介绍:
ZCG: Gao Hongbo has returned as provisional coach of the Chinese men’s national football team, following the departure of Frenchman Alain Perrin last month.
BK: First of all, what’s the thinking behind the Chinese Football Association’s decision to reappoint Gao? Is he the best man for the job?
DJ: Well, because the CFA is under tremendous pressure, they couldn’t let Perrin, the outgoing – or the previous – coach, hang around any more, but they needed a replacement. At this time, I think, judging various elements and criteria and looking at a number of candidates, I think the safest choice is an indigenous coach. Gao Hongbo is probably the only one with a high profile and also, more importantly, with the courage to take it over.
TY: We’ve seen a series of reforms being taken in Chinese football, which include a separation of the Chinese Football Association from the government to give the body financial and administrative autonomy. With the appointment of Gao Hongbo, how do you assess China’s chances of qualifying for the next World Cup in 2018?
DJ: You know, with so many repeated failures over the past few decades, nobody can really predict the prospect facing a head coach of the Chinese national team, but the country should know that it’s a mid to long-term project for the country to cultivate a broader fan base, a bigger population of players from amateur to professional, and then higher and higher up on the hierarchy. You can build various levels representing the country, and you need patience, and you can’t rely on someone like Mourinho, or the biggest coaches in the world, to turn a second-tier national team into a World Cup team within just a few months. So I still like the idea of counting on a learning, local, native Chinese coach, of serving talent based on their progress made with their professional clubs, coached by international coaches.
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