China PR (CHN)
The pastThe Olympic Games have so far left China's football with nothing but poignant memories. They generally struggle in Asia's Olympic qualifying, booking a place in the global showpiece only once (Seoul 1988), where they packed for home after conceding five unanswered goals in the group stage. The presentChina's poor record at international level, however, did little to dent the hosts' confidence of achieving greatness at Beijing 2008. As the hosts they will receive unprecedented support and under Serbian coach Ratomir Dujkovic are young and talented, with a solid defense, a creative midfield and a loaded front line. The core of Dujkovic's squad comes from the team that reached the second round at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Netherlands 2005. The futureAlthough Beijing 2008 only marks their second appearance in the Olympic football tournament, they have set their sight high with a goal of reaching the last four. However, the task didn't daunt coach Ratomir Dujkovic, who told FIFA.com after he took over the team in 2006. "Nothing is impossible in football. The team have shown that they are capable of playing against strong opposition and, as long as we work hard and well together, we can be successful."
Facts Former stars Gao Hongbo (1988) Key playersZhu Ting (forward), Dong Fangzhuo (forward), Zheng Zhi (midfield), Feng Xiaoting (defence) Qualifying statisticsChina automatically qualified as hosts. The numbers game0 - the number of goals the team scored at their debut at Seoul 1988 and the only appearance at a FIFA World Cup™ finals in Korea/Japan in 2002.
The pastThe Olympic Games have so far left China's football with nothing but poignant memories. They generally struggle in Asia's Olympic qualifying, booking a place in the global showpiece only once (Seoul 1988), where they packed for home after conceding five unanswered goals in the group stage. The presentChina's poor record at international level, however, did little to dent the hosts' confidence of achieving greatness at Beijing 2008. As the hosts they will receive unprecedented support and under Serbian coach Ratomir Dujkovic are young and talented, with a solid defense, a creative midfield and a loaded front line. The core of Dujkovic's squad comes from the team that reached the second round at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Netherlands 2005. The futureAlthough Beijing 2008 only marks their second appearance in the Olympic football tournament, they have set their sight high with a goal of reaching the last four. However, the task didn't daunt coach Ratomir Dujkovic, who told FIFA.com after he took over the team in 2006. "Nothing is impossible in football. The team have shown that they are capable of playing against strong opposition and, as long as we work hard and well together, we can be successful."
Facts Former stars Gao Hongbo (1988) Key playersZhu Ting (forward), Dong Fangzhuo (forward), Zheng Zhi (midfield), Feng Xiaoting (defence) Qualifying statisticsChina automatically qualified as hosts. The numbers game0 - the number of goals the team scored at their debut at Seoul 1988 and the only appearance at a FIFA World Cup™ finals in Korea/Japan in 2002.
