USA defeats China women's soccer, 1-0
Friday, 19th December 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Midfielder Heather O'Reilly scored the lone goal for the U.S. team off a rebound in the 32nd minute. China's best opportunities came on a shot from Xu Yuan that sailed over the cage, and an attempt from Wang Dan Dan that was blocked by goalkeeper Hope Solo.
The U.S. women are the reigning Olympic champions, with a record of 33-1-2 in 2008. They also beat China 1-0 in a game Dec. 13 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., one of four shutouts that the Americans notched over the Chinese this year.
Image: Sohu.com
Tags: football, soccer
Shenhua hand Chinese football championship to Shandong in closing minutes
Thursday, 4th December 2008 ~ Cameron ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Just one victory in their last five games and a shocking penalty miss saw Shanghai Shenhua hand the Chinese Super League title on a plate to rivals Shandong Luneng on the final day of the 2008 season on Sunday afternoon. (video highlights)Shandong started the day two points ahead of Shenhua in the table, and were expected to beat mid-table Guangzhou at home to wrap up the title. Shenhua knew that a victory against local rivals Zhejiang Lvcheng, combined with Shandong failing to win their match, would see them snatch the title on goal difference. So with an air of tension, all games in the final round of the season kicked off simultaneously at 3.30pm, to avoid the potential for match-fixing allegations to arise if teams already knew the results of other games affecting their final standing.
Thanks to Kylie Minogue, Shenhua were playing at the soulless Yuanshen Athletics Stadium in Pudong instead of their spiritual home, Hongkou. An air of tension filled the air, as home fans had one ear on how events were unfolding elsewhere – news of a goal in Shandong's match against Guangzhou would surely poop the party. Just to add even more spice to the already flavorsome mix, it was also a local derby for Shenhua as their opponents, Zhejiang Lvcheng, are based just down the road in Hangzhou. Ominously, since their promotion to the CSL last year, all the previous three league games between Shenhua and LvCheng had been drawn.
Shenhua started positively and indeed spent much of the first half camped in their opponents box. It was no surprise when Paraguyan striker Justo Rolando Meza put the home side in front after 10 minutes with a well-taken header. Shenhua continued to push forward, only for Zhejiang to equalize after a rather fortuitous break of the ball fell to Algerian striker Karim Benounes who slotted home neatly to send the sizable away support behind the goal into raptures.
Somewhat perturbed, The Blue Devils, Shenhua's largest fan group, then took advantage of their opponents being the only other team in the league to come from a city speaking a similar dialect to their own, by abusing the visiting fans in Shanghainese. An angry chanted chorus "Lvcheng Dui, gang lu Dui!" (Greentown team, stupid cock team!" This drew amusement from the rest of the derby match crowd.
Encouraged by news that Shandong were being held 0-0, Shenhua pushed forward again. Chance after chance went begging, before Cheng Liang finally put the Blues in front again on the stroke of time with another header. Half-time, 2-1 to Shenhua, and critically, Shandong were still drawing 0-0 with Guangzhou. The stands buzzed with excitement at half time – Shenhua were 45 minutes away from their third league title.
The second half followed the first half closely. Shenhua controlled the game and wasted numerous chances. On around the 65 minute mark, a blatant handball resulted in a penalty to Shenhua and the chance to put the result beyond doubt. The anticipation was electric as Hamilton Ricard stepped up to take the penalty. The crowd waited with baited breath and bit their nails. Zhejiang's players looked on knowing the game was as good as over if it went in. All eyes in the stadium focused on the ball as it was placed on the spot. With the score still tied at Shandong, the stakes couldn't be higher. Ricard stepped up….
And fired his shot right at the Zhejiang keeper.
