Li Tie - the quiet man in midfield. (Allsport)
LI TIE
Position: Midfield
Born: 18.05.77
Club: Liaoning Fushun
Li Tie is the sort of player every side must have.
The Liaoning Fushun star is the quiet man in midfield who goes about his job with ruthless efficiency and without attracting the headlines of some of his more high-profile team-mates.
Li broke into the Chinese national side a couple of months short of his 20th birthday and has developed from a fringe player to the team's heartbeat.
His performances have led to coach Bora Milutinovic saying: "You can replace the Hao Haidongs and the Fan Zhiyis, but you can't replace Li Tie."
Li is one of the many up-and-coming Chinese players to be linked with a move to Europe, with Ajax one of the clubs apparently interested.
But he is so committed to his national side he turned down what could have been his big break with a move to Heerenveen as the Dutch club would not have allowed him to play for China.
|
