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President hopes to boost soccer, but more work needs to be done

A few days ago, newly-elected Chinese President Xi Jinping wished Brazil good luck for the 2014 FIFA World Cup while being interviewed by a group of foreign journalists, and his love of the sport reminded Chinese fans of 2009, when he visited Germany and expressed his desire to lift China's soccer.

Thanks to the attention of the leader, the nation has been eagerly waiting to see if the sport could see a rapid turnaround.

However, the reality is that the China men's soccer team has slumped to 109 in the FIFA rankings, the lowest in its history, and it even has to work extra hard just to gain a ticket to the 2015 Asian Cup finals.

Coached by Spaniard Jose Antonio Camacho, the team needed second-half substitute Yu Dabao to strike in stoppage time to beat 10-man Iraq 1-0 at home in a Group C Asian Cup qualifier on Friday night.

Iraq was down to 10 men after defender Ali Adnan Kadhim was sent off for a second bookable offense just before halftime, but China failed to create serious chances until the goal arrived in a lackluster game, which was witnessed by Cai Zhenhua, deputy director of China's State General Administration of Sport, and CFA boss Zhang Jian in a near sold-out stadium.

China, which lost its opening qualifier to Saudi Arabia (2-1) last month, and Iraq both have three points after two rounds of play in Group C.

The much-needed victory in heavy rain partly released the pressure on Camacho.

"I appreciated the fans who came to support us on a rainy day. They are great fans," said the former Real Madrid coach.

"I also thank my players who never gave up until the last minute. We were worthy victors."

The game's hero, Yu, said it was a morale-boosting win for the embattled team.

"The victory means so much to us. We have been struggling in recent games. It will bring extra confidence to the players. Chinese soccer was in great need of a victory," Yu said.

"But we will face difficulties in the following games and have to fully prepare for them."

Yu's comments reflect a tough reality.

China used to be seen as one of the top teams in Asia and was able to challenge the best teams, like Japan and South Korea, but now it struggles against second-tier teams in the region and sometimes rides its luck to victory.

The lack of grassroots development and match-fixing and corruption scandals over the past decade ruined China's soccer image abroad and, instead of catching up with the world's top teams, the gap has only continued to widen.

President Xi recognizes that.

"The level of Chinese soccer is relatively low," said Xi when was given a Bayer Leverkusen jersey with his name printed on it as a gift during his 2009 trip to Germany.

"But after winning so many gold medals in other sports at the Beijing Games, China is determined to make its soccer go to the top level. But this might take a long time."

Popular sports commentator Liu Jianhong said Friday night's deluge brought good luck to the team in the last minute and China needed to work extra hard in the future to lift the sport here.

"Heavy rain can clean the world, but it can't wash away the bad things in the sport. We need practical and effective efforts to develop the game," he said.

Lots of fans are still pessimistic about the team's chances in Asian Cup qualifying.

In a public poll on leading portal qq.com, almost half of the correspondents said Friday night's victory was due to luck and believed China's hopes of finishing the group stage in the top two and advancing to the Asian Cup finals were slim.

chenxiangfeng@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/24/2013 page7)