The crowd could scarcely believe Shenhua had scored yet another chance to make the game safe. And it was inevitable when Zhejiang equalized with just 15 minutes to go, the product of some rather slack defending at the back. Shenhua huffed and puffed for the remainder of the game, and young striker Gao Lin spurned a great chance when he elected to dummy the ball rather than shoot; his attempt to wrong-foot the visitors defence failed as there was no team-mate there to take advantage. Try as they might, Shenhua could not find a winner. And with that… the title slipped through their grasp. Final whistle – Shenhua 2-2 Zhejiang Lvcheng – and, cruelly, Shandong 0-0 Guangzhou. In other words, had Shenhua won, the title was theirs and the whole season essentially turned on Ricard's missed penalty.
If the game itself was not hard enough to swallow, the run-in made things even worse. Shenhua had their chances to at least go into the final game in pole position. But they won just one of their last five games, and even contrived to throw away a four goal lead in their match relegated Liaoning two weeks ago, who scored four times in the last 30 minutes to draw 4-4. A 0-0 draw to fallen giants Dalian last week did Shenhua no favours either – it was a game Shenhua were expected to win, Dalian only just avoiding relegation this year.
Shenhua have the consolation of joining Shandong, Beijing Guo'an and Tianjin Teda in next seasons revamped Asian Champions League. But that was scant consolation for the fans, some of whom found the disappointment all too much. Xiao Tan, a 26-year-old Blue Devils member, told China Sports Today, "I cried today. At least if we had won, and Shandong won, it would have been better. But not like this. And that penalty miss… good heavens. I have no idea."
Shenhua's reputation for being bottlers and under-achievers is, it has to be said, well-deserved. Former coach Wu Jingui told the Shanghai Daily, "Shenhua takes the lead but doesn't know how to keep it. It has been a problem for the team for years," adding, "The team tends to make mistakes at critical moments."
Shandong overtake Shenhua in the all-time championship table to claim their third title, on the back of wins in 1999 and 2006. A new season awaits Shenhua however and the team can take comfort from some very encouraging performances of attacking football. If they can carry this form into next year, they will once again be among the front runners.
Next season's CSL will offer more derby action to Shenhua – Jiangsu Shuntian of Nanjing return to the top league after an absence of 15 years. The 2009 season will kick off next March.
Picture of Hamilton Ricard courtesy of Sina Sports
Tags: CSL, football, Shanghai Shenhua, soccer, sports, yuanshen stadium
Rogge expects more doping cases, Liu needs surgery
Monday, 10th November 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
A short glance at some of China's biggest current sports stories:Liu Xiang
Doctors that hurdler Liu Xiang visited in the United States agreed with his Chinese doctors in advising surgery for the Achilles tendon injury that kept him out of the Beijing Olympics.
Doping
The International Olympic Committee is still conducting doping tests from the August Olympics, and IOC president Jacques Rogge said he expects at least 15 cases from this year's Olympiad.
Diving
Former Chinese national team diving coach Yu Fen has threatened legal action against diving's administrative body, to secure several million yuan she believes she is owed in bonuses from her tenure with the team, which ended in 1997. Yu coached greats Guo Jingjing and Wu Mingxia.
Soccer/Football
Tickets are on sale for the Chinese women's national soccer team's match against gold medalists the United States at Detroit's Ford Field December 17.
Aquatics
Hong Kong is among the cities bidding to host the 2013 FINA World Championships. The world governing body for aquatic sports including swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized swimming holds a world championship every year. The 2011 championships will take place in Shanghai.
Tags: diving, doping, FINA, football, Guo Jingjing, Liu Xiang, soccer, swimming, track and field, Wu Mingxia, Yu Fen
One world, China's Olympic Dream
Friday, 8th August 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
After years of unprecedented buildup and international scrutiny, the curtain is about to formally go up on the 2008 Beijing Olympics tonight at 8:08, but some football (soccer) matches have already been played in the last two days, including China's first two performances.On Wednesday the Chinese women's team beat Sweden 2:1 and on Thursday night the Chinese men's team broke even 1:1 in their match against New Zealand… so far, so good for an Olympic host country that will view anything short of the top of the medal count as a failure.
