【翻译组】New coach looks to turn team back into contender

New coach looks to turn team back into contender
By Chen Xiangfeng (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-04-01 09:11


China's newly appointed women's soccer coach Shang Ruihua is looking for the best and quickest way to turn his struggling team back into a contender before the Beijing Olympic Games.


Shang Ruihua, newly-appointed head coach of the Chinese women's soccer team instructs his players during a training session in Xianghe of North China's Hebei Province March 30, 2008. [Xinhua]


"I know lots of people are talking about the awful mess and having doubts about the team's future," Shao said after the Chinese Football Association (CFA) appointed him to take over from Frenchwoman Elisabeth Loisel on Sunday.

"But I am not a picky coach and I will not complain about the mess. I am willing to accept the challenge and help our women's team out of the deep end."

The 63-year-old Shang coached the Chinese women's team between 1988 and 1991 and led the team to fifth place in the first FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991. He also led China's U-19 women's team to a runner-up finish at the FIFA Women's World Youth Championships in 2006.

The well-respected coach, who has stayed involved with both the women's and men's national teams, was somewhat of a surprise for the post, beating out other local candidates for the job.

"Shang has 35 years' coaching experience," said Nan Yong, vice president of the CFA. "We believe he can help the team get good results at the Beijing Olympics."

Shang also believes his experience will be useful.

"I am not as young and energetic as other coaches, but I am more experienced in coaching women's teams. I will try my best and will also find some younger coaches to assist me."

But Shang's first task will be to erase bad memories left in the wake of his controversial predecessor Loisel.

"Firstly, I will unite all the players as a team. I think all the problems in the past months are a result of a lack of unity. I will get them together and make them united either in competition or training."

Loisel's tenure was difficult for everyone involved. Her frequent rows with players and officials led to her early exit. Some star players reportedly isolated themselves from their younger teammates as a show of disrespect to them and their coaches.

Shang said soccer is a team game and everyone should take responsibility.

"The CFA, team officials, coaches and players should work together from now on and unite. I cannot allow the team to stay in this mess anymore as we have no time left before the Beijing Games."

With only four months before the Olympics, things do seem to be getting better for the team and its players.

"Although the team is still not at their best, the players showed signs of revival and lots of things are normalizing. I believe after the team's efforts, we will settle all the problems."

The golden era of China women's soccer began in the 1990s. China was the runner-up in the 1999 World Cup and also captured the silver medal at the 1996 Olympics.

But the team has been in a downward spiral over the past 10 years, dropping to 14th in the latest FIFA rankings, its lowest ranking ever. Meanwhile, neighboring Japan and DPR Korea are ranked 6th and 10th, respectively.


                                            新任教练期待队伍重新登上冠军争夺者的地位

中国女足的新任教练商瑞华正在寻找最快、最佳的方式使女足队伍在奥运之前重返冠军争夺者的地位。

商瑞华说“我知道当一些人谈到女足现在低迷的状态时，会对队伍的将来表示质疑”。之后中国足协委派他在周日接管伊丽莎白（法

国女足主教练）的工作。

“可是我不是那种吹毛求疵的教练而且我也不会对现在的这种局面抱怨。我很愿意接受这个挑战帮助我们的女足并且让她们走出低谷

。现年63岁的商瑞华曾在88--91年执教中国女足并且在91年的女足世界杯上带领女足姑娘们取得第5名的成绩。他也带领女足取得过

2006年的女足青年锦标赛的亚军。

同时他在国家男队和女队间也倍受尊敬，这也出乎意料的击败了其他地方的教练候选人。

中国足协副主席南勇说：“商瑞华有35年的执教经验，我们相信他能带领女足姑娘们在奥运会上取得好成绩。”

商瑞华也相信自己的经验是有成果的。

我虽然不像其他教练那样年轻、精力旺盛，但是我有经验执教女足，同时我也会尽我所能找一些年轻教练协助我。

不过商瑞华的第一项任务是抹去之前争议较大前任教练的不好的回忆。

“首先我会把队员们团结在一起作为一个整体队伍，我认为所有的问题都是我们过去的几个月缺乏团结、统一造成的。我会让大家拧

成一股绳，上下一条心地进行比赛和训练。

在卢瓦泽尔的任期内，她很难使大家都参与训练，她经常排挤球员和官员们，这导致了她的提前下课，根据一些传闻，一些明星球员因为对她们的后辈们和教练们不尊敬，也被孤立了。

商瑞华说足球不是一个人的运动。

“我认为中国足协的工作人员，教练，运动员从今以后要团结在一起，我不允许球队一直保持这样低迷的状态。我们已经没有时间，马上就是奥运会了。”商瑞华说

在剩下的4个月内球队和队员会越来越好的。

“虽然现在的球队不是最好的状态，但是呈现给我们的是一种正在逐渐复苏的景象，相信经过大家的努力，我们最后一定能解决所有难题！”他说。

黄金时期的女足开始于20世纪90年代，在99年中国女足取得了世界杯的亚军，在96年的亚特兰大奥运会上女足获得银牌。

但是在过去的10年中女足排名螺旋下降，下降到了第14位，根据国际足联的最新排名，这也是最低的……
与此同时。邻国的日本和朝鲜分别位于第六和第十。