helping Hong Kong qualify for the final tournament for the first time since 2003, when North Korea withdrew.

On 4 October 2010, Li scored with a left-foot volley to help Hong Kong win a friendly by 1-0 against India.

In June 2011, just before the friendly against Malaysia, Li announced that he had resigned from the Hong Kong national football team in March, due to old age.

Career statistics Club As of 11 June 2014

1 Others include 2012–13 Hong Kong season play-offs.

International

Honours South China Hong Kong First Division League: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 Hong Kong Senior Shield: 2006–07, 2009–10

Individual Hong Kong Footballer of the Year: 2007, 2008