In addition to his book and post at Kalamazoo College, Xu is a frequent source and occasional contributor to the Washington Post regarding sports in China - he recently penned an analysis of the path of football in China and why in football terms China is, as he puts it: "the sick man of the world".
China Sports Today spoke with Xu about what this Olympics means to China and how Chinese athletes may perform in this year's games. With the opening of the Olympics only hours away, this is what Xu had to say about this year's games:
China Sports Today: What have been the driving forces behind China's increasing interest - and success - in international athletic competition?
Xu Guoqi:To demonstrate that China can compete against the best not only economically but also physically. To show that China is a rising power which deserves world respect. To win in sports competition has been a national policy and organized sports have been under direct control of the state.
CST: Many noted during the last Olympics that Chinese athletes were showing more emotion than ever before, how emotional do you think these games will be for Chinese athletes?
Xu: More emotional than ever, since they are competing in their own Olympic Games and on their home turf.
Xu: It will serve as double-edged sword and help the athletes to perform better but sometimes also contribute to an unnecessary pressure on athletes which can hurt them. A good example of the late case is the 1985 soccer match between the Hong Kong team [still a British colony at the time] and China's national team. The supposedly much stronger China team was defeated because of the enormous pressure to win.
CST: As a Chinese person living in the United States, what similarities and/or differences do you see between the ways Chinese and Americans view sports?
Xu: Chinese have injected too many political ingredients into sports, as it links the results to national honor and pride. Sports in China have also carried too much of a historical burden and have been especially linked to China's past humiliation.
In the USA, it seems that they nowadays people are less likely to link sports with political burdens or history. They tend to enjoy the sports more and take the results of victory or loss less emotionally.
CST: In your book you discuss the political dynamic of the relationship between China and the Olympics. If the Beijing games go on without any major problems, what benefits - if any - do you think China will reap in terms of its international image and standing?
Xu: It will help the Chinese to get rid of the long-lasting syndrome of can-do spirit mixed with strong sense of inferiority and start to be confident of themselves and of the nation. It will project an image of China which is open, dynamic, and internationalized and it will enhance the international prestige and status of both the nation and the regime.
CST: What event or events will you be watching closest in this year's Olympics?
Xu: Liu Xiang's 110 meters hurdle, soccer matches and the basketball games.
Tags: China sports history, football, soccer, Washington Post, Xu Guoqi
China women's soccer beats Sweden, 2-1
Thursday, 7th August 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
China's Olympic soccer team poses for a team photo
"The home fans gave us great support," Shang said to Xinhua. "Maybe that is why so many countries would like to host Olympics."
The game's first goal came in the sixth minute when striker Xu Yuan followed up Zhang Na's shot, which had bounced off the left goalpost.
Xu, 23 years old, also assisted on China's other goal, punched in by Han Duan (韩端) in the 71st minute. Sweden's goal came from Lotta Schelin.
China plays its next game against Canada on August 9.
Tags: Beijing Olympics, football, Han Duan, Shang Ruihua, soccer, Tianjin, Xu Yuan
Olympic football kicks off... but who will be watching?
Wednesday, 6th August 2008 ~ Cameron ~ Link ~ Comments (1)
The Olympic countdown has been a long and tedious one but mercifully for football (soccer) fans like ourselves it reaches zero a day earlier – the men's Olympic Football tournament kicks off tomorrow evening. And fans of the ladies game need wait no longer - the action commences tonight in Tianjin.Regardless of the merits of women's football, the focus in China will be on the men and specifically of course, the home team. You can read a great many opinion pieces, blog entries, and all manner of football punditry endlessly dissecting the reasons for China's miserable failure to find 11 players from their massive population good enough to make a respectable mark on the world game. But there is a question one will seldom see asked amongst all this pontificating.
Does Olympic football matter and does anyone really care about it?
The answer in the eyes of this columnist is a resounding no. Olympic football has always been the black sheep of international football competition, with a long and awkward relationship with the governing body of football, FIFA. The tournament itself is basically a glorified youth world cup, with each side able to field three players over the age of 23. Whilst that allows a few super-stars, including Brazil's Ronaldinho, to appear at this year's Olympics, it prevents full national sides from appearing – this is something FIFA does not want to see hence its insistence on the under-23 rule to stop the Olympics overshadowing the premier world football event, the World Cup.
