# Li Jinyu

Li Jinyu (Chinese: 李金羽; pinyin: Lǐ Jīnyǔ; born 6 July 1977) is a Chinese former international football player who is currently the head coach of Liaoning Tieren.
As a player he represented Liaoning Whowin and Shandong Luneng in the Chinese Super League and spent one season on loan at French club AS Nancy. He is also currently the top goalscorer in Chinese professional league history and won the Golden Boot Award three times in the process.

## Club career

One of the premier strikers in China, Li Jinyu earned his reputation early when he was the stars of the Chinese youth team that studied in Brazil for a training programme sponsored by Shenzhen Jianlibao. This then saw him called up to the Chinese under-20 national team and gave him a chance to play in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship which attracted the interests of French side AS Nancy who acquired him on loan for one season. Li's time at AS Nancy was not successful and he would return to China to sign with Liaoning Whowin, immediately showing his potential that was missing at AS Nancy when he became an integral member of the team that narrowly lost out on the league title in 1999. While he would personally win his first Golden Boot award in 2002, he did not win any trophies with his club Liaoning during his time with them.
At the beginning of the 2004 league season, Shandong Luneng were willing to pay 4,900,000 yuan to make him the most expensive signing in Chinese football transfer history at the time. He would immediately become an integral member of the team and would repay them by helping them win the Chinese FA Cup and Chinese Super League Cup at the end of the season. The 2006 league season would see him reach his peak when he won the league title, the Chinese FA Cup, and the Golden Boot award with the team. The 2007 league season would see him officially become the most prolific player within the league when he broke Hao Haidong's goal record, however he could not aid Shandong to another league title. Despite his tradition in scoring, his prolific goalscoring dropped during the 2008 league season when he only scored six goals, nevertheless he was still able to win another league title. By the 2010 league season, Li would become a fringe player within the team, however he would still go on to win the league title once more and decided to retire at the end of the season.

## International career

After playing in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship for the Chinese under-20 national team, Li would immediately move to the senior team and would make his debut in a friendly against the United States in a 1-1 draw on 1 February 1997. This then saw him become a regular with the Chinese national team and saw him play in several unsuccessful World Cup qualifiers. His biggest achievement came in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup where he was an integral member of the team that was runners-up in the tournament. When China qualified for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, then manager Zhu Guanghu dropped him from the squad to take part in the tournament because he believed that his performances were not convincing enough to be included in the squad.

## Management career

Li started his managerial career by becoming the assistant coach of the Chinese women's national team and Shenyang Shenbei. On 13 May 2013, he was appointed as the new manager of China League One side Shenyang Shenbei, replacing Liu Zhicai who was sacked from the club on the same day after a string of poor results.

## Career statistics
### Club

| Club | Season | League | League | League |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals |
| Liaoning FC | 1998 | Chinese Jia-A League | 0 | 0 |
| Liaoning FC | 1999 | Chinese Jia-A League | 13 | 8 |
| Liaoning FC | 2000 | Chinese Jia-A League | 24 | 5 |
| Liaoning FC | 2001 | Chinese Jia-A League | 22 | 11 |
| Liaoning FC | 2002 | Chinese Jia-A League | 27 | 15 |
| Liaoning FC | 2003 | Chinese Jia-A League | 14 | 7 |
| Liaoning FC | Total | Total | 100 | 46 |
| AS Nancy | 1998–99 | French Division 1 | 6 | 0 |
| AS Nancy | Total | Total | 6 | 0 |
| Shandong Luneng | 2004 | Chinese Jia-A League | 21 | 13 |
| Shandong Luneng | 2005 | Chinese Jia-A League | 17 | 7 |
| Shandong Luneng | 2006 | Chinese Jia-A League | 26 | 26 |
| Shandong Luneng | 2007 | Chinese Jia-A League | 27 | 15 |
| Shandong Luneng | 2008 | Chinese Jia-A League | 24 | 6 |
| Shandong Luneng | 2009 | Chinese Jia-A League | 22 | 3 |
| Shandong Luneng | 2010 | Chinese Jia-A League | 14 | 4 |
| Shandong Luneng | Total | Total | 151 | 74 |
| Total | Total | Total | 257 | 120 |

