Liu Ailing

In this Chinese name, the family name is Liu.
Liu Ailing
刘爱玲
Personal information
Full name Liu Ailing
Date of birth (1967-05-02) 2 May 1967 (age 57)
Place of birth Baotou, China
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1993 Beijing
1994–1997 Tasaki Perule FC
1998–2000 Beijing
2001–2002 Philadelphia Charge 39 (12)
International career‡
1987–2002 China
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  China
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1996 Atlanta Team
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 1990 Beijing Team
Gold medal – first place 1994 Hiroshima Team
Gold medal – first place 1998 Bangkok Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:45, 23 November 2016 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:45, 23 November 2016 (UTC)

Liu Ailing (simplified Chinese: 刘爱玲; traditional Chinese: 劉愛玲; pinyin: Liú Àilíng; born 2 May 1967) is a Chinese former footballer who played for the China national team at the 1991, 1995 and 1999 editions of the FIFA Women's World Cup. She won a silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and participated at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. A playmaking midfielder, she played for professional club football in Japan and the United States.

Club career

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Born in Baotou, Inner Mongolia,[1] Liu excelled in basketball and athletics but did not play football until she was 17 years old. Her parents were initially reluctant to let her play what they saw as a masculine sport.[2]

In 1994, Liu joined Japanese second-tier club Tasaki Perule FC. She won promotion in her first season and remained with the club until 1997.[3]

At the 2000 WUSA Draft, Liu was selected by Philadelphia Charge in the first round, second overall behind compatriot Sun Wen.[4] In the United States, Liu experienced a culture shock; she bought only raw fruit and vegetables from the supermarket as in China she had been in regimented training camps for so long that she had never learned to cook.[5] In the 2001 WUSA season, as a 34-year-old veteran, Liu was a success and led the team on goals (10) and points (22). She was the first woman to win WUSA's Player of the Week in two consecutive weeks, and the first woman to win it three times. Coach Mark Krikorian said of Liu: "She has been one of the greatest center midfielders in the world".[6] In 2002, Liu was less effective, contributing two goals and two assists for six points in her 20 regular season appearances (11 starts). She retired at the end of the season.[7]

International career

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At the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup, Liu played the full 80 minutes in all four of China's games. The hosts reached the quarter-finals before losing 1–0 to Sweden.[8] In the first ever FIFA Women's World Cup match, Liu scored twice in China's 4–0 win over eventual finalists Norway on 16 November 1991.

At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, she won the silver medal with the Chinese team when she played all five matches and scored one goal.

At the 1997 AFC Women's Championship, Liu scored four goals in China's 10–0 semi-final win over Taiwan and two goals in the 2–0 final win over obdurate North Korea. She was named tournament MVP.[9] Liu was named in the 16-player All-Star team at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup.[10] She scored the winning goal in the 2–1 first round win over Sweden and two more in the 5–0 semi-final rout of defending champions Norway, securing China's place in the final, where they lost a controversial penalty shootout to the United States.[11]

In 2000, she was a member of the Chinese team which finished fifth in the Olympic women's tournament. She played all three matches.

In 2003, Liu took a role as deputy secretary general of the Beijing Football Association.[12] Following the playing retirement of Liu and influential contemporaries like Sun Wen and Zhao Lihong, the Chinese national team went into sharp decline, culminating in an 8–0 defeat by Germany at the 2004 Athens Olympics.[13] In June 2007, Liu was running the only girls' football school in Beijing, when it closed through lack of interest.[14]

International goals

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No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 21 December 1989 Kowloon, Hong Kong  North Korea 4–1 4–1 1989 AFC Women's Championship
2. 26 December 1989  Hong Kong ?–0 7–0
3. 16 November 1991 Guangzhou, China  Norway 2–0 4–0 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup
4. 3–0
5. 21 November 1991 Foshan, China  New Zealand 2–0 4–1
6. 4–0
7. 5 December 1993 Kuching, Malaysia  South Korea ?–0 6–0 1993 AFC Women's Championship
8. 7 December 1993  Malaysia ?–0 7–0
9. 10 December 1993  Japan 1–1 1–1
10. 12 December 1993  North Korea 1–0 3–0
11. 2–0
12. 3–0
13. 8 June 1995 Västerås, Sweden  Australia 4–2 4–2 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup
14. 26 September 1995 Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia  Hong Kong 11–0 12–0 1995 AFC Women's Championship
15. 23 July 1996 Miami, United States  Denmark 2–0 5–1 1996 Summer Olympics
16. 5 December 1997 Guangdong, China  North Korea 1–0 3–1 1997 AFC Women's Championship
17. 3–1
18. 12 December 1997  Chinese Taipei 3–0 10–0
19. 5–0
20. 6–0
21. 10–0
22. 14 December 1997  North Korea 1–0 2–0
23. 2–0
24. 19 June 1999 San Jose, United States  Sweden 2–1 2–1 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup
25. 4 July 1999 Foxborough, United States  Norway 2–0 5–0
26. 3–0
27. 9 November 1999 Bacolod, Philippines  Guam 3–0 15–0 1999 AFC Women's Championship
28. 6–0
29. 19 November 1999  North Korea 2–0 3–0

Honors

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International

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China[15]

Individual

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  • Asian Player of the Month: December 1997[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Liu Ailing". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  2. ^ Fan Hong, J. A. Mangan (2004). Soccer, Women, Sexual Liberation: Kicking Off a New Era. Frank Cass Publishers. p. 58. ISBN 0-7146-8408-2. Liu Ailing, another famous player, has stated that her parents once confronted her coach and told him that they did not want their daughter, 'such a lovely girl to play a boy's sport'.
  3. ^ "Players featured on FIFA's 100 Best Goals who played in Japan". Full Bloom: A Guide to Women's Football in Japan. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  4. ^ "China's Sun Wen Selected by Atlanta with Top Pick". People's Daily. 11 December 2000. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  5. ^ Jensen, Mike (13 April 2001). "For soccer's Liu Ailing, a new country means new rules and new league". Knight Ridder. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  6. ^ "Charge's Liu showing moxie down the stretch". WUSA. Archived from the original on 27 December 2002. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  7. ^ Narducci, Marc (3 July 2002). "Charge's Liu Ailing planning to retire". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  8. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup China '91 - Technical Report & Statistics" (PDF). FIFA. p. 66. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  9. ^ "LIU Ailing". FIFA. Archived from the original on 16 April 2000. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  10. ^ "WWC99: Hamm, Sissi, Sun among 16 players selected to Mastercard All-Star Team". FIFA. 8 July 1999. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  11. ^ Farley, Maggie (15 July 1999). "Chinese upset by 'tainted' World Cup loss". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 26 November 2016.[dead link‍]
  12. ^ "刘爱玲要过安稳日子 正式出任北京足协副秘书长" (in Chinese). Sina Corp. 8 April 2003. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  13. ^ "Rusty Steel Roses leave the past behind". FIFA. 8 September 2004. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  14. ^ "Fewer and fewer Chinese girls play football". Xinhua News Agency. 3 November 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  15. ^ "辉煌战绩" (in Chinese). Sina Corp. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  16. ^ "Awards for Saudi and China". Asian Football Confederation. 14 May 1998. Archived from the original on 14 May 1998.
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