Beijing Olympics 2008

Good things never come easy and Chinese playmaker Zheng Zhi’s return to the national team is a good example of that.
Due to his commitment to English Championship club Charlton Athletic, Zheng, known as ZZ to fans, has not appeared in a single international match since the Asian Cup in July.
Zheng finally joined the team after a long flight from London to Dubai, home base of the tough Iraqi side China will play against for the nation’s first World Cup Asian Zone qualifier tomorrow. China’s coach Vladimir Petrovic, who took over in September after Zhu Guanghu was sacked following China’s elimination from the Asian Cup, has been hoping Charlton would release Zheng for some of the team’s international warm-ups so the team could get to known to each other better.
But Charlton manager Alan Pardew rejected Petrovic’s request due to Zheng’s pivotal role in his club’s quest to return to the English Premiership.
Now Chinese fans, many of whom will have their eyes on the team’s first fixture instead of China’s Lunar New Year festivities, pin their hopes on Zheng, hoping he’ll duplicate his outstanding performance at Charlton and lead the team to a win or a draw against Iraq.
Zheng expressed his confidence in winning the match or even finally advancing to the World Cup finals since it might be his last chance.
“For me, this might be the last chance to compete in a World Cup. I will not give up until the last minute,” said Zheng, who will be 34 for the 2014 World Cup.
“All the national team players about my age will treasure this opportunity. We will try to beat Iraq and set up a beautiful start for future matches.”
China’s soccer team has been rife with pessimism since China was drawn into the “group of death” for its third-round World Cup qualifier. The difficult group also includes former Oceania champion Australia, Asian Cup champion Iraq and Asian Games champion Qatar.
But both Zheng and coach Petrovic are upbeat about their opening clash.
“We are coming here to win. I did a lot of work to know our opponent. I do not see any place that we can not match them,” said Petrovic. “And I also know that day is Chinese New Year’s Eve. I will give the best gift to Chinese people and make sure everyone has a happy new year.”
Zheng echoed the coach’s remarks, saying history favors China. “Iraq is the Asian Cup champion but it does not mean it’s the No 1 in Asia,” he said.
“In the 2004 Asian Cup, we beat them 3-0 on home soil. In the 2006 Asian Cup qualifier, we drew 1-1 but we controlled the match. They did not change too much and some of the best players are still on the team. There is no reason to be afraid of them.”
An in-form Zheng has scored an impressive nine goals for Charlton this season and has become a popular figure at the south London club.
His attacking and creativity will be the lynchpin of the midfield, as China plans to play more aggressive soccer. “We will play more aggressively and forwardly,” Petrovic said. “If we choose to play a conservative match, it’s more likely we’ll lose.
“I know how much this match means to our fans. We have to play a beautiful match even if the result is a draw. We will attack and attack. If we win, we will come back home and play our second match against Australia with our morale high.”
Apart from Zheng, another two players based in Europe - Premier League club Manchester City right back Sun Jihai and Manchester United teenage striker Dong Fangzhuo - have also joined the team, but their form is still in doubt due to the long flight and the time change. But Zheng dismissed the concerns.
“It does not make any difference to me. It’s just like two matches a week in the league,” Zheng said. “It’s still in the middle of the season so the physical stamina is not the problem. There is the time difference but it’s also not a big deal.”
Petrovic’s fellow coach Ratomir Dujkovic, who is also in charge of the national team, said Zheng will be in the starting lineup but the other two remain questionable.
“Zheng is very important to the team. The national team is short of a player like Zheng,” said Dujkovic. “Sun and Dong are not at their best. We will wait and see if they are able to play.”

from: chinadaily.com.cn 

World player of the year Kaka said Thursday he hopes to play for Brazil in Beijing Olympic Games in August.
AC Milan’s striker Kaka has won almost every club and individual honor there is in football except one title, that of Olympic champion.
Indeed, it is the only title Brazil have yet to win despite being crowned world champions a record five times.
Speaking at a World Food Program ‘Fill the Cup’ campaign, Kaka admitted he would like to be selected as one of the three players over 23 years of age permitted in each squad in China.
“I would like to (play) but I will leave it up to the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) and Milan to decide,” he said.

from: xinhuanet.com 

Football designed for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games was launched in Beijing on Sunday by adidas, an official partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Featuring Chinese characters ‘China‘ written by Former president of the Football Association of China Nian Weisi, the ball will be used in Olympic football preliminaries in Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao, and the Olympic finals in the Olympic City of Beijing.

Nian Weisi introduces the football. (Photo credit: Sportsphoto.cn)

source: beijing2008.cn 

BUENOS AIRES - Argentina have named Sergio Batista, a midfielder in their victorious 1986 World Cup team, as coach of their Olympic side for this year’s Games in Beijing.
“It will be Sergio Batista,” Argentina Football Association (AFA) president Julio Grondona told Radio La Red in an interview.
“We intend to send the strongest possible team but we have to see how things work out.”
Batista is currently coach of Argentina’s Under-20 team.
Grondona added that Alfio Basile, coach of the senior side, would be concentrating on the World Cup qualifiers.
Argentina won the gold medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004 when Marcelo Bielsa, who was also senior coach at the time, led the team to glory with a 1-0 final victory over Paraguay.
The Olympic tournament is restricted to Under-23 teams although each can field up to three over-age players.
Argentina playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme has already said that he would like to play in Beijing.

from: chinadaily.com.cn 

Brazil’s Kaka was named the FIFA World Player of the Year 2007, FIFA (International Association of Football Federation) President Sepp Blatter announced on Monday night.
The 25-year-old midfielder received 1,047 points, ahead of Argentina’s Lionel Messi with 504 and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo with 426 in a vote by captains and managers of 160 national or regional teams.
Kaka had already been named the best player of the year for Europe and the world by French and British football journals respectively.
Kaka helped AC Milan to the European Champions League title in 2007 as well as the World Club Cup and European Super Cup.

On the women’s side, Brazil’s Marta was selected the FIFA Women’s Worlds Player for 2007. She won the title with 988 points, ahead of Birgit Prinz of Germany with 507 and Cristiane of Brazil with 150.
In other commendations, ‘O Rei’ Pele picked up the FIFA Presidential Award and Barcelona received the FIFA Fair Play award.
from: beijing2008.cn