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Soccer Master Says China Needs High-level Coach
Chinese soccer has improved a lot in the past years, according to the visiting British soccer master Sir Bobby Charlton, and one of the ways to make it better is to introduce some good coaches, according to China Daily reported.
The former England World Cup hero, who led Great Britain in a bid for the 2006 World Cup last month, is on tour to China for the English Soccer Exhibition and the following China Football 2000, the first fair of Chinese soccer.
The exhibition, which began Wednesday, will run until August 1. It is to promote English Premier League soccer which has a huge following in China.
Charlton said Chinese soccer players have progressed in their field skills.
"They are free to express themselves now,'' he said yesterday during the exhibition.
Knowing the huge task for the Chinese men's soccer team to win a berth in the 2002 Japan and Korea World Cup finals, Charlton said he wishes to see China qualify for the World Cup finals as soon as possible.
"I hope they won't leave it too much longer because I am 62 now,'' he joked.
Charlton said China is hopeful to be a soccer strong nation and high-level coaches may help to accelerate the process.
"China has a very good basis of soccer and their tactics (of playing) is OK and they need better coaching,'' he said.
Charlton said he hopes more English coaches would come to China but as the sport improves in the nation, it is becoming hard for the those coaches to find a place.
"One day, you won't use any coach from England. You would like to use your own coach,'' he said.
Charlton revealed the British side had been working on bringing the best of coaching to China to improve the sport.
China once hired Englishman Bobby Houghton as their national head coach. But Houghton was sacked after he failed to bring China into the Sydney Olympic Games during the qualifiers.
But in other side, China should be more patient in testing new coaches, said Keith Blunt, the English Football Association veteran coach, who is also in the touring delegation with Charlton.
Blunt was the Houghton's assistant when the Briton was on the post.
"It takes time to see the result,'' he said. "The more managers you change, the less successful you will be.''
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