Liu Zhenli

Liu Zhenli is a Chinese goalkeeper, born on 26 June 1985 in Qingdao, China.

Liu joined the youth football academy of his hometown club FC Qingdao Jonoon, as soon as he reached an appropriate age. He was first used as a backup for the youth squad, sometimes coming off the bench as a substitute during the youth championship fixtures. However, he continued his hard work on the training ground and soon started to earn more playing time, gradually developing his skills and gaining playing experience.

By the time he left the academy, he managed to establish himself as a promising youngster and many other Chinese clubs got interested in such an illustrious talent. However, the FC Qingdao Jonoon management did everything to persuade the homegrown prodigy to continue his career with the club and Liu finally signed his first professional contract with the Qingdao side in 2004.

Despite being considered a hot prospect for the future, Liu didn’t get too much playing time during his first seasons with the senior squad. However, the footballer finally got his chance to shine in 2006 and made a full use of it. At that stage of his career he was fighting for the first-choice goalkeeper status with Li Shuai, gradually cementing his place in the starting XI with a series of solid performances.

Despite the fact, that the club’s head coach still prefers to rotate goalkeepers, Liu is the most regular first-team starter at the club.