Soon after his arrival in 2005, Capousek found himself at odds with the military-style regime. Administrators would confiscate mobile phones and lap-tops from athletes and insisted on a 10pm curfew, but the worst part for Capousek was the year-round training camp in the middle of nowhere.

'Every day was the same and I think young people deserve to see more of the world,' he said. 'Maybe I pushed too hard and wanted to change too much all at the same time. That could have started the conflicts.'

This strikes a chord with former Chinese Football Association (CFA) official Xie Qiang. 'It was exactly the same as [Bobby] Houghton's experience,' said Xie, who worked as the Briton's interpreter during his tenure as head coach of the national soccer team in the late 1990s. 'The CFA administrators often over-ruled his decisions to give the players more breaks.

'The sports system here, contrary to western custom, gives priority to national interests over individual values. Plus, coaches here often have to put up with overbearing officials and lack full authority over team management. There is just way too much politics.'

But not every coaching import has left on a sour note. Kim Chang-back, the South Korean hockey master, has been women's head coach since 2000. His successful transformation of the team from minnows to gold-medal contenders has earned universal respect.

'I think coaches from Asian neighbours or former socialist countries know better how things work out in the strait-jacketed system,' said Xie. But that's no help to Capousek, who helped China qualify for a record nine of 12 events.

'China will, for sure, bag three or four medals ... I helped shape that progress,' Capousek said. 'But anything less than a gold medal here means nothing. The politics is sometimes awful.

'Some of my Chinese colleagues reported my everyday routine to higher-ranking officials. When we won a record number of Olympic places, there was not a single hug or handshake.'