Li Gang (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | August 27, 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Dalian, Liaoning, China | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 1.6 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Jiangxi Liansheng | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2002-2007 | Shanghai United F.C. | 67 | (3) |
| 2007-2009 | Shanghai Shenhua | 23 | (0) |
| 2009 | →Chengdu Blades(loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2010-2011 | Chengdu Blades | 32 | (4) |
| 2012-2013 | Wuhan Zall | 36 | (1) |
| 2014- | Jiangxi Liansheng | 16 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 Feb 2012. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Li Gang (Chinese: 李钢; Pinyin: Li Gāng; born 27 August 1981) is a Chinese football player who currently plays for Jiangxi Liansheng as a midfielder in the China League Two.
Club career
Shanghai
Li Gang would start his career in 2002 with one of the local football clubs in Dalian, Dalian Saidelong in the second tier where he would go on to establish himself as a regular within the team by playing in twenty three league games within the 2003 league season. He would then see the club move to Shanghai and rename themselves Shanghai United F.C. at the end of the 2004 league season when the club also won promotion to the Chinese Super League after coming second within the league.[1] Li Gang would help establish himself and his team the following season when his team came eleventh in the league. However at the beginning of the 2007 league season Shanghai United F.C. and Shanghai Shenhua merged with Shanghai Shenhua keeping their name.[2]
At Shanghai Shenhua Li Gang would make his debut on March 7, 2007 against Sydney FC in the 2007 AFC Champions League group game that saw Shanghai Shenhua lose 2-1.[3] With the former Shanghai United coach Osvaldo Gimenez managing the team Li Gang would quickly established himself as a regular within the first team despite the significantly large squad and played in fifteen league games within the season as well as also winning the 2007 A3 Champions Cup, which was a mini tournament held during the summer break sanctioned by the East Asian Football Federation.[4] At the beginning of the 2008 league season Wu Jingui was already brought back as Shenhua's manager and despite the large the exist of players at the beginning of the season Li Gang lost favour within the Shanghai team and saw his playing time significantly limited to only five league appearances throughout the season.
Chengdu Blades
After losing his place within the Shenhua team Li Gang would join Chengdu Blades on loan during the 2009 league season where he quickly established himself as a regular within the team and played in ten league games for the club. Before the start of the 2010 league season it was discovered that several years before Chengdu Blades had fixed several league games and were punished with relegation to the second tier.[5] Despite this Li Gang would make his loan move permanent and would play in seventeen league games to help push the club to win promotion at the end of the 2010 league season when he aided the club to a runners-up position. Back in the top tier Li Gang was named the clubs captain during the 2011 Chinese Super League season, however he was unable to lead the team to safety and the club were relegated at the end of the season.
Honours
Shanghai Shenhua
- A3 Champions Cup: 2007
Jiangxi Liansheng
References
- ↑ "China 2004". rsssf.com. 7 Apr 2005. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
- ↑ "Gimenez to coach newly combined Shanghai Shenhua". chinaview.cn. 2007-02-17. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
- ↑ "AFC Champions League 2007". footballzz.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
- ↑ "Li Gang". football-lineups.com. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
- ↑ "Chengdu Blades demoted". fifa.com. 23 February 2010. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
External links
- Player profile at Soccerway.com
- Player profile at Sodasoccer.com
- Player profile at Chengdu Blades website
- Player profile at Shanghai Shenhua website