Change needed to build a world-class team

Japanese and South Koreans show that Asians do have what it takes to make a mark in the 'beautiful game'

The planet's biggest party for football is on in Brazil until July 13. The "beautiful game" is uniting fans around the world in front of their televisions.

In his 1945 essay The Sporting Spirit, British writer George Orwell called sport "war minus the shooting", adding that the significant thing was not the behavior of the players but the attitude of the spectators. In his words, running, jumping and kicking a ball are tests of national virtue.

If so, Japanese fans have shown their good character. After watching their national team be defeated by the Cote d'Ivoire in the FIFA World Cup on June 14, they cleaned up their section of the stadium.

Gathering waste after a sporting event is customary in Japan. This good habit saw Japan enjoy a shower of praise worldwide.

So did the Japanese team, nicknamed Samurai Blue. The Japanese footballers bowed to their fans for their support at the end of each game at the World Cup. Their bow reflects their sense of gratitude, which many Japanese people hold as a virtue.

Hard work, persistence and determination helped Japan - and its immediate neighbor South Korea -join the other 30 teams in the World Cup. Japan has traveled to the game's finals since 1998 and South Korea has qualified since 1986.

Some Chinese people say that Asians are not physically capable for playing the game, an excuse for their unimpressive footballers.

But Japan and South Korea show that football is not about physical mass and size. Their quick offense, fine skills and unspoken cooperation have won global respect.

Their national teams dwarf the one in the world's most populous nation, which might be expected to have a larger reserve of good footballers.

But a big population does not necessarily guarantee a good team. The Chinese national football team is so bad that the fans' hearts are in faraway places like Manchester or Barcelona.

The team's best season on record was 2002, when fot the first time it advanced to the World Cup - which South Korea and Japan co-hosted and for which they automatically qualified, making it easier for China to get in. In the competition, the team scored not a single goal, lost all three group matches and was promptly eliminated.

But Chinese investors have not given up on the game. Thanks to their deep pockets, football clubs in the Chinese Super League have been able to recruit well-known foreign coaches and a contingent of high-profile but aging players such as the former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba and his teammate Nicolas Anelka.

They, along with other international players, took advantage of the attractive salaries on offer in China. As a result, the league is more like a playground for foreign players with its top scorers from Brazil, Sweden and Morocco.

Evergrande, a football team based in the southern city of Guangzhou, became Asian champions last November, beating South Korea's FC Seoul to claim China's first continental title in 23 years. The team is led by Marcello Lippi, who coached the Italian team that won the 2006 World Cup, and has a strong lineup of foreign footballers.

But the Chinese game, dogged by poor performance on the pitch and corruption scandals off it, is far from beautiful.

It has been rocked by bribery investigations, which saw two former high-ranking football officials and four former national team players handed prison sentences.

Though the national team has long been punching below the country's weight, football is still one of China's most popular sports - President Xi Jinping is said to be a big fan.

The troubled football industry has enlisted former England captain David Beckham to boost its image.

A Chinese football official was quoted as saying that Beckham is supposed to "help us to inspire and motivate many children to participate in this beautiful game".

Well, Beckham will find it hard to sell the playing of football in China.

When Chinese children get excited about football, their parents usually tell them that playing the game won't make money and could break their leg. Also, their teachers give them so much homework that they are left with no time for football. And there are few fields available in which to kick a ball. So Chinese youngsters do not dare to dream a football dream.

"One day I would play in AC Milan in Italy's Serie A as a number 10," Keisuke Honda, the Japanese national team's midfielder, wrote in a composition when he was 12. His childhood dream came true in January, when he was transferred to AC Milan from CSKA Moskva of Russia.

Honda is now an inspiration for Japanese boys who are falling in love with the game.

While Chinese football clubs spend freely on foreign talent, Japanese football players are playing in Europe, such as Shinji Kagawa at Manchester United. Japan's national team currently playing in the World Cup has 12 Europe-based players.

A large influx of foreign football stars has failed to help the Chinese Super League capture the fans' imagination. The investment does little to aid the development of young Chinese talent. Little or no benefit is felt by China's national team, which is the 103rd - out of 207 countries and regions - in the FIFA world rankings.

China had better redirect the big bucks being spent on foreign players to help develop a fertile ground for the little football dreamers. They are the hopefuls to build a good national team for China in the future.

The author is China Daily's Tokyo bureau chief. Contact the writer at caihong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 06/27/2014 page13)