With a population of 1.3 billion, a heightened emphasis on international sports competition and a growing interest in soccer, China is often portrayed as the world’s next great World Cup superpower.
But like the U.S., China is learning it takes more than a large talent pool of athletes to get in the game.
China reached the World Cup for the first time in 2002, reportedly spurring the sale of 170 million television sets. But China went 0-3 and was outscored nine goals to none by Costa Rica, Brazil and Turkey.
China failed to qualify for last year’s World Cup, and now the heat is on coach Zhu Guanghu. His team, which plays the Colorado Rapids today at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, lost to Thailand last month for the first time in 14 years. Then it was badly outplayed by the U.S. eight days ago in a 4-1 loss in San Jose, Calif.
“They’re still a team trying to find their system, that’s trying to find their personality as a team,” former Rapids and U.S. national team standout Marcelo Balboa said. “There’s no creativity. You know what China’s going to do. They’re going to knock it here, knock it there, try to beat you with their speed, cross the ball and get people in the box.”
Balboa played against China in two 1998 exhibition games.
“Just like the U.S. was in ’90, they’ve got some good players. It’s just putting it together, having the right coach, putting in the right system,” Balboa said. “They have the strength, they have the power. The quality is there.”
Like athletes in the U.S., top Chinese players are starting to go overseas to play. Forward Dong Fangzhou plays for Manchester United.
“It is a dream come true to become a member of Manchester United, and it is my pleasure playing with all these international stars,” Fangzhou said through an interpreter in an e-mail interview. “I feel I have progressed to a higher level, not only on the football technical side, also on professional attitude, on and off the field.”
Midfielder Li Tie has played for Sheffield United and Everton of the English Premier League.
“The years in England really made me a better player, on and off the field,” Tie said. “Professional football in the U.K. has over 100 years’ history. They are far more advanced in comparison to Chinese youth and professional football.”
Fangzhou said soccer is the No. 1 sport in China: “I don’t know when we can win a World Cup, but I believe if we all work hard, given the support of the Chinese people, fans and government, we will achieve that goal some day.”
Tie believes it will take “generations” before China wins the World Cup.
“For this Chinese team, the short term (goal) is to win the Asian Cup next year and qualify for the next World Cup,” he said.
The U.S. national team was without several of its best players last week but toyed with China. The visitors were well-organized but played with little of the flair and creativity that comes to mind when people call soccer the beautiful game.
“The U.S. really controlled the game throughout the 90 minutes,” Balboa said. “The U.S. dominated the ball technically, they knocked it around, they scored their goals.”
The first women’s World Cup was held in China in 1991, and it will be held there again in September. The Chinese women made the World Cup quarterfinals in 1991, the semifinals in 1995 and the finals in 1999, losing to the U.S. on penalty kicks in the game that made Brandi Chastain famous. China was ousted in the quarterfinals in 2003.
China’s massive population makes sports officials in other countries jittery about its potential.
“People expect the same thing with the U.S., don’t they?” Balboa said. “They have the potential to be a powerhouse, but so does the U.S.”
Chinese soccer/Fun facts
* The first documented soccer game in China took place in 1879 when the Shanghai Athletic Club played The Engineers. The Shanghai Football Club was formed eight years later.
* A league was formed in 1907, mostly consisting of British expatriates. Other nationalities, especially the Portuguese, soon joined.
* The 1949 Communist revolution caused a mass emigration to Hong Kong, Taiwan, the U.S. and Europe. All sports were placed under the control of the All-China Athletic Federation. In the early years after the revolution, most sporting activity was confined to aerobic exercises conducted to radio music during work breaks.
* China withdrew from FIFA in 1958 to protest the inclusion of Taiwan. It rejoined FIFA in 1980.
* The Cultural Revolution in the 1960s banned all competitive sports, halting China’s progress in soccer until the revolution ended in 1972.
