Liu Zhicai (
Chinese: 刘志才; born October 20, 1954) is a Chinese
football coach and a former international player. As a player he was a
defender who represented Shenyang Army and
Bayi Football Team while internationally he played for
China in the
1980 Asian Cup.
Management career
Liu Zhicai would manage amateur minor-league club
Tianjin Runyulong in the 2010 league season, however the recently formed ambitious club would decide that they wanted to be a professional unit the following season and buy
Anhui Jiufang F.C.'s position within the second tier of Chinese football. This would then see a turbulent period in Liu's career where he would see the club move to
Shenyang and rename themselves as
Shenyang Shenbei while having to overhaul his squad to compete with professional football.[1] In the
2011 league season Liu looked like he was able to produce a team that were able to fight for promotion, however it would soon be clear that the club would finish in mid-table and despite finishing in a respectable sixth there would be rumours that Liu would be sacked at the end of the season. Unfortunately these rumours would be true and the ambitious club would hire
Chinese FA Cup winning coach
Arie Haan at the beginning of 2012.[2]
