Li Weifeng

Tianjin Locomotive

Li Weifeng started his football career with Tianjin Locomotive's youth academy before he was spotted by the Chinese national youth program to study football abroad in a training program sponsored by Jianlibao. This then saw him called up to the Chinese under-20 national team and given a chance to play in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Loan to Everton

Upon his return from the tournament, Li was returned to his initial youth team of Tianjin Locomotive until top tier club Shenzhen Ping'an showed an interest in him, not wanting to lose a promising young player a contract dispute would arise until a fee of 800,000 yuan was reportedly agree upon. In the 1998 league season he made his debut for the club and quickly established himself at the heart of the team's defense, guiding them to a 12th-place finish and doing enough to avoid relegation. In the following seasons with Shenzhen, Li establish himself as an integral member of the team and would go on to represent his country in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. With the exposure of the tournament, a short trial at Premier League side Everton immediately followed as part of an Everton deal with Chinese sponsor Kejian. His time at Everton he only made two appearances, playing once in the league against Southampton and once in the League Cup against Wrexham. He was unable to make an impact at the club and returned to Shenzhen after the 2002-03 season. In the 2003 league season, Li returned from…

Club

International

Scores and results list China's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Li goal.

Li was appointed as the vice managing director of Tianjin Quanjian in September 2015. On 10 April 2026, Li was named as the head coach of China League One club Ningbo FC. On 9 October 2026, the club announced that Li has left his position.

Li made his first appearance for the Chinese national team on 22 November 1998 in a friendly match against South Korea, which ended in a 0-0 draw. His performances for the national team would see him called up to China's squads for the 2000 AFC Asian Cup and 2002 FIFA World Cup. In 2003, he was promoted to team captain by then manager Arie Haan and would lead China to a runners-up position at the 2004 AFC Asian Cup. In September 2006, he was banned from the national team for attacking an opposing player and hence earning his sixth red card in fourteen months during an AFC Champions League game with Shanghai Shenhua. His position as captain of the national team was stripped and later assigned to Zheng Zhi. The ban was removed after a year, but since then he never had any significant role in the national team anymore. He returned as Captain during the 2014 World Cup qualifying, but his return could not help China pass through the Third Round, after two shocking losses to Iraq.