Bora Milutinovic celebrates the victory with China's national flag (CCTV)

On October 7, many Chinese people had an exciting, sleepless night after the Chinese national soccer team beat Oman, securing its first-ever bid for the World Cup finals. which will be held next year in Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK). This was the second sleepless night for Chinese people, closely following the country's successful bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games.

When the chief referee of the China-Oman game raised his hands and blew a whistle to mark the end of the match, it also marked a historic time in China's soccer undertaking: China's 44-year endeavor to reach the World Cup finals was finally fulfilled with a 1-0 win over Oman in an Asian qualifier. By then, China had qualified for the World Cup finals with 16 points in six games-two rounds of games ahead.

It was a hot summer afternoon of 1958 when Chinese athletes launched their first endeavor to qualify for the World Cup, but failed, both then and in the subsequent six times they attempted to do so. This 44-year soccer history has noted the unremitting, hard efforts of Chinese athletes.

This year, luck was on the Chinese side. The ROK and Japan, two powerful opponents, did not need to compete for the World Cup because they are the hosts. Moreover, when drawing lots, China luckily avoided playing against Saudi Arabia and Iran, two strong teams from west Asia. Also, the Chinese national team is mature and seized the opportunity to bring out their skills to the fullest.

Magical Coach Bora Milutinovic

The success of the Chinese team is likened to a canal formed when water arrives, and Bora Milutinovic the one who opened the floodgates. Milutinovic, from Yugoslavia, is now serving as the head coach of the Chinese national team.

The Chinese team had many opportunities to play in the World Cup finals before, but failed to grab them. It was even beaten by weaker teams several times, due to the weak will of players. Milutinovic has been likened to a psychologist. He has repeatedly imbued Chinese athletes with a positive attitude towards soccer and the concept of enjoying the game and enjoying life. In doing so, the athletes' fear of losing faded away, and they gained an eagerness to win. The coach of the United Arab Emirates team said, "The Chinese team's defense is as accurate as a computer. Their performance is good."

Milutinovic demonstrated his talent in training, selecting players, deploying athletes and guiding games. assistant coach of the Chinese national team, Jin Zhiyang, said, "His concept of soccer is quite different from ours."

Benefiting from professionalization

Making the soccer sector professional has raised the level of the Chinese team.

The Chinese national team's desire to compete in the World Cup finals has been frustrated several times. For a long time, people in the soccer circle and those concerned about Chinese soccer explored ways to break this wretched cycle. In 1994, as part of this effort, professionalized leagues began to be practiced in China.

It brought changes to Chinese soccer. Under the system, the flow of athletes normalized. Players

could now choose the club they would like to work for. They also began to feel the sense of crisis caused by increasing competition in the field, and realized the "cruel market system". The "iron rice bowl", a life-long job system, was broken for both coaches and athletes. It became commonplace for them to be dismissed because of their unsatisfactory behavior.

In the meantime, their salaries increased by a large margin, which also resulted in side effects: Satisfied with their achievements, some athletes were unwilling to make further progress. This impeded the development of the soccer sports. Most athletes, however, regard soccer as a lofty career to which they like to be devoted, rather than a job. At any rate, the Chinese soccer cause continued to make progress, although the pace was not quick and things were not entirely satisfactory.

Another change brought about by the professionalized league is the involvement of foreign athletes. Their devotion to their career, their knowledge of soccer and their proper use of skills did much for Chinese soccer. They injected vigor into the Chinese soccer circle.

Soccer circle insiders believed that employing a foreign coach was a good way to get rid of the backwardness of China's soccer sector, as they hold different concepts and use different tactics.

Foreign coaches' training methods, tactical thinking and commanding art have remarkably benefited the Chinese players. But expected results have been somewhat slow, because some clubs seek short-term results and Chinese athletes cannot fully understand their ideas.

Apart from employing foreign coaches, China has probed other ways to improve the game. For instance, the Jianlibao Company, a famous Chinese beverage producer, sent a soccer team of youngsters to Brazil to study. It worked. A great improvement in the player's skills, ideas and concepts was seen. The Chinese national team absorbed some of these athletes, and many others became the main force of various clubs.

But sending groups of athletes to foreign countries also has its disadvantages. Their concept is likely to remain unchanged, as if they were still living in their home environment, and it is hard to greatly improve their skills. To solve this problem, some suggested sending them abroad one by one, rather than in groups. These athletes are then expected to assimilate into the environment abroad.

Yang Chen is one of those receiving training abroad. When he was in China, his skills were not outstanding. After training in Germany, where he made unremitting efforts, he was admitted by the German soccer circle. Now he is a top player in the Frankfurt Soccer Club.

There are many others like Yang. During the matches held to enter the World Cup, they all played important roles.

Nowadays, soccer is no longer a game merely for entertainment, but also a carrier of modern culture, economy and social activities. The World Cup has become a tool to measure the soccer level of a country. The sport is bound to involve talents in all quarters, capital, management methods and laws. This is more valuable than just securing a trip to the World Cup finals.

Captions: Bora Milutinovic (center), head coach of Chinese national soccer team, displays a first-grade medal awarded by the Chinese Soccer Association at the victory meeting.