Women's soccer coach hungers for gold medal

GUANGZHOU - Li Xiaopeng is not in the mood to stop and enjoy the local Cantonese cuisine during the Guangzhou Asian Games.

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The only thing the Chinese women's soccer team coach is hungry for is a gold medal, regardless of the difficulties facing him and his squad.

"Our goal for the Guangzhou Asian Games will never change," a determined Li told China Daily. "We are in trouble with these increasing injuries. All I can do now is to bring the best players available to Guangzhou."

Injuries have deprived the coach of the majority of his strike force, including Bi Yan, Ma Xiaoxu and Han Duan.

In addition, assistant coach Qi Hong's unexplained absence has cast a shadow over preparations for Guangzhou. Qi, a former men's national team player, was reportedly taken into custody by authorities in October to assist the investigation into match-fixing allegations, but an official statement regarding his status has yet to be made.

Though Hao Wei was drafted in from Chinese Super League side Changsha Jinde to help with training, Li still had to restructure his staff. Another headache is the last thing he needed after taking over a team that finished fourth in this year's AFC Women's Asian Cup and failed to qualify for the 2011 Women's World Cup.

That disappointment did not stop the 35-year-old from setting the target of a gold medal in Guangzhou, though.

"I don't think the target of seeking gold in the Asian Games is too high. This is the Chinese national team - we can't just play around," said Li, who was appointed on Aug 7. "Only by playing on the international stage with outstanding scores can we win back the people's attention."

Li's squad played the United States and Canada during a training tour last month, drawing twice and losing twice.

He said he was happy with the tour despite not recording a victory.

"We played with the top-ranked team, and it's just like you cannot be more satisfied if the men's national team could earn a tie with Brazil," he said. "Every player got enough time on the pitch, and I got a better understanding of each player. That was our purpose."

Li listed the team's weaknesses when he took over, including strength, defense and a lack of communication. He said his goal was to explore the team's potential in the warm-up matches and avoid mistakes in big events such as the Asian Games.

After retiring from professional soccer in 2005, the former international midfielder and 2002 World Cup participant took to coaching. He started in management with Shandong Luneng, the club where he played for 12 years, and was later appointed coach of its women's team.

He soon proved his coaching capabilities by leading the team to fourth place at the 2009 National Games, its best-ever showing.

"Li is good at player management," said Cao Jingwei, head of the national team management department of the Chinese Football Association. "Once he was late for training, and he handed over the fine according to the team regulations he set up. That's very helpful for team building."

China Daily

(China Daily 11/16/2010 page10)