BEIJING, Jan 14 (Reuters) - China's soccer chief remained
confident of his team's Olympic chances despite a 7-2 drubbing
at the hands of German club Bayern Munich at the weekend.
The under-23 side's humiliation at the Allianz Arena made
it a bad weekend all round for Chinese football as the senior
had earlier been beaten 4-0 by SV Hamburg in the Dubai
Challenge Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
'The team's performance today is acceptable,' Xie Yalong
told the Chinese Football Association (CFA) Web site.
'Everybody has done their best. The major task for the team
is the preparation for this August's Olympics, closing the gap
on the strong teams.'
Serbian coach Ratomir Dujkovic, who has overall control of
both squads but is concentrating on the Olympic campaign until
August, was not so upbeat but said such results should be kept
in perspective.
'The result made me feel a bit disgraced ... I feel hurt,'
he told Soccer News. '(But) we shouldn't lose heart because of
defeats in friendlies.'
The Chinese media were not optimistic.
'We refuse to pay attention to the Chinese football even to
slag it off,' read the headline in Beijing News commment.
Beijing Youth Daily found solace in the two goals China's
best player scored for Charlton Athletic in England's
Championship.
'Zheng Zhi the only hope,' read their headline.
While the Olympic team continue their European tour with a
match in Lyon on Wednesday, the senior side have returned home
to prepare for the first 2010 World Cup qualification match
against Iraq on Feb. 6.
'We will surprise Iraq,' said Vladimir Petrovic, who is
looking after the team under his compatriot's guidance.
'I'm still confident.'
