Heat on women's soccer squad
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-08-06 06:11

Zhang Haitao, head coach of China's national women's soccer team, chose "Athens" as a pet name for his son, born only two months ago.

"It (the pet name) is a two-sided reminder to me - both of my team and my son," said the 34-year-old coach.

To a large extent, the name reflects Zhang's aspiration for his young team, which is expected to stage a revival at the upcoming Athens Olympics after five years of erratic performances in major international tournaments.

The squad has also been touted with the even greater expectation of grabbing gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Tough journey

Currently occupied with preparations for the Games, Zhang still manages to track his son's growth day by day.

"Now I see him every day...on the Internet," said Zhang, lightheartedly.

Compared to such a remote daily observation of his son, Zhang has been carefully managing the growth of his team in a much more attentive and hands-on way.

The squad, formed last December when Zhang officially took on his post, recently wrapped up intensive pre-Olympics training in Shanghai and played two final warm-up matches in the United States.

On July 29 China snatched a narrow 4-3 victory over an American club team, but on August 1 they lost to the US National Team 3-1.

In Zhang's eyes, a major reason for the warm-up matches was to let his young squad (average age is 24) have some initial exposure to a big-tournament atmosphere before they head into the cutthroat Olympic tournament.

Yet the Olympic journey may turn out to be even more difficult than anticipated.

Slipping from the past pride of close second place finishes at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 1999 World Cup, China has been on the decline in women's international soccer.

Starting from the early group-stage exit at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the team's lacklustre performance at major tournaments lasted until its devastating quarterfinal loss to Canada at last year's World Cup, which caused Ma Liangxing to be sacked as coach.

A former powerhouse on the world women's soccer map, China is now feeling growing pressure from Asian peers like DPR Korea and the Republic of Korea.

At Athens, China will face 2003 World Cup champion Germany and Central American dark horse Mexico in the preliminary group.

"The biggest challenge at Athens, as I see, is that it is the first time for such a young squad, including the coach group, to experience such a top-level tournament," said Zhang.

"How to control such big-event pressure and avoid the young players' shaky performance is therefore a thorny issue to me," he added.

While Zhang himself is reportedly the youngest among coaches of the 10 teams in the Olympic campaign, over 60 per cent of China's team have had no experience at key international tournaments like World Cup or Olympics, and only four players took part in the Sydney Games four years ago.

Hopes alive

In the eyes of Xue Li, vice-president of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) in charge of women's soccer affairs, the Athens Games is the first test for the rebuilding Chinese squad, whose target is the 2007 World Cup and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

China is expected to at least earn a semi-final spot at Athens, according to Xue.

"All that we expect from the team now is to forget about its past glory, shed off its pressure and get everything started from the beginning," said Xue.

Admitting that the objective of making it to the semi-finals in Athens won't be an easy one, Xue stressed the injection of fresh blood, coupled with Zhang's advanced training approaches and techniques, will make the Chinese team full of potential and passion on the pitch.

And a few young star players will hopefully emerge from the squad after Athens, Xu said, referring to people's concerns over the retirement of big-names like former FIFA women's player of the year Sun Wen from the national team after the 2003 World Cup.

"It's hard to say how far we will go in the Olympic Games, but we are all ready now," said 31-year-old veteran Wang Liping.

"As a young team, we need to play the best we can to win people's recognition while hopefully achieving good results...yet personally I expect the title at Athens," said Wang, who competed in the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics.

Wang's younger peers have also shown much eagerness to help restore China's pride on the Olympic pitch.

"I feel luckier than my peers as I'm able to participate in the top-notch tournament at such a young age. I will try my utmost every minute on the pitch," said Zhang Ying, aged 19, the youngest in the Chinese team.

Coach Zhang is resolute when asked about his team's prospects in Athens.

"I try to make a good balance between tempering my team and achieving good standings at the Olympics," said Zhang.

"Which weighs more heavily with me? I must take care of both of them. There's no other choice."

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