China PR History

Description

The China PR national football team, founded in 1924 is governed by the Chinese Football Association and joined FIFA in 1931-58. In the beginning of 1980s, the team made their way to the national and international levels. By the 1980s it had become very clear that the Chinese national team was one of the stronger teams in Asia. The team was completely capable of competing in the 1982 World Cup finals.

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A Weak Team

In 1981, China lost the play off against the New Zealand team. The defeat was a heartbreaking loss for the large home spectators who followed the qualification. China was on the verge of qualifying during the 1998 World Cup qualifiers, but lost important matches especially the matches against Qatar and Iran. In 2001, China reached the World Cup finals for the first time in its history. Unfortunately the team failed to score a single goal and lost all the three group matches.

Despite having a very organized and well-drilled defense, many have pointed to the weaknesses of the team. The team lacked creative playmakers and good strikers who can keep the ball in possession. In 2004, the Dutch coach Arie Haan had said, “Chinese players are very skilled, but the problem seemed to be related to the culture and psychology of the players”. This statement summed up his impression about Chinese football and the culture and psychology of the players. Li Weifeng had once said that the Chinese team wins against weaker teams however they get frustrated when things go against their plans. Many critics also illustrate the complacency of the team at critical moments, especially when they are holding a lead or playing weaker teams.

The China PR team was able to score only a single goal against Hong Kong, the team who was considered to be a weaker side in the World Cup 2006 qualifiers. The European coaches too mentioned that lack of discipline and professionalism are the reasons for the team’s poor performance.

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Talented Players move to Europe

Many talented Chinese players have recently moved to Europe to gain professional football experience. Players like Zheng Zhi moved to Charlton Athletic F.C., Du Wei moved to Celtic F.C., Li Tie to Everton F.C.), Sun Xiang to PSV Eindhoven, Sun Jihai to Manchester City F.C, Ma Mingyu to A.C. Perugia and more. Dong Fangzhuo, a rising star currently plays for Manchester United. He also had successful seasons with Royal Antwerp F.C., the Belgium club. His premiership debut was against Chelsea F.C. Yu Dabao is another potential star who has been regularly playing for the Benfica B team. In the mid-1990s, players like Li Tie and Li Jinyu were part of the 'Jianlibao' team that trained young players in Brazil.

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2002 and 2006 Cups

In November 2002, the national team played some great football against Brazil during the 0-0 draw. The team also played excellently in a match against France in 2006, but sadly they lost the match by 3-1. The team, however, failed to reach the initial qualification match and lost the match to Kuwait, even though China scored seven goals in a blow-out against Hong Kong in the last qualifying match. Over the years, the team is also known for its on-field rivalry against Japan. This rivalry also led to riots in August 2004, by the Chinese fans. The fans were upset with Japan’s win by 3-1 at the Asian Cup 2004 finals. The rioting was said to be initiated due to controversial officiating between the two nations from the late-nineteenth century. The two nations played against each other at the East Asian Cup 2005 finals, a match that went in China’s favor.

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2007 Asian Cup

The team also became the subject of immense criticism in the media while qualifying for the 2007 Asian Cup. The supporters were upset as the team had scored only one goal against Singapore in Tianjin. The team played three unreliable games in the Asian Cup 2007 tournament. They won a match against Malaysia, had a draw with Iran and were defeated by Uzbekistan. This performance led to nation wide criticism and fury. The supporters demanded removal of players and the coach Zhu Guanghu. Later, Vladimir Petrovic replaced Zhu.

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Statistics

Third place - AFC Asian Cup record (1976)
Round 1 - AFC Asian Cup record (1980)
Runners-up - AFC Asian Cup record (1984)
Fourth place - AFC Asian Cup record (1988)
Third place - AFC Asian Cup record (1992)
Quarter-finals - AFC Asian Cup record (1996)
Fourth place - AFC Asian Cup record (2000)
Third place - EAFF East Asian Cup record (2003)
Runners-up - AFC Asian Cup record (2004)
Champions - EAFF East Asian Cup record (2005)
Round 1 - AFC Asian Cup record (2007)