24 Tuesday, March 27, 2018 SPORTS CHINA DAILY HONG KONG EDITION SOCCER ICE HOCKEY Red Star Back to the drawing board women China Cup humbling should serve winning as stimulus for game’s development respect By SHI FUTIAN in Nanning, Guangxi [email protected] By SUN XIAOCHEN Team China’s chastening China [email protected] Cup experience has been a rude We cannot let the awakening for the domestic game. Falling just short of the cham­ The curtain closed on the tourna­ defeat be in vain. Chi­ pionship in the world’s top wom­ ment on Monday, with the host fall­ en’s hockey league bodes well for ing to a second defeat, 4­1 to the nese soccer should Kunlun Red Star’s ambition to Czech Republic as Fan Xiaodong’s build a competitive national fifth­minute opener was canceled adhere to its reform team to represent China at the out by second­half goals from Tomas 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Kalas, Patrik Schick, Michal plan. While building Red Star, an expansion entry in Krmencik and Pavel Kaderabek at the seven­team Canadian Wom­ Guangxi Sports Center. the system, we should en’s Hockey League, ended its China fell to an even more hum­ focus on increasing miracle journey on Monday, los­ bling 6­0 loss to Wales in Thursday’s ing 2­1 to the Markham Thunder semifinal as Gareth Bale struck after the soccer population in overtime in the one­off cham­ just two minutes and by halttime pionship final at Ricoh Coliseum the match was essentially over. and have more grass­ in Toronto. Ryan Giggs’ side led 4­0 at the It was the highest level ever break before Bale completed his roots coaches.” achieved by a Chinese club in hat­trick after the interval. Even aft­ international hockey, and despite er the Real Madrid star’s substitu­ Xinhua editorial the disappointment of falling just tion, China continued to struggle, short, the Shenzhen­based squad with its attack toothless and its proved it can compete with the defense statuesque. What is most important is the men­ world’s elite. On the rare occasions Marcello tality of the players.” “It’s not the result that we Lippi’s men managed to get sight of Chinese soccer is, of course, a wanted, but the fact that we are goal, star striker Wu Lei either blew work in progress, and the hope now an expansion team getting to the his lines or was smothered by a well­ is that this wake­up call will redou­ final and getting to overtime to drilled Welsh defense. ble efforts to close the gap to the almost win was a great accom­ Giggs revealed afterward that game’s elite. plishment,” Red Star head coach Wales had targeted Wu as a threat Already the wheels are in motion, Digit Murphy told China Daily. requiring special attention. with the Chinese Football Associa­ “Some of us have played in oth­ Shanghai SIPG’s Wu had been tion reportedly set to hold a seminar er championships, but this one touted as a possbile game­changer in Beijing this week to discuss the was very special because we want­ for the national team. The 26­year­ development of the national team. ed to win for China. We feel like we old has started the Chinese Super More than 100 professionals are did a good job, but on some level League season in prolific form, with expected to attend, including Lippi, we let China down. And we don’t seven goals in just three matches. CFA experts and CSL club coaches. want to ever let China down.” He also garnered acclaim abroad, Meanwhile, a Xinhua editorial Red Star is part of a national with World Soccer magazine includ­ called on China to focus on improv­ program that also includes ing him in its “500 most important ing its youth training system. another CWHL entry, the Vanke players on the planet” feature this “We cannot let the defeat be in Rays, established in June 2017 month. Wu will have to perform bet­ vain,” stated the article. “Chinese and tasked with honing Chinese ter against world­class opposition to soccer should adhere to its reform talent with the aim of winning a make the list next year. plan. While building the system, we medal at the 2022 Games. Lippi, meanwhile, coudn’t hide should focus on increasing the soc­ Red Star’s 24­player roster fea­ his disappointment at his team’s cer population and have more Team China striker Yu Dabao goes up for a header during Monday’s 4­1 loss to the Czech Republic in the third­place tures 12 Chinese nationals, three capitulation. grassroots coaches, and we should playoff of the China Cup in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Two lopsided losses to European powerhouses North