South China 2006–07 season He signed for
South China in 2006. He was appointed as the captain in the second half of the season as the original captain
Au Wai Lun served as a reserve player for most of the matches. On 21 May 2007, Li Haiqiang was awarded the
Hong Kong Footballer of the Year after scoring 6 goals in the 2006–07 season. It was his debut season in
Hong Kong First Division League and he was the first Mainland player to receive this award in its 30-year history. On Tuesday 24 July 2007, he played an integral part of South China's
Barclays Asia Trophy 2007 tournament when he scored a terrific free-kick from approximately 40-yards out against
Liverpool. The goal embarrassed Liverpool goalkeeper
Scott Carson and recalled memories of
Ronaldinho's
World Cup 2002 goal against
England. South China eventually lost the game by 3–1.
2007–08 season In the
2007–08 season, Li scored 4 goals, and all of them came from free kicks. Li Haiqiang was named Hong Kong Footballer of the Year at the end of the season for the second year in a row, as well as being named a member of the Best Eleven.
2008–09 season In the
2009 AFC Cup second-round match against
Home United FC, Li Haiqiang scored two goals and helped South China win by 4:0 to progress to the quarter finals. On 1 August 2009, at the Panasonic Invitation Cup against
Tottenham Hotspur, in the 68th minute, the referee pointed to the spot following a fairly innocuous challenge by
Jake Livermore on
Chao Pengfei and Li Haiqiang stepped up to chip the ball into the net, scoring the second goal which resulted in South China's 2–0 victory.
2009–10 season In the
2009 AFC Cup semi final second leg against
Kuwait SC, Li Haiqiang received a back heel pass from
Leandro Carrijo and scored in the 65th minute, but was ruled off-side, causing huge uproar from the capacity crowd in the
Hong Kong Stadium. South China in the end lost the tie 1–3.
2010–11 season In January 2011, Li Haiqiang received praise from South China's new signing
Mateja Kežman after their first training session together. In the
2011 AFC Cup, Li Haiqiang scored the third goal for South China against
East Bengal FC in the final minutes to lead the match 3:2, but the visitors were denied victory when East Bengal FC scored a late penalty and the match ended 3:3. In the summer of 2011,
Kitchee received permission from South China to approach Li about a transfer, but Li decided to stay with South China.
Tuen Mun In the summer of 2012, Li joined
Tuen Mun. On 30 October 2012, due to the divestment of Tuen Mun president
Chan Keung, various key players, including Li, and the whole coaching team were released by the club. ==International career==