If you ask any football fan, "who won the last world cup?" most would be able to say Italy. If you were to ask who were the gold medalists at football in Sydney 2004, the chances are few would be able to come up with the winner. Frankly, I can't even remember myself and I have been a football aficionado as long as I can remember. Whilst the tournament is a useful pointer towards emerging young talents, there is an increasing tendency amongst the big European clubs to refuse to release their players for any tournament without considerable arm-twisting. With the Olympic football tournament well down the pecking order in terms of footballing prestige, its been no surprise to see several club sides reluctant to release their players for this tourney. Fixture congestion is a hot topic in football these days, and with utterly disgusting money-grabbing schemes like the EPL's game-39 being put forward recently, this all adds more pressure on clubs to avoid the ignominy of their young stars getting injured at the Olympics. In short, the Olympics is the pinnacle for all sports—except football, so why bother?
Tim Vickery, the BBC's South America's football reporter, points out that the Olympics is serious business for the South Americans. It's certainly taken more seriously in that most roasting of football hotbeds. However, Brazil have never won an Olympic gold. How can a team win five world cups but not one Olympic gold? Perhaps it's not so important after all.
For the Chinese, the argument that Olympic football is of little consequence in the grand scheme of world soccer will fall on deaf ears. One can only imagine the entire Chinese football world being torn between diametrically opposed emotions – the burning desire to make a decent account of themselves at their own party, with the cold, paralyzing fear of losing yet more footballing face and making an undignified early exit. Shanghai Shenhua's Li Weifeng, Shandong Luneng's Han Peng and Charlton Athletic's Zheng Zhi are the three over-age players in China's squad who will have hopes of Olympian proportions placed on their shoulders in an effort to get past New Zealand, Belgium and (gasp) Brazil and meet their coaches' goal. With almost casual disregard for his own sanity, Chinese Olympic football coach Yin Tiesheng has stated that he believes a top-four finish should be achievable for his team. Such foolish aims will only serve to compound the team's inevitable failure.
China kick off their campaign against New Zealand in Shenyang tomorrow night.
Tags: football, Olympics, soccer
Chinese star injured as women's soccer ties US 0-0
Wednesday, 30th July 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
China's women's soccer (football) team played the United States to a scoreless draw in a warmup match Wednesday in Qinhuangdao. Ma Xiaoxu (马晓旭), a 20-year-old striker and one of the team's key players, was carried off in the 30th minute with an injury to her left knee. Ma was starting for the first time after being sidelined for almost a year due to a knee injury.China's starting lineup for the match, which should be similar to its Olympic lineup was as follows: Zhang Yanru (张艳茹), Zhou Gaoping (周高萍), Weng Xinzhi (翁新芝), Li Jie (李洁), Liu Huana (刘华娜), Zhang Ying (张颖), Bi Yan (毕妍), Zhang Na (张娜) Pu Wei (浦玮), Ma Xiaoxu and Yuan Xu (徐媛).
Tags: Beijing 2008, football, Ma Xiaoxu, Olympics, soccer, 马晓旭
China beats Australia in soccer friendly
Monday, 21st July 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Changchun—China beat Australia 1-0 in a pre-Olympic friendly on Sunday. Zhao Xuri scored on a pass from Yuan Weiwei in the 80th minute. It was China's first game without former head coach Ratomir Dujkovic, who was reassigned within the organization last week. According to Xinhua, Dujkovic was scouting Belgium, which is in China's Olympic draw, in a match against the Netherlands. Yin Tiesheng is now the team's head coach.Midfielder Zheng Zhi, one of China's best players who two weeks ago was rumored to be injured and missing the Olympics, did play in the match.
Tags: football, Ratomir Dujkovic, soccer, Zheng Zhi
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