Americans with Chinese “The result was not unexpected never be anxious to achieve quick in the tournament showed China still has a long way to go to catch up with the world’s best. XINHUA ancestry and international tal­ because it is a strong opponent,” success and get instant benefits.” ents such as two­time Olympic said Lippi on Thursday. “What is Youth training forms a key part of dents playing the sport. League struggler West Bromwich 1­1. Afterward he admitted his lack silver medalist Kelli Stack of the unexpected is the performance of the central government’s Medium Others believe the answer lies in Albion, is China’s sole representa­ of game time in Germany was prov­ US and top Finnish goaltender the team. It’s my responsibility. and Long­Term Plan of Chinese more Chinese gaining experience in tive in Europe’s major leagues. ing problematic. Noora Raty. “I take all the responsibility. It was Football Development, which was the world’s top leagues. The 21­year­old has barely fea­ “Without high­level games to Murphy, one of the most deco­ my mistake to call up some players published in 2016. That’s easier said than done, how­ tured for Werder and it is rumored play, it is difficult for me to get the rated coaches in the collegiate that I shouldn’t have called up for The document envisages that by ever. he will soon return home. right feel and pace to score,” said and pro ranks over two decades in these matches. 2020 there will be 20,000 soccer At the moment, Zhang Yuning, Zhang looked off the pace in Sat­ Zhang. North America, was hired in “I don’t want to talk about the academies in China, with 30 million who is with Bundesliga side Werder urday’s under­23 international “My earlier injuries and the jet lag March 2017 to push her Chinese attacking side of the performance, elementary and middle school stu­ Bremen on loan from Premier against Syria in Xi’an, which ended also affected me.” players to the next level by skating with higher­caliber teammates. “The past year the Chinese players have gotten better and better. They have really stepped Some officials say it’s time to rethink the ink up their level of play and have done a great job,” said the Ameri­ can coach, who helmed the Bos­ By SHI FUTIAN on my team, and those who don’t ton Blades to the CWHL title in change are kicked out,” said Xu. 2013 and 2015. The Chinese Football Association “I understand that young people “To have Chinese nationals and is remaining tight­lipped on reports want to show their character, but it Chinese North Americans com­ that it is considering a ban on play­ can be done with scoring, not with bined with the internationals, we ers displaying tattoos after mem­ tattoos.” overachieved this year and we’re bers of the national team were Another former Team China cap­ very proud of what we accom­ apparently asked to cover up their tain, Fan Zhiyi, concurred. plished.” body art during Thursday’s 6­0 Chi­ “Why do players have to have tat­ Laura Stacey netted the winner na Cup loss to Wales in Nanning. toos?” he said. “The priority is to 2:49 into overtime to lift the After the game, China Sports Dai­ play quality soccer games. Will tat­ Thunder to victory and claim the ly reported that the CFA had issued toos make them into better soccer Toronto­based team its first a ban on body art in a bid to improve players?” Clarkson Cup since 2008. soccer’s image here. Critics of the reported ban, point Red Star, which commuted The newspaper also said the CFA to the fact that numerous interna­ across the Pacific during the reg­ regulations would not be restricted tional stars such as David Beckham ular season, enjoyed a 15­game to the national team and could and Messi have sported tattoos winning streak in league play and affect youth leagues nationwide. throughout their careers without outlasted the Calgary Inferno in a When contacted by China Daily, any negative consequence. three­game semifinal playoff that the CFA denied the report. However, One of Beckham’s tattoos is of an was decided in triple­overtime. a senior CFA official had earlier told old Chinese proverb, and Zhao Yu Baiwei, a star defender for media that it was responsible for Zhen, a reporter with Soccer News, Team China in its last Olympic creating a healthy soccer culture in wrote on Weibo: “Do you know appearance at the 2010 Vancou­ China and the improvement of Chi­ which part was the most interesting ver Games, said the experience of nese soccer should be “comprehen­ thing for students of Peking Univer­ fighting all the way to Monday’s sive”.