After years of trying, the nation of over a billion people (a sixth of the total world population) have produced a squad ofplayers good enough to qualify for the World Cup. Not only that, they qualified with some ease, winning twelve of theirfourteen games and conceding a mere five goals. It has to be said however that the stiffest opposition they have faced thus farhas been the United Arab Emirates. Lying in wait this summer is a whole world that Chinese football has never experiencedbefore.Naturally, expectations are very low this summer, just the fact that they are at the world cup is already enough, and more thanthey have ever achieved before. They have been drawn in Group C, which pits them against Brazil, Turkey and Costa Rica,and despite the fact that they are considered highly unlikely to advance beyond this group they have sold out all of their gamesalready, and could have done so many times over. More than anything else, their presence at this World Cup gives them theplatform to sow football deeper into the Chinese culture than it has ever been. Opinions vary on what would rank as a goodworld cup for China, mostly ranging from not disgracing themselves to an unlikely victory over Turkey or Costa Rica. Whilstthey are good enough not to be thrashed out of sight this summer, neither are they likely to make any major inroads into thechampionship.
The current Chinese manager is something of a minor legend in World Cup history, the seemingly irrepressible BoraMilutinovic, who took over two years ago and guided China through the qualifiers. He has managed four different teams at thelast four World Cups Mexico in 1986, Costa Rica in 1990, the USA in 1994 and Nigeria in 1998, all of whom he took tothe knockout stages. Should he continue that trend with China, it will arguably be a greater feat than anything he has achievedpreviously. Having previously coached two host nations in Mexico and the USA, he knows all about World Cup pressure, yetthis time around he is likely to be under less than he has ever known. No observers really expects anything from China, whichwill keep them sheltered from the media limelight, yet it would be unwise to take any team coached by Bora lightly. Scotlandfans will testify to that, having been dumped out of Italia 90 by unfancied Costa Rica.
And so to the first ever generation of Chinese players to play at a World Cup. China has a good team spirit and a settledsquad, many of their players having grown up and played together at various FIFA youth tournaments. Hardly any of theirplayers are known beyond the boundaries of their own country, and only a handful ply their trade overseas. The most famousof these, the current darling of the fans and more importantly lynchpin of the defence, is Fan Zhiyi who plays for Dundee inScotland. He will have to play above himself at the back to keep China competitive. Playing behind him in goal is themonstrous frame of Jiang Jin, over two metres tall and a commanding presence.
It is in midfield that many feel China will struggle. Star amongst them is Ma Mingyu, who is back playing in China after failingto settle in Perugia, although he has since been overshadowed by the emergence of Qi Hong, a revelation in the qualifiers andthe most creative option available to Milutinovic. Li Tie, who plays for the dominant team in China, Dalian Shide, will have hiswork cut out as the holding midfield player.
In attack, it would seem that China have far more options. Two of their strikers, Xie Hui and Yang Chen, play in theBundesliga, for Aachen and Eintracht Frankfurt respectively. Both scored important goals during qualifying, but the main manup front is now Hao Haidong. One of the best strikers the continent has produced in recent years, he returned from exile afternumerous run-ins with coaches and the football authorities to spearhead the national team once again. Having never left thedomestic league, at 31 this will be his one and only chance to shine on a global stage, assuming he stays out of trouble fromnow until June.
China will begin their first ever World Cup against Costa Rica on 4th June. It is just another day at the office for BoraMilutinovic, but a giant leap for Chinese football.
