On August 13, 1976, the Federal Republic of Germany's "Global Football" magazine selected the "world's top five football kings", and Li Huitang was included in the list together with Pele from Brazil, Matthews from England, Stéfano from Argentina and Puskas from Hungary.
Li Huitang was once a superstar who swept the Asian football scene, he is known as the pioneer of Chinese football, and some people call him the "world football king".
According to statistics, he scored at least 1,860 goals in more than 1,000 games, a staggering number. Li Huitang not only has extraordinary skills, but also loves to write poetry and books.
His loyal and patriotic sentiments and style are even more familiar, so much so that people often compare him with the Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang. He was favored by foreign teams, which beckoned him several times but were rejected.
People compare Li Huitang and Mei Lanfang, not only because they are leaders in their specialty, but also because they are famous patriots. During the Japanese invasion of China, in order to win the hearts of the people, Li Huitang and the South China team were invited to Nanjing to play an exhibition match, but Li Huitang and others refused, not wanting to be used by the Japanese who killed their compatriots. And the Nanjing National Government (that is, the "Wang puppet regime") cultivated by Japan, Wang Jingwei sent Lin Bosheng, the head of the propaganda department, to persuade Li Huitang to teach in Nanjing, in an attempt to buy Li Huitang with a high salary, but Li Huitang loudly refused, indicating that he did not want to be a traitor.
In 1934, at the 10th Far East Games, Li Huitang led the Chinese team to defeat the Japanese team 4:3, and all the Chinese present stood up and shouted and jumped for the victory of the Chinese team, and many people even shed tears of excitement.
At the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, Li Huitang and others represented the Republic of China. On his way to Berlin, he played 27 friendly matches in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries, winning 23 times.
Facing the British team during the Olympic Games, although the boat was hard and lacked rest, the Chinese team repeatedly defused the opponent's attacks in the first half and was able to draw 0:0; It was only in the second half that it was won by two goals by Great Britain. At that time, the media praised the Chinese team for its defeat, and the South China Daily described it as "unexpected" as "the British team cannot win big".
The British media praised Lee's first-class skills, and Arsenal said that if Lee was 10 years younger, they would definitely invite him to join. After that, the friendly match between the Chinese team and the British amateur team Illingston was a 2:2 draw, which was praised by the local media, and Chinese football was a traditional football power. Later, against Red Star in the French First Division, and then tied 2:2, the top management of Red Star looked at Li Huitang's performance differently and offered Li Huitang a monthly salary of 2,500 francs and a transfer fee of 25,000 francs, but Li Huitang refused on the grounds of old age, otherwise he would have become the first Chinese player to play in the top European league.
In 1948, Li Huitang retired from military service. After retiring, Li Huitang also vigorously promoted women's football, which later became the backbone of the "Mulan Football Team", and became the first women's football team in Asia, and was invited by Ming Chuan Business College to serve as the first coach of the "Ming Chuan Women's Football Team".
In addition, Li Huitang has several interesting rumors.
Myth 1: Kick the fans to death?
In 1931, Li Huitang went to Saigon, Vietnam to play against the Vietnamese team, when Tan Jiangbai and the opposing defender had a mutual move, the two players clashed, and even fans rushed into the stadium, chasing Li Huitang with a wooden stick, Li Huitang flew and kicked the opponent in the jaw, the fan died a month after being hospitalized, Li Huitang once said that this matter was regrettable.
Myth 2: One goal kills a player?
In 1929, Li Huitang traveled to Indonesia with the South China team to play, and in the match against Bacheng United, Li Huitang shot a penalty and hit a Dutch player on the other side (it is said that the player greeted Li Huitang's ball with his head), causing the player to be in a coma for 26 hours, but not as rumored to have died.
Myth 3: One shot through the net?
In 1941, Li Huitang went to Malaysia with the South China team to play in the Penang Army United, and when he beat the opponent by 11 goals, Li Huitang once shot through the net, and his friend Wang Qingcheng said in an interview that the net was shot not only because of Li Huitang's good foot strength, but also because of the poor quality of the net.