China News Service, December 27. Wuhan Zall Professional Football Club issued an announcement on the afternoon of the 27th, announcing the official appointment of Li Xiaopeng as the head coach of Wuhan Zall team and concurrently as the club's executive deputy manager.
Image source: Wuhan Zall Football Club official micro
Zall introduced in the announcement: "Li Xiaopeng played for Shandong Luneng Taishan team (Jinan General Taishan team) throughout his career (1994-2005) as a midfielder. During his 12-year league career, Li Xiaopeng played a total of 217 games. He scored 41 goals and helped the team win a league championship (99 season), three FA Cup titles (95 season, 99 season, 04 season), and a Chinese Super Cup champion (04 season). Li Xiaopeng has been selected to the country many times. He also represented the Chinese team in the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan. On November 20, 2005, Li Xiaopeng announced his retirement."
"In his coaching career, Li Xiaopeng served as the acting head coach of the Chinese Women's Football Team in August 2010; in December 2013, he served as the head coach of the Qingdao Zhongneng Team; in January 2015, he served as the general manager of Shijiazhuang Yongchang Club; in December 2015, he served as Shandong Luneng Taishan club deputy general manager, technical director, and Chinese coaching team leader; in December 2017, Li Xiaopeng became the head coach of Shandong Luneng Taishan team, and then won the 2018 and 2019 China Super League Best Coach Award for his outstanding coaching performance; 2020 In October 2008, Li Xiaopeng stepped down as the head coach of Shandong Luneng Taishan."
In addition, Zall also gave a great affirmation to Li Xiaopeng.
"Li Xiaopeng has excellent coaching skills and rich experience in football management. His strong sense of responsibility and professionalism are recognized and respected by the outside world. Years of experience rooted in Chinese football have also given him a very deep understanding and understanding of the Super League. Wuhan Zall’s higher pursuit of competitive goals. Under the guidance of Li Xiaopeng, the Wuhan Zall team will continue to carry forward the spirit of unity and struggle, and strive to achieve the club’s goals. The club will also continue to actively perform its social responsibilities. Work hard to train young and strong local coaches for the development of Chinese football. In the new season, I look forward to providing more exciting games to fans and friends under the leadership of Li Xiaopeng's team!"
Data map: 2019 Chinese Super League Annual Awards Ceremony, Li Xiaopeng won the best coach award.
Photo by Zhang Hengwei
Earlier, many media reported that Li Xiaopeng would leave Luneng and go to Zall to coach.
On the morning of the 27th, Luneng also issued an announcement stating that Li Xiaopeng had resigned from the position of deputy general manager and technical director of the club. After only half a day, Zall officially announced the appointment of the new coach.
Zall was very ups and downs in the Super League last season. In the first half of the first half, they once ranked third in Group B. However, in the second half, because of the sudden dismissal of the then coach Jose, he has not clearly defined the identity of the acting coach. Lead the team in the name of the coaching staff.
At the same time, the team's record has also taken a sharp turn. Not only did it fall out of the top four and did not enter the championship group, it also lost consecutive losses to Henan Jianye and Qingdao Huanghai in the second stage, and narrowly defeated Shijiazhuang Yongchang in the relegation battle. A narrow victory over Zhejiang Greentown in the relegation playoffs, which barely retained the Super League spot next season.
The arrival of Li Xiaopeng undoubtedly re-formed the backbone of the team. His coaching ability has been repeatedly proven in the past few years. Joining this time will surely bring a different motivation to Zall.
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