JINAN, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Former Chinese men's international Li Xiaopeng was named the head coach of Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng F.C., replacing German manager Felix Magath, the club said in a statement here on Friday.
"Mr. Magath and our club have reached an agreement to end our cooperation as his contract ends," said the club while extending their thanks to Magath for his work with Luneng.
Luneng has been coached by Magath since June 2016, who is famous for leading Bayern Munich to two consecutive Bundesliga titles from 2004 to 2006.
Magath lifted Luneng out of the relegation zone in 2016, when he succeeded Brazilian Mano Menezes.
The 42-year-old Li Xiaopeng, who spent his entire playing career in Shangdong Luneng, was one of the key members in China's only World Cup experience in 2002. As a player, Li helped Luneng win one Chinese Jia-A League title, three CFA Cup titles and one CSL Cup title.
Li started working in Luneng's coaching team in Decmeber 2015 after he served as the head coach of the women's national team, coach of Qingdao Jonoon FC, and general manager of Shijiazhuang Ever Bright F.C..
Hao Wei will take up the posts of assistant coach and technical director of Luneng. Hao managed the Chinese women's national team from 2012 to 2015.
"We want to give more chances to brilliant Chinese coaches, as a lack of Chinese coaches poses a big problem," the club said in a statement. Enditem
