China getting serious about soccer, catches Korea‘s attention

China has yet to make a strong imprint in the world of soccer although its rise has been predicted by some. These days, it seems as if the world's most populated nation is finally getting serious about the world's most popular sport, and Korea, a country that has long enjoyed its soccer superiority over its giant neighbor, is unsure whether to view this development as a problem or opportunity.

There is a theory that a strong China could benefit the whole East Asia and raise standards on and off the field and help, with Korea and Japan, make a wealthy and powerful bloc in the world of soccer to rival the traditional centers of South America and especially Western Europe. There is also a belief that a strong China could dominate the region some day to such an extent that Korea may struggle to compete.

"If China does become strong, then it will help us," said Kim Se-hoon, the chief sports reporter for local daily Kyunghyang Shinmun. "Of course, it will make it more difficult to qualify for World Cups and Olympics, but if we are connected with a stronger China, then we too can become stronger and more focused on improving. It is not only good for the business of soccer in both countries, it can help light a fire in the region."

Whatever the theory, all agree that a strong China would be unfamiliar. Korea has dominated meetings ever since the national teams first met in 1978. For over three decades and almost 30 meetings between the two nations, China had failed to win even once.

"It was a characteristic of Chinese soccer to have a disorganized defense," said Kim, "and there was a mental fear when playing Korea."

This fear was labeled in the Beijing media as "Koreaphobia," which seemingly came to an end in February 2010 as China at last emerged victorious 32 years after the first meeting with a 3-0 win in Tokyo. The delight in the country was relatively short-lived as in that year's Asian Champions League, a competition for Asia's best clubs, there were nine meetings between K-League and Chinese Super League representatives with Korean teams winning every contest.

"It's true that the national team always suffered from a lack of confidence when playing the Koreans. There were psychological problems," said Er Dong Mei of the Shanghai newspaper China Youth Daily.

Now, however, some Chinese league clubs such as Guangzhou, Shanghai Shenhua who signed French star Nicolas Anelka from English Premier League powerhouse Chelsea, and Dalian Aerbin have been spending money. It is estimated that Guangzhou alone has spent more than US$50 million in two years, sums that K-League teams are unable to match.

In early March, Chinese champion Guangzhou traveled to Korea to take on K-League champion Jeonbuk Motors in the opening game of the 2012 Asian Champions League. It was Guangzhou's first ever appearance in the competition, and prior to kick-off, the visiting coach, Lee Jang-soo of Korea, was asked if China could catch Korea.

"It's a fact that it is still behind and people involved in the game in China would agree with that," said Lee. "But Korea can't relax. China is working very hard to catch up with Korean football. This a country with latent power and if Korea isn't aware of what is happening, then it can be overtaken."

Guangzhou shocked the local fans and the whole of Asian soccer by winning 5-1.

Philippe Troussier, an experienced coach who led Japan to the second round of the 2002 World Cup and is now in his second season in China, agrees that at a club level, China is improving but is less optimistic about the strengths of the country's foundations.

"Guangzhou is perhaps the strongest team in China at the moment," said Troussier. "It is capable of winning the Asian Champions League. In one match anything can happen as we saw with Jeonbuk, and in one season, anything can happen. But will Guangzhou be at the top in 10 years? That is a different question because automatically when you spend lots of money you can buy high level players and automatically they bring better results. Korean and Japanese success has deep roots."

A distinction should be made between club and national teams. For club teams, it is possible to bring about dramatic change through substantial investment in high-level players, especially foreign stars. To improve a whole country, takes much more time and effort.

"Overall, I don't think the situation is very different. Just because there are some big names in China now doesn't mean that the problem is solved. We still don't have a good youth development system. It could be a problem for Korean clubs as the best players may move to China, but I don't expect it to be a problem for the (Korean) national team."

There is certainly a possibility that talent from Korea could make the short trip west. K-League 2010 champion FC Seoul recently refused a bid of almost $5 million from another Guangzhou team, Guangzhou R&F, for star striker and 2011 leading goalscorer Dejan Damjanovic.

Nobody can predict what will happen, but one thing is for certain: Chinese soccer is changing and it is something new for South Korea to deal with. (Yonhap)