'What have you got yourself into, Mr Dujkovic'
You must be crazy, Mr Dujkovic. That was the message delivered to China's new Olympic coach after another humiliating loss at the hands of bitter rivals Japan.
China's media weighed into the nation's Olympic team, claiming new boss Ratomir Dujkovic would 'need a miracle' to achieve his aim of reaching the semi-finals at the 2008 Beijing Games. 'Mission Impossible' splashed the popular sports newspaper Titan yesterday, while the best-seller First Sports read: 'Dujkovic - You've come too late!'
Serbian-born Dujkovic officially took over the team from outgoing boss Jia Xiuquan on the final whistle and was at the game to 'observe' his new charges.
He saw China's under-21 stars humbled 2-0 by Japan for the second time in three months during a friendly in Tokyo on Wednesday.
'I'm not sure what Ratomir Dujkovic was thinking during those 90 minutes. He must be reconsidering after he watched [China] for the first time, and played so badly,' wrote a Titan football pundit.
China never looked like scoring, let alone winning, against a vastly superior Japanese side. And it is a long-running inferiority complex that ignited the wrath of the Chinese media, sentiments shared by millions of fans.
However, Dujkovic - not yet a week into his new job - offered only calm and optimism.
'This is a quality football team,' he said after the game. 'They're very ambitious. We have a good foundation and I believe everything will be in perfect order with harder training in the future.
'We have to start from learning how to pass a ball,' he said.
