Li Shuai (, born 18 August 1982) is a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Club career

Li Shuai started his football career playing for

Qingdao Jonoon Qingdao Hainiu Football Club (, known as Hai-niu or literally Sea Bull) is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the China League Two division under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is b ...

's youth academy. In the 2002 season, Li was promoted to the first team and made his debut on 1 September 2002 in a 4-1 loss against

Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in the Chaoyang District in Beijing and their hom ...

. After several seasons as the backup goalkeeper, Li would start to rise to prominence by playing in 23 league games during the 2005 season as he established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper. The following season for Li was to prove unsuccessful with Qingdao as they flirted with relegation. He also found himself playing a significantly smaller role within the team by playing in only thirteen games within the season. At the start of the 2007 season, Li transferred to second tier side

Guangzhou GPC Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...

. After only one season with the team, he quickly established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper and saw Guangzhou immediately promoted to the top tier after winning the second tier title. Within the top tier again, Li would make sure the club were midtable regulars for the next several seasons until the club were relegated for match-fixing at the end of the 2009 season which occurred in 2006 before he joined the club. Despite this, Li remained loyal towards the club and he went on to make his 100th appearance for Guangzhou on 18 September 2010 in a 2-1 win against

Yanbian FC Yanbian Funde F.C. () was a Chinese football club. The team was based in Yanji, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin province where their home stadium is the Yanji Nationwide Fitness Centre Stadium that has a seating capacity of 30,000. ...

. He became the club's second-choice goalkeeper after June 2011. He was linked with fellow

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association ...

side

Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai Shenhua F.C. () is a Chinese professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The term ''shen hua'' literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" in ...

at the end of the 2014 season; however, he decided to stay in Guangzhou and signed a one-year extension with an option to a second year with the club on 19 November 2014. On 19 January 2016, Li transferred to Shanghai Shenhua. He made his debut for the club on 5 March 2016 in a 1-1 draw against Yanbian Fude. Li played 29 league matches in the 2016 season as the club won qualification to the AFC Champions League for the first time since 2011. He received a special contribution award from the club along with

Obafemi Martins Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins (born 28 October 1984) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is known for his speed on the ball. After leaving Nigeria for Italy at age 16, he has since played for a number of top-d ...

on 2 November 2016 for the season he had with the club. For the next several seasons he would be an integral member of the team that won the

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

and

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Chinese FA Cup The Chinese FA Cup (, abbreviated as CFA Cup) is the national knockout cup competition in China organized by the Chinese Football Association. Its current holders are Shandong Taishan, having beaten Shanghai Port in 2021 for a record seventh tit ...

's. On 3 March 2022 Li decided to officially retire from professional football at the age of 39 and move into coaching.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...

: 2011,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, 2015 *

China League One The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League. Prior to the formation of ...

: 2007, 2010 *

Chinese FA Super Cup The Chinese FA Super Cup (), formerly named Chinese Football Super Cup (), is a pre-season football competition held before the season begins in China. It is a Chinese football championship contested by the winners of top division of Profession ...

* AFC Champions League:

, 2015

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Shuai 1982 births Living people Chinese men's footballers Footballers from Qingdao Shanghai Shenhua F.C. players Guangzhou F.C. players Qingdao Hainiu F.C. (1990) players Chinese Super League players China League One players Men's association football goalkeepers