Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

Chinese name|Li
Li Tie (李铁; born May 18, 1977 in
Liaoning, China) is a People's Republic of
China|Chinese professional footballer. He
currently plays for Everton F.C.

The cream of his generation of Chinese football
players, Li was already a veteran of the national
squad when China national football team|China
embarked on their Football World Cup|World Cup
debut in Football World Cup 2002|2002. Despite
ending the compaign without a win, Li was shipped
to the FA Premier League|Premiership in an
exchange deal between sponsors Kejian and Everton.

His first season at Goodison Park was a surprising
success. Manager David Moyes played him in 31
league games, the majority from the starting
line-up, where his displays as a defensive
midfielder helped the club clinch a 7th place
finish.

Everton tussled with his former club Liaoning
Bodao to sign him permanently after the 2002/3
season. The deal was finally closed in August 2003
for an undisclosed fee, with Li signing a
three-year deal. It is likely Everton paid between
£500,000 to £1.5 m for the midfielder, although
the price was hugely offset by outside
sponsorship.

His 2003/4 season was marred by a sending-off
(against Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal, Aug 2003) and a
series of injuries.  The last, a broken leg picked
up during international duty in February 2004,
ruled him out for more than 13 months.