Li Yi

Who is Li Yi?

Li Yi, born June 20, 1979, is a retired Chinese soccer player and coach. He was a striker on the China national football team and last played for Shaanxi Chanba.

His critical and pretentious off-field comments often overshadow his soccer skills. Some unconfirmed comments on the internet about Li such as saying his ball shielding is similar and comparable to Thierry Henry, makes him a target for much criticism from home fans. He earned a nickname Imperator Li Yi the Great, and eventually became an Internet meme among Chinese netizens similar to Chuck Norris in the United States. But in fact, Li never said such words. He did mention Thierry Henry after a 2005 AFC Champions League group stage match which Shenzhen Jianlibao beat Suwon Samsung Bluewings 1-0 at home. He said that he shielded the ball in the corner flag area in the injury time to ensure the victory, just like Thierry Henry did. The medium misrepresented his meaning because they believed that saying Li's ball shielding was comparable to Thierry Henry can be more attracting.