China's Olympic soccer team denied Monday that it is unhappy with the
practice facilities provided in London by two-time defending Premier League
champion Chelsea.
 The Chinese Olympic soccer team
attends a team training session at Chelsea Football Club's training ground
in Cobham, south of London February 2, 2007.[Reuters]
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"We are so impressed by the great
pitches and facilities provided to us in Cobham training center," Guo Bingyan,
the team's assistant team manager and media officer, said in a statement
released by Chelsea.
Earlier, some of China's players were quoted by a Chinese sports daily as
saying they were disappointed by Chelsea's Cobham training facility.
"Chelsea is not as good as we thought," said a headline on the Web site of
the daily Titan.
"The situation is that the food and lodging is good, but the training field
is not so good," player Zhou Haibin was quoted as saying.
Chelsea issued a statement by Guo saying the team was grateful for Chelsea's
"great hospitality and arrangements."
"All young players are very excited about such an experiences and the
coaching staffs are interested in the various workshops," he said.
Guo said "everyone of the team" was satisfied with the training "and life
here in Cobham."
The Titan newspaper said players complained about the wet English weather,
and being unable to train regularly on the same field used by Chelsea. They also
said they didn't take showers at the training ground, because those facilities
were used by female players and students.
The Chinese will play three games in England, including a match on Wednesday
against Queens Park Rangers