### International goals

| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 21 February 1997 | Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Singapore | 2-0 | 3-1 | 1997 Dunhill Cup Malaysia |
| 2 | 2 March 1997 | Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1-0 | 3-0 | 1997 Dunhill Cup Malaysia |
| 3 | 20 April 1997 | Workers Stadium, Beijing, China | Myanmar | 3-0 | 5-0 | Friendly international |
| 4 | 1 June 1997 | Workers Stadium, Beijing, China | Turkmenistan | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 5 | 30 November 1998 | Surat Thani Province Stadium, Surat Thani, Thailand | Lebanon | 3-1 | 4-1 | 1998 Asian Games |
| 6 | 8 December 1998 | Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand | Tajikistan | 2-1 | 3-1 | 1998 Asian Games |
| 7 | 10 December 1998 | Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand | Oman | 3-0 | 6-1 | 1998 Asian Games |
| 8 | 10 December 1998 | Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand | Oman | 4-0 | 6-1 | 1998 Asian Games |
| 9 | 12 December 1998 | Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand | Iran | 1-0 | 1-2 | 1998 Asian Games |
| 10 | 14 December 1998 | Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand | Turkmenistan | 1-0 | 3-0 | 1998 Asian Games |
| 12 | 6 May 2001 | Lambert Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia | Cambodia | 1-0 | 4-0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 13 | 6 May 2001 | Lambert Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia | Cambodia | 4-0 | 4-0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 14 | 31 August 2003 | Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, United States | Haiti | 3-1 | 3-4 | Friendly international |
| 15 | 3 July 2004 | Chongqing Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing, China | Lebanon | 1-0 | 6-0 | Friendly international |
| 16 | 3 July 2004 | Chongqing Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing, China | Lebanon | 2-0 | 6-0 | Friendly international |
| 17 | 17 July 2004 | Workers Stadium, Beijing, China | Bahrain | 2-1 | 2-2 | 2004 AFC Asian Cup |
| 18 | 8 September 2004 | City Stadium, Penang, Malaysia | Malaysia | 1-0 | 1-0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 19 | 17 November 2004 | Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou, China | Hong Kong | 1-0 | 7-0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 20 | 17 November 2004 | Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou, China | Hong Kong | 4-0 | 7-0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 21 | 3 September 2005 | Daejeon World Cup Stadium, Daejeon, South Korea | Japan | 1-0 | 2-2 | 2005 East Asian Football Championship |
| 22 | 10 September 2006 | Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Qinhuangdao, China | Thailand | 1-0 | 4-0 | Friendly international |
| 23 | 7 February 2007 | Suzhou Sports Center, Suzhou, China | Kazakhstan | 2-1 | 2-1 | Friendly international |
| 24 | 21 October 2007 | Century Lotus Stadium, Foshan, China | Myanmar | 5-0 | 7-0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier |

### Management statistics

    As of 20 July 2024.
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Team | Nat | From | To | G | W | D | L | Win % |
| Shenyang Zhongze | | 13 May 2013 | 12 May 2014 | 32 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 037.50 |
| Shijiazhuang Ever Bright (caretaker) | | 15 July 2016 | 30 October 2016 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 030.77 |
| Jiangsu Suning (caretaker) | | 1 June 2017 | 11 June 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 000.00 |
| Wuhan Yangtze River | | 4 December 2021 | 25 January 2023 | 43 | 10 | 7 | 26 | 023.26 |
| Yunnan Yukun | | 7 September 2023 | 22 May 2024 | 16 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 081.25 |
| Liaoning Tieren | | 2 July 2024 | present | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 066.67 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 98 | 41 | 15 | 42 | 041.84 |

## Honours
### Player
#### Club

Shandong Luneng
* Chinese Super League: 2006, 2008, 2010
* Chinese FA Cup: 2004, 2006
* Chinese Super League Cup: 2004

#### International

China PR national football team
* East Asian Football Championship: 2005

#### Individual

* Chinese Super League Top goalscorer: 2006, 2007
* Chinese Super League Team of the Year: 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007