Li Jinyu (; born 6 July 1977) is a Chinese football coach and former international football player.
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 Jinyu at fifa.com Retrieved 2012-08-28 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.China 1999 at rsssf.org 2 Jul 2001 Retrieved 2012-08-28 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.China's Asian Cup reject Li makes a point with 100th goal at chinadaily.com.cn 2007-06-21 Retrieved 2012-08-28 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.China 2008 at rsssf.com 3 Apr 2009 Retrieved 2012-08-28 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.China PR 1-1 USA at teamchina.freehostia.com 1997-02-01 Retrieved 2012-08-28 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. at uk.reuters.com Jun 15, 2007 Retrieved 2012-08-28
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.沈北官方宣布李金羽担任主教练 刘志才自动离职 at titan24.com 2013-05-14 Retrieved 2013-05-27
On 4 May 2026, Liaoning Tieren announced Li's departure after 9 games of 2026 season.官方：李金羽不再担任辽宁铁人足球俱乐部总经理、一线队主教练 at dongqiudi.com May 4, 2026 Retrieved 2026-05-08 Career statistics
Club ClubSeasonLeagueDivisionAppsGoalsLiaoning FC1998Chinese Jia-A League001999138200024520012211200227152003147Total10046AS Nancy1998–99French Division 160Total60Shandong Luneng2004Chinese Jia-A League211320051772006262620072715200824620092232010144Total15174Total257120
International goals #DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition121 February 1997Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia2-03-11997 Dunhill Cup Malaysia22 March 1997Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia1-03-01997 Dunhill Cup Malaysia320 April 1997Workers Stadium, Beijing, China3-05-0Friendly international41 June 1997Workers Stadium, Beijing, China1-01-01998 FIFA World Cup qualifier530 November 1998Surat Thani Province Stadium, Surat Thani, Thailand3-14-11998 Asian Games68 December 1998Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand2-13-11998 Asian Games710 December 1998Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand3-06-11998 Asian Games810 December 1998Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand4-06-11998 Asian Games912 December 1998Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand1-01-21998 Asian Games1014 December 1998Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand1-03-01998 Asian Games126 May 2001Lambert Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia1-04-02002 FIFA World Cup qualifier136 May 2001Lambert Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia4-04-02002 FIFA World Cup qualifier1431 August 2003Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, United States3-13-4Friendly international153 July 2004Chongqing Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing, China1-06-0Friendly international163 July 2004Chongqing Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing, China2-06-0Friendly international1717 July 2004Workers Stadium, Beijing, China2-12-22004 AFC Asian Cup188 September 2004City Stadium, Penang, Malaysia1-01-02006 FIFA World Cup qualifier1917 November 2004Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou, China1-07-02006 FIFA World Cup qualifier2017 November 2004Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou, China4-07-02006 FIFA World Cup qualifier213 September 2005Daejeon World Cup Stadium, Daejeon, South Korea1-02-22005 East Asian Football Championship2210 September 2006Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Qinhuangdao, China1-04-0Friendly international237 February 2007Suzhou Sports Center, Suzhou, China2-12-1Friendly international2421 October 2007Century Lotus Stadium, Foshan, China5-07-02010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
Management statistics
TeamFromToRecordShenyang Zhongze13 May 201312 May 2014Shijiazhuang Ever Bright (caretaker)15 July 201630 October 2016Jiangsu Suning (caretaker)1 June 201711 June 2017Wuhan Yangtze River4 December 202125 January 2023Yunnan Yukun7 September 202322 May 2024Liaoning Tieren2 July 2024presentTotal
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
Manager Liaoning Tieren China League One: 2025
See also List of football records in China
References
External links
Player Stats