China's Olympic soccer team lost 1-0 to Chelsea's reserve team on
Monday. The match formed part of China's training at the London
club.
The Chinese players performed poorly and lost control early,
allowing Chelsea to run the game for most of the game.
The Chelsea players are younger than the Chinese team, but they
shocked China who will need to train harder for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
A single goal by Spanish Under-17 international Sergio Tejera in
the 10th minute made the difference in a game held at Brentford
FC's Griffin Park.
Coach Ratomir Dujkovic earlier made a bold claim, stating he
could make soccer history by guiding China to Olympic gold in
2008.
Some reports emerged that Chinese players had complained about
the training facilities provided by two-time Premier League
Champions Chelsea.
"Chelsea is not as good as we thought," said a headline on the
website of daily newspaper Titan. "The situation is that the food
and lodging is good, but the training field is not so good," player
Zhou Haibin was quoted as saying.
However, this was vehemently denied by the team itself.
"We are so impressed by the great pitches and facilities
provided to us in Cobham training center," Guo Bingyan, the team's
assistant team manager and media officer, said in a statement
released by Chelsea.
Chelsea issued Guo's statement, which announced the team was
grateful for Chelsea's "great hospitality and arrangements."
"All young players are very excited about such an experience and
the coaching staffs are interested in the various workshops," he
added.
China's Olympic team arrived in London at Chelsea's invitation
last week for two weeks of training and three friendly games
against English opposition.
(CRI February 6, 2007)
