Li Xiaopeng (; born 20 June 1975) is a former Chinese international footballer who is the head coach of the

China national football team The China national football team (, recognised as China PR by FIFA) represents the People's Republic of China in international association football and is governed by the Chinese Football Association. China won the EAFF East Asian Cup in 2 ...

. As a player, he spent his entire pro career at

Shandong Luneng Shandong Taishan 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 Jinan, Shandong and their home stadium is ...

, while internationally, he was on his national team in the

2000 AFC Asian Cup The 2000 AFC Asian Cup was the 12th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Lebanon between 12 and 29 October 2000. Japan def ...

, the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea ...

and the

2004 AFC Asian Cup The 2004 AFC Asian Cup was the 13th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held from 17 July to 7 August 2004 in China. The defending champ ...

Club career

Li Xiaopeng was a highly promising young player who was playing for the Shandong Luneng youth team before graduating to senior team during the 1994 league season, however it was not until the following season when he played in seventeen league games and score four goals did he start to show his prominence. While he remained a consistent squad regular within the team for the next few seasons it was not until Slobodan Santrač became manager of the team at the beginning of the 1999 league season did Li Xiaopeng really start to become a vital member within the midfield when he aided the team to a league and cup double at the end of the season. Well regarded in China for his good ball-control and vision in passing within the team he would aid Shandong to win another Chinese FA Cup and Chinese Super League cup in 2004. This saw Shandong have another chance to play in the rebranded

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

where despite being a defensive midfielder, he would score an impressive goal for Shandong Luneng with a lob from 40 meters during an ACL game in 2005 in the 7–2 second leg loss against

Al-Ittihad (Jeddah) Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabian Club ( ar, نادي الإتحاد العربي السعودي), referred to as Al-Ittihad, is a professional football club based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, founded in 1927. The club has spent its entire history in the to ...

, which was to be one of his last achievements before he retired in 2006.

International career

While Li Xiaopeng was part of the squad that won the AFC U-17 Championship in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

he would have to wait until 3 September 2000 before he made his senior international debut in a friendly against

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

in 4–1 victory. This would be impressive enough for him to be included in the squad for

where despite playing a small role within the tournament he nevertheless saw China finish fourth. After the tournament he would start to form a successful partnership with Li Tie in midfield that saw China qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which saw him score his debut goal

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...

in a 3–0 victory during qualifying. While China's debut in the World Cup was not successful, Li Xiaopeng still retained his place within the team until the

which saw the emergence of Zhao Junzhe as his replacement.

Managerial career

After he retired Shandong offered him a position as the boss of media presentation, however due to his high-profile within China he was linked to numerous management positions. He would eventually go on to achieve the necessary coaching certificates required for a management position and he was expected to become an assistant within the

Chinese Football Association The Chinese Football Association (CFA) is the governing body for association football, beach soccer and futsal in People's Republic of China (Mainland China). The CFA organizes the men's and women's national teams and administers the country's ...

. On 8 August 2010 he would accept the position of interim head coach for the Chinese women's team up to the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

, which made him the youngest coach to ever manage the team. At the Games, Li would guide the team to the semi-finals where they lost 1–0 to Japan. This would be good enough for Li to be offered an extension to his contract and guide the team through the 2012 Summer Olympics qualifiers. However, they failed to qualify and Li resigned. On 3 December 2021, Li was appointed as the new manager of the Chinese national team, succeeding his 2002 World Cup teammate Li Tie. He started his tenure disappointingly with two away losses: 2-0 to Japan and 3-1 to Vietnam.

Honours

Player

China U-17 * AFC U-17 Championship: 1992 Shandong Luneng *

Chinese Jia-A League The National Football Jia A League (simplified Chinese, commonly known as Jia-A, was the highest tier of professional football in the People's Republic of China, during 1994 through 2003, operating under the auspices of the Chinese Football Assoc ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

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 ti ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

* Chinese Super League Cup:

References

External links

profile at sinosoc.com2002 World cup profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Xiaopeng 1975 births Living people Footballers from Qingdao Chinese footballers Association football midfielders Shandong Taishan F.C. players Chinese Super League players China international footballers 2000 AFC Asian Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2004 AFC Asian Cup players Chinese football managers China women's national football team managers Qingdao Hainiu F.C. (1990) managers Shandong Taishan F.C. managers Wuhan F.C. managers Chinese Super League managers China national football team managers