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Chinese Pin Hopes on Lebanon
Globe-trotting coach Bora Milutinovic is hoping China will lose their "choker" nickname during the Asian Cup.
Milutinovic, the only man to manage four countries in the World Cup, has been brought in to help China find their holy grail - qualification for the 2002 finals.
A winning performance in Lebanon would provide Milutinovic's team with the perfect launch pad for their 2002 qualifying campaign, which gets under way next year.
Recent history suggests a red Chinese dawn over Beirut is unlikely, however. They have never won Asia's premier football tournament and stand alone among the continent's recognized powers as having never qualified for the World Cup.
A tendency to fluff their lines on the big occasion has seen China dismissed as perennial "chokers" in some quarters.
This trait was evident during the last Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates four years ago, when they led 2-0 against eventual champions Saudi Arabia in the quarter-finals - only to eventually lose 4-3. They made a similar hash of their 1998 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Whether Milutinovic can stop the rot remains to be seen, and China will do well to secure one of the top two automatic berths from Group Two, which includes South Korea, Kuwait and Indonesia.
Milutinovic's task will not have been made any easier by the Chinese Football Association's decision earlier this year to ban striker Hao Haidong from the Asian Cup. Hao was disciplined in July after rushing onto a pitch to shout at a referee during a club match.
And while the players are determined to give a good account of themselves, most acknowledge that World Cup qualification remains the ultimate prize.
"I think the Asian Cup is important for the World Cup qualifiers," China captain Zhang Enhua said.
"Bora has said the results in Lebanon aren't too important, but I think we need some more experience, especially for the younger players." Zhang said he lamented the dismissal of English coach Bobby Houghton earlier this year.
"Bobby brought some very advanced knowledge of European soccer to China and he was the first coach to let us know what the game is all about," he said.
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