Liu Yang (; born 17 June 1995) 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 va ...

professional footballer who currently plays as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

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 football in ...

club

Shandong Taishan 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 th ...

Club career

In 2010, Liu joined

side

Shandong Luneng Taishan 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 ...

's youth academy (now renamed

}, where he shifted his position from forward to central-back. He was sent to Portugal for further training in 2014. He joined Campeonato de Portugal side Sintrense in the summer of 2014. On 12 October 2014, he made his senior debut in a 2–1 away win against Sacavenense, coming on as a substitute for

Romário Romário de Souza Faria Figueiredo (born 29 January 1966), known simply as Romário (), is a Brazilian politician and a former professional footballer. A prolific striker renowned for his clinical finishing, he scored over 750 goals and was ...

in the 72nd minute. Liu moved to another Campeonato de Portugal club

Cova da Piedade Cova da Piedade is a former civil parish in the municipality of Almada, Lisbon metropolitan area, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Almada, Cova da Piedade, Pragal e Cacilhas. The population in 2011 was 19,904, in an area of ...

on 1 February 2015. He made his debut for Cova da Piedade on 24 May 2015 in a 3–1 away win over Sacavenense. Liu played six match for the club in the 2015–16 season as Cova da Piedade finish the first place of the league and won promotion to the second tier. Liu returned to Shandong Luneng and was promoted to the first team squad by manager

Felix Magath Wolfgang Felix Magath (; born 26 July 1953) is a German football manager and former player. The most notable spell of his playing career was with Hamburger SV, with whom he won three Bundesliga titles, the 1977 European Cup Winners' Cup Final a ...

in July 2016. He played as a left-back under Magath. On 22 October 2016, he made his debut for Shandong in a 4–1 away defeat against

Shanghai SIPG Shanghai Port FC (), previously named Shanghai SIPG, is a professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Pudong, Shanghai, and their home sta ...

, coming on for Song Long in the 70th minute. In the 2018 season, Liu mainly played as a left winger under manager Li Xiaopeng. On 25 September 2018, he scored his first senior goal in a 3–0 home win against

Dalian Yifang Dalian Professional Football Club () is a professional Chinese football club based in Dalian, Liaoning, that participates in the China Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). Their home stadium is Dalian Sport ...

in the

2018 Chinese FA Cup Yanjing Beer 2018 Chinese FA Cup (Chinese: 燕京啤酒2018中国足球协会杯) was the 20th edition of the Chinese FA Cup. On 29 December 2017, Yanjing Beer extended their sponsorship contract for another four years (2018–2021). Schedule The ...

semi-finals. He scored his first league goal against

Changchun Yatai Changchun Yatai Football Club () is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Changchun, Jilin and their home stadi ...

on 2 November 2018, which ensured Shandong's 2–0 victory and sealed a seat for

2019 AFC Champions League The 2019 AFC Champions League was the 38th edition of Asia's premier club association football, football tournament, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 17th under the current AFC Champions League title. Al Hilal SFC, Al ...

. In January 2019, Liu extended his contract with the club until the end of the 2023 season. He would repay the club with this contract by establishing himself as a vital member within the team that won the

2020 Chinese FA Cup The 2020 Chinese Football Association Cup, officially known as the Yanjing Beer 2020 Chinese FA Cup (Chinese: 燕京啤酒2020中国足球协会杯) for sponsorship reasons, was the 22nd edition of the Chinese FA Cup. It was postponed following th ...

against Jiangsu Suning F.C. in a 2-0 victory. A consistent versatile regular within the team, he would gain his first league title with the club when he was part of the team that won the

2021 Chinese Super League The 2021 Chinese Super League, officially known as the 2021 Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League () for sponsorship reasons, was the 18th season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League. The league title sponsor is Ping An I ...

title. This would be followed up by him winning the 2022 Chinese FA Cup with them the next season.

International career

Liu received his first call up for 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 2005 ...

by manager

Marcello Lippi Marcello Romeo Lippi (; born 12 April 1948) is an Italian former professional football player and manager, who led the Italian national team to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was appointed as Italy head coach in the summer of 2004 and 2 ...

for the training camp of

2019 AFC Asian Cup The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 ...

. On 24 December 2018, he made his international senior debut in a 2–1 defeat 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 ...

. He was named in the final 23-man squad, and played all five matches for China in the tournament.

Career statistics

Club statistics

''Statistics accurate as of match played 31 January 2023.''

International statistics

Honours

Club

* Campeonato de Portugal: 2015–16

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 th ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

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 titl ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Yang 1995 births Living people Chinese footballers Footballers from Qingdao S.U. Sintrense players C.D. Cova da Piedade players Shandong Taishan F.C. players Segunda Divisão players Chinese Super League players Association football defenders Chinese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Portugal Chinese expatriate sportspeople in Portugal China international footballers Footballers at the 2018 Asian Games 2019 AFC Asian Cup players Asian Games competitors for China 21st-century Chinese people