Lee Wai Tong
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- This is a Chinese name; the family name is Lee.
| Lee Wai Tong | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 18 September 1905 | |
| Place of birth | Tai Hang, Hong Kong | |
| Date of death | 4 July 1979 (aged 73) | |
| Place of death | Causeway Bay, Hong Kong | |
| Playing position | Striker | |
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1922–1925 1926–? ?–? |
South China Loh Hwa South China |
[1] |
| National team | ||
| 1923–? | China | [1] |
| Teams managed | ||
| 1954–1958? | Republic of China | |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Lee Wai Tong (also translated as Li Huitang, Chinese: 李惠堂; born 18 September 1905; died 4 July 1979[2]) was a Chinese football (soccer) striker and head coach. He is considered one of the greatest Asian footballers in pre World War II period.
He was nicknamed Alex James of the East.
Contents |
[edit] Background
When Lee was six, his father sent him back to their ancestral county, Wuhua, Guangdong, to study. He returned to Hong Kong at the age of eleven.
He died at the age of seventy-five in Hong Kong.
[edit] Playing career
[edit] International career
Lee, born in Hong Kong, played for the China national team that won the 1925, 1927, 1930, and 1934 Far Eastern Games, and in 1936, he was the captain of the national squad that competed at the Olympic tournament in Berlin.
PR China, Chinese Taipei (ROC) and Hong Kong national team formed and joined FIFA after WWII.
In 1976, a German football magazine considered him as one of the five all-time greatest footballers in the world, the other four being Pele, Sir Stanley Matthews、Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas.
[edit] Coaching career
He was the head coach of South China AA after the World War II. In, 1948, he was appointed coach of the Chinese national team, and after the Chinese Civil War, he coached the Republic of China national football team leading them to win the 1954 and 1958 Asian Games. He also coached the Hong Kong national teams. During 1960s, he became vice-chairman of the Chinese Taipei Football Association, and in 1965 he became vice-president of FIFA, being the first Chinese to reach that position.
He was famous for breaking the netting when he shot the ball into the net and in a match.
[edit] Further reading
- (Portuguese) Li Huitang, o Rei do Futebol da China (Li Huitang, China's king of football)
- (Chinese) 世界球王——李惠堂 (Li Huitang world star - translation)
[edit] References
- ^ a b 李惠堂：中國的世界級球王
- ^ (Simplified Chinese)迎奥运，纪念足球前辈、一代球王李惠堂
[edit] External links
- (Chinese) Short biography (translation)
