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SCMP Reporter

THREE weeks into his new job as China's soccer coach, Bobby Houghton is gradually discovering the ups and downs of football on the mainland.

 Since leaving English Premier League side Nottingham Forest, Houghton has been impressed by the talent of the mainland players, but admits there is a lot to do before China can qualify for their first World Cup finals.

 'I worked with the team for a month during the first round of the World Cup qualifiers 10 months ago. The players still give me the same impression - they are very talented and can play spontaneously,' said the 50-year-old Englishman.

 'But they are tactically naive at times. They also lack self-discipline and can't keep their shape. However, I am pleased with their attitude - they always want to do well. All they need is time. If they are more organised, they will be a very strong team.'  Houghton's coaching career started with Swedish powerhouses Malmo, where he led the club to the 1979 European Cup final, losing 1-0 to Forest.

 He also had spells with Gothenburg and clubs in Switzerland, the United States, Greece and Saudi Arabia.

 In China, he replaced former head coach Qi Wusheng , blamed for China's failure to qualify for the World Cup finals in France this summer.

 Former Dalian Wanda manager Chi Shangbin and Beijing coach Jin Zhiyang have been appointed Houghton's assistants.

 Houghton is on a four-year contract that will take him through to the 2002 World Cup to be staged in South Korea and Japan.

 Although it is too early to evaluate Houghton's contribution to the team, he has already introduced some new 'ideas' to the mainland players.

 Recently, national skipper Fan Zhiyi and defender Zhang Enhua had a one-week trial with the English First Division side Southampton, leading to hopes that they will become the first mainland players to compete in the English league.

 However, Houghton said it would be to the benefit of the national team if the mainland's best players remained in China.

 'The advantage of exporting players to Europe is they can gain experience, but it is not necessarily a good thing for the national team,' he said.

 'The national team would face difficulty in getting the overseas players back for training, just like Australia did [for their World Cup campaign].

 'It is not easy for players on different continents to move around. Besides, the Chinese season is different from the European ones.

 'Sometimes you may need the players back for five to six weeks for training and their European clubs may not like it.

 'The most effective way to lift the standard of the players is to lift the standard of the Chinese Professional League with imports of top quality foreign players.

 'The majority of the [national] players should be kept in the league so that the Chinese Football Association [CFA] can easily get the players together for national team training.

 'And we have to get the preparation sorted out properly. I am not sure if it was a good idea to send the team to England before the World Cup qualifiers [last year].

 'China were to face teams from Asia in the qualifying round. They would have been better off playing Asian teams in Asia, rather than to play English teams thousands of miles away.'  Houghton is confident China will qualify for the 2002 World Cup.

 'Two of the strongest Asian teams [South Korea and Japan] automatically qualify for it, so China have a greater chance to make it to the finals,' he said.

 'Besides, teams tend to play better in their own areas.

 'We also have a lot of talented young players who will be ready by then. The CFA will bring back the youth team, who have been training in Brazil for two years, in April.

 'They will then prepare for the [2000 Sydney] Olympics under English coaches. After the Olympics, the best players will join the national team to prepare for the World Cup.'  Unlike his predecessor, Houghton has endeared himself to the mainland media by readily accepting interviews.

 But Houghton knows the honeymoon period will last only as long as the pressure is off.

 'I know there will be a lot of pressure and expectations from the CFA and the general public,' he said.

 'But I don't feel as much pressure as the Chinese coach because I don't understand the language and I don't know what they say about me in the newspapers or on TV.

 'With my two assistants, who know the players very well, hopefully I can achieve my goal and lift Chinese football to a higher ground.' 



Englishman plots course for China's World Cup dream