Li Pikok

Li Pikok

File:Pikok.jpg
Personal information
Full name	Lionurd Mariasov Hogen Pikok
Date of birth	(1984-12-08) 8 December 1984
Place of birth	Mafiy, Wik, Vyvland
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Club information
Current team	Woitros Wik
Number	16
Youth career
1997-1999	Brunten FK
1999-2001	Woitros Wik
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001–	Woitros Wik	167	(71)
International career
2000-2001	Vyvland U16
2001-2002	Vyvland U17
2002-2003	Vyvland U18	10	(2)
2003-2004	Vyvland U19	7	(1)
2004–2006	Vyvland U21	21	(2)
2005–2013	Vyvland	72	(35)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Lionurd 'Li' Pikok (pronounced /'liː.nɐɾd. liː 'pi.ko̞k/) is a Vyvlander association football striker and the captain of the Vyvland national football team. He plays for Woitros Wik, the 2014-15 runners-up in the 1f. Lig, Vyvland's top flight of domestic football. Pikok is best known for his speed on the ball and combines this with an aptitude goal-scoring; these characteristics have earned him a consistent place on the national and Woitros teams. Pikok has been capped 72 times for the national team, for whom he has scored 35 goals. He is seen as a major driving force behind the national team's prominence in the first half of the 2010s.

Early life

Pikok's father, Augustus, was an English-speaking immigrant to Vyvland, who violised his name from the original Peacock to Pikok uppon arrival in the country. Although he was poorly educated, Augustus had gained a placement in a middle management role of an electronics company in Jebon, just outside Mafiy, and Augustus and Li were thus able to live relatively comfortably. Li's Vyvlander mother separated from his father, moving to Michillies when Li was 4. Although he has expressed regret and sadness about his lack of a maternal figure during childhood, he describes the experience as "life-changing in positive ways" and as something "without which I wouldn't be the footballer I am today", as his father was passionate about his sporting abilities and let him neglect his school studies in their favour.

Career

Li's youth career began when his aptitude was spotted during tryouts for the youth wing of the then 3f. Lig team Brunten FK, whose stadium was located 600 metres from the Pikok's household. However, Brunten signed a deal after two years of play at the club with 1f. Lig side Woitros Mafiy, which is the highest transfer fee for a youth player in Vyvland's football history. During this period he moved from playing as a winger to his current striker role, and became a highly successful youth player in the squad, while also playing for Vyvland's under-21 and under-19 sides.

Li played his first senior game at age 19, coming on as a substitute for Angus Verlaasen. Although he managed to score in this game, none of his appearances that season resulted in any more goals, and he became a disappointment for those higher up in the club. However, his next season was much fairer for him, while in this fourth season at the club, he became their top scorer. Since then he has continued at Woitros, though rumours have circulated about him moving to other clubs including Sdaamro VK and Atlas Amerigo.