China gets shot at redemption at Asian Cup

Source: GMANEWS.TV


BEIJING — China's much-maligned footballers get a shot at redemption at the Asian Cup after being drawn into a group that offers a decent chance of qualification into the knock-out round.

China is in Group A with host Qatar, traditional Central Asian power Uzbekistan, and Gulf stalwart Kuwait, all teams ranked beneath the underperforming Asian giant.

A smooth qualifying campaign that included a 6-1 thumping of Vietnam and back-to-back wins over Lebanon should further boost China's confidence. Wins over Macedonia, Latvia and Estonia in recent friendlies hasn't hurt confidence, either.

China's improved performance is credited in part to coach Gao Hongbao, who has brought a steadying influence to the team in the almost two years since his appointment.

China has climbed from 93 to 87 in the FIFA world rankings in 12 months, reversing a steady slide in previous years that included its failure to qualify for the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. The decline had prompted much angst among the country's sporting authorities and top government leaders more used to reaping sporting glory, including dominating the gold medal tally at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Gao has a young squad in Qatar, with an average age of just 23 and no player over 30. Schalke 04 midfielder Hao Junmin is the only squad member who doesn't play in the domestic league.

Perhaps wary of past stumbles, Gao is being careful not to burden his players with ambitious expectations.

"It's enough just for them to perform to the best of their ability," Gao told reporters a recent training camp.

Fans won't see many familiar faces in the lineup, with captain Du Wei and Qu Bo the only veterans of the 2002 World Cup — China's sole appearance in football's marquee competition. Veteran goal scorers Shao Jiayi, Zeng Zhi, and Li Weifeng are all being left at home, although Gao isn't ruling out their future return to the national team.

"The Asian Cup is just a stage in our work. If we need them in future, then we'll call them back," Gao said.

While the squad has little experience in major international competitions, they can hardly do worse than recent Chinese teams.

Along with its World Cup troubles, China crashed out of the group round of the 2007 Asian Cup. Hosts China also failed to make it out of their group in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was dismissed from the knock-out round of last month's Asian Games by ultimate champion Japan.

That's a far cry from 2004, when China was runnerup to Japan in the Asian Cup it hosted. It has never won the continental tournament.

China football failures mostly come down a lack of school and community teams and the country's overwhelming reliance on elite sports academies to train players from a young age.

While the state system has brought success in technical sports such as gymnastics, it seems poorly suited for football, where star players may not begin to show their true potential until their teens.

Chaos and corruption in the domestic league hasn't helped, although a thorough effort to root out the bad apples seems now to be gaining traction.