Wu Qunli (born March 20, 1960, in

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

) is a Chinese football coach and former international midfield player. As a player he represented Guangzhou FC and

Hong Kong First Division League The Hong Kong First Division League () is the second-highest division in the Hong Kong football league system. Established in 1908, it is the List of oldest football competitions, third oldest in Asia, after Calcutta and Bombay. Moreover, it is ...

side

South China South China ( zh, s=, p=Huá'nán, j=jyut6 naam4) is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is ...

, while internationally he also played for his country in the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

and

1992 AFC Asian Cup The 1992 AFC Asian Cup was the 10th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan between 29 October a ...

. Since retiring he would move into management where he returned to Guangzhou FC as an assistant before becoming their manager for a short spell.

Playing career

Wu Qunli was born in the Baiyun District within

and would join second-tier football club Guangzhou FC within the 1983 league season. He would soon see his club win promotion to the top tier at the end of the 1984 league season, via the

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 ...

. The following season would see him called up to the Chinese national team for the first time where he would become a regular before playing with the senior team in the

. By the 1990 league season Guangzhou FC were in the second tier, however Wu made sure this was short lived and aided the club to a runners-up position and promotion back up to the top tier, this wouldn't go unnoticed and he personally won the Chinese footballer of the year award. By now Wu had become a vital member for his club and country and go on to lead China into the

where they came third. With another Chinese footballer of the year award won at the end of the 1993 league season Wu would leave Guangzhou FC and join

side

in 1994. He would immediately make an impression within the team when he won the

Hong Kong Viceroy Cup Hong Kong Viceroy Cup () was a football competition in Hong Kong held by British American Tobacco. Started in 1969, it was the first football competition in Hong Kong which allowed commercial sponsorship. Together with First Division League, FA ...

at the end of the 1993–94 league season. He would then be given the nickname of "Golden Left Foot" for he saved the team many times by scoring some great goals using his left foot. A

Hong Kong Senior Shield The Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield (), known commonly as the Senior Shield, is the football knockout inter-club competition held in Hong Kong and the fourth oldest football tournament in Asia. Traditionally, only teams that play in the Hong K ...

and

Hong Kong FA Cup Hong Kong FA Cup () is a knockout cup competition in Hong Kong football, run by and named after The Hong Kong Football Association. The first edition of the competition was held in 1975, before then the cup was known as the Golden Jubilee Cup. T ...

at the end of the 1995-96 league season followed despite Wu missing six months after an injury sustained on March 9, 1996. With Wu winning the

title at the end of the 1996–97 league season Wu would soon move to Golden and then Tung Po before he retired.

Honours

Player

Club

South China *

: 1996–97 *

: 1995–96, 1996–97 *

: 1993–94, 1997–98 *

: 1995–96

International

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

(Third)

Individual

* CFA Footballer of the Year: 1990, 1993

References

External links

HKFA.com
南華92/93邀請隊 - 眾星回顧(二) (in Chinese) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Qunli 1960 births Living people Chinese men's footballers Footballers from Guangzhou China men's international footballers Chinese football managers Hong Kong First Division League players South China AA players Guangzhou F.C. players Sun Hei SC players Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics 1988 AFC Asian Cup players 1992 AFC Asian Cup players Olympic footballers for China Guangzhou F.C. managers Hunan Billows F.C. managers Footballers at the 1990 Asian Games Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Asian Games competitors for China 20th-century Chinese sportsmen