Li Benjian (; born March 5, 1986, in

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

) is a Chinese former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

Club career

Li Benjian would start his career playing for the second tier football club

Guangdong Mingfeng ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

and would go on to be loaned out to Chinese football club playing in the

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

's S.League

Sinchi FC Sinchi Football Club () was a professional association football club from China based in Taman Jurong, Singapore which played as a foreign team in Singapore's S.League from 2003 to 2005. The club played its home games in Singapore at the Jurong ...

. On his return from his loan, Li would find out his club were facing financial difficulties and the club moved to

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

in hopes of getting better crowds while the club changed their name to Shenzhen Kejian to represent this. The move turned out to be disappointment on and off the field as the club finished the league tenth as well as becoming bankrupt in the process. Top tier club

Tianjin TEDA Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Football Club (), previously Tianjin TEDA (), is a Chinese professional football club based in Tianjin, that competes in . Tianjin Jinmen Tiger plays its home matches at the TEDA Soccer Stadium, located within Binhai. The f ...

were, however interested in Li's services and he transferred to them for $300,000 at the start of the 2006 league season. At Tianjin he would make his debut on March 10, 2006, in a 3–2 victory against Shenzhen Kingway. After the game he would immediately become a vital member for the club's midfield until September 10, 2006, when in a league game against

Dalian Shide Dalian Shide was a professional Chinese football club based in Dalian, Liaoning province, China who played in China's football league system between 1955 and 2012. Their home stadiums were the 55,843 capacity Dalian People's Stadium and then lat ...

Li's season would end early when he tore his ankle ligaments and had to have surgery. After he recovered Tianjin had already brought in

Jozef Jarabinský Jozef Jarabinský (born 12 March 1944) is a Czechoslovak former football player and manager He played for Slovan Bratislava, Bohemians, Dukla Prague and Sparta Prague. As a football manager he coached Vagónka Poprad, Tatran Prešov, Sparta ...

as their new coach at the beginning of the 2007 league season and Li was unable to establish himself within the squad. He was loaned out to Jiangsu Sainty at the beginning of the 2008 season where he helped them in their successful bid for promotion to the

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

. Li Benjian was again loaned out, this time to top tier club

Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Guangzhou Pharmaceuticals Corporation () is a pharmaceutical wholesaling and distribution company headquartered in Guangzhou, China, and a 50:50 joint venture between Walgreens Boots Alliance Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) is an America ...

where he made his competitive debut on 21 March 2009 against

Henan Construction Henan Football Club (), currently known as Henan F.C. Jiuzu Dukang () for sponsorship reasons, is a Chinese professional football club based in Zhengzhou, Henan, that competes in . Henan plays their home matches at the Hanghai Stadium, located wi ...

which Guangzhou lost 2–1. On his return to Tianjin the club had brought in a new manager in

Arie Haan Arend "Arie" Haan (; born 16 November 1948) is a Dutch Association football, football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He scored 6 goals in 35 matches for the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands national team of ...

who decided that Li should be the club's first choice left winger and Li would repay him by being a vital player in helping the club finish the 2010 league season in second. With the club eligible for the

2011 AFC Champions League The 2011 AFC Champions League was the 30th edition of the top-level Asian club association football, football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 9th under the current AFC Champions League title. The winners, ...

Li would play in all seven of the club's games as they were knocked out of within the last sixteen, however the team fared better within the

2011 Chinese FA Cup The TOSHIBA 2011 Chinese FA Cup () was the 13th edition of Chinese FA Cup. The match of first round began on 4 May 2011, and the final took place on 19 November 2011. Tianjin Teda won the title for the first time and earned a berth in the 2012 A ...

when they beat

Shandong Luneng Shandong Taishan Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Jinan, Shandong, that competes in . Shandong Taishan plays its home matches at the Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium, located within Lixia District. Their c ...

2-1 in the final. On 27 February 2018, Li signed for

club

Henan Jianye Henan Football Club (), currently known as Henan F.C. Jiuzu Dukang () for sponsorship reasons, is a Chinese professional football club based in Zhengzhou, Henan, that competes in . Henan plays their home matches at the Hanghai Stadium, located wi ...

Career statistics

''Statistics accurate as of match played 31 December 2020.''

Honours

Jiangsu Sainty *

China League One The Chinese Football League 1 (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (), is the second level of professional football in China, under the Chinese Super League. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

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. The current holders are Shanghai Port, having beaten Shandong Taishan in 2024 for their first title. H ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

References

External links

Player profile at sohu.comPlayer profile at 7m.cn
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Benjian 1986 births Living people Chinese men's footballers Footballers from Qingdao Chinese expatriate men's footballers Guangzhou F.C. players Jiangsu F.C. players Tianjin Jinmen Tiger F.C. players Henan F.C. players Chinese Super League players China League One players 21st-century Chinese sportsmen Men's association football midfielders