The period from 1957 when the football players of New China launched the first assault toward the World Cup final circle to 2001 when it knocked open the door of the ROK and Japanese World Cup matches, the course of 44 years was filled with the hardship and pursuit, pain and joy of one generation after another.

From the games in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1957 to Wulihe, Shenyang in 2001, the Chinese football team engaged in 67 matches with 26 opponents in the peripheral matches of World Cup, in which it won 46 matches, leveled off seven and lost 14, scored 146 goals and fumbled 52 balls, nearly 200 players and over 30 coaches took a direct part in the contests. After making seven unremitting dashes, they finally gained today's success.

Nian Weisi, the main forward player, recalled the situation regarding the contest with the Indonesian team in 1957, in which he got near the goal and there was a good opportunity to get one score, however, the ball he kicked just fell into the bosom of the opposite side's goal-keeper, this first assault left him with much regret. From this Nian Weisi came to realize that in engaging in a contest, one must constantly sum up experiences and grasp this word: experience. Nobody would blame him because at that time Nian was only 23 years old. Thereafter, Nian had successively served as the main coach of the Chinese national team and chairman of the Chinese Football Association. Today, some students of his students have also become main coaches of Class A teams, whereas the Chinese football is still suffering one setback after another

For players and coaches alike who have personally engaged in matches, for football fans who have been accompanying the Chinese football team for 44 years of sweets and bitters in life, each footprint is deeply engraved in their hearts and each setback is the necessary accumulation in their advance toward success.

On the electric scoreboard in the Wulihe Stadium is recorded the final ball of historic breakthrough made by the Chinese football team. In the hearts of hundreds of million of fans is recorded all the efforts made by Chinese football for the realization of this breakthrough.

SOUL

If a country and nation loses the consciousness of competition, it will face the danger of national subjugation and genocide. If a ball team loses the courage of competition, it will face the possibility of being ruthlessly eliminated. After the Chinese were put under the instruction of famous coach Bora Milutinovic, it was impossible to bring about a takeoff in the overall level and personal capability, however, in the top 10 matches, the Chinese team kicked out the football up to the team's normal level, thus properly treating the chronic disease unresolved in its previous assaults. In fact, none of the decisions of the Chinese Football Association, the personal experience of Milutinovic and the players' collective efforts can be dispensed with.

In Dalian's Jinzhou four years ago, the Chinese team lost to the Qatar team in the decisive battle of the previous top 10 matches. After the game, Coach Jin Zhiyang did not understand why there was no player who shed tears for this. Could it be that the qualities of the Chinese players were so low to the extent that they even failed to figure out the weight of the honor of their motherland? Football competition is cruel and ruthless, Milutinovic's standard for the employment of players who lack the sense of self-discipline and players who work hard and respect their career is also clear-cut and merciless, the choice of vocational reform is also very clear and relentless. Today, the players appeared in the lineup of the Chinese team enabled people to get a better understanding of the role of the law of elimination. What was most worrying was that the psychological quality of the players was not good enough and the problem concerning unity of the team, miraculously, these problems did not occur at the crucial moment of the seventh assault. It was equally miraculous that Milutinovic successfully conducted ideological work among the footballers. The Chinese themselves are good at doing ideological work, and yet they still had to learn from Milutinovic who came from afar. The result of ideological work was evident to everybody, in the six games out of the top 10 matches, the cohesion among the players alone had enabled them to defeat all the opponents.

LUCK

Without the elements of luck, there would be no fortuity of win and lose or success and failure in sports, and this is exactly where its charisma lies. Football all the more never denies the components of luck, under some circumstances, luck plays a decisive role.

The peripheral match of the present World Cup indicated that not much progress was made in the overall level of Asian football, the strength of many football teams was not even as good as that in the previous top 10 matches four years ago. Because the ROK and Japanese teams did not join in the contests, the technical content of most matches and the tactical capability of most teams stayed at the level of several years ago, plus lot-drawing for the division of groups and competition programming were beneficial to the Chinese team, enabling it to avoid three strong teams, Saudi, Iran and Iraq, which had entered the circle of World Cup finals, the B group where the Chinese team was in was not contesting with the highest-level team in Asia. However, if you have a broad field of vision, you may discover that the biggest luck of the Chinese football team was neither a lot-drawing and competition programming for a peripheral match, nor was it whether the law-enforcement by the umpire was favorable to us, but rather it was that in the surging tide of China's social, political-economic restructuring, the breakthrough point and file leader chosen for sports reform. The reform of football has caused a change in people's concept and conduct concerning modern sports and vocational system, promoted the development of related industry of society, and formed the material resources and spiritual motivation for the sustainable development of football itself.

Without the practice of eight years of reform, we shouldn't say that it was impossible for the Chinese team to make breakthroughs in the its sports level , but it was absolutely impossible for it to have stirred the hearts of hundreds of millions of people as it has done today and it would be difficult for it to have comprehensively gained human, financial and material resources for its sustainable development.

HOPE

What the victory won by the Chinese football team in breaking the Asian record can comfort the soul of the forbears of the football circle not only constitutes a fulfillment of the dream, but also represents the future full of hopes. The financial increase from an annual allocation of several million yuan before reform to the present total of several hundred million yuan put in by more than 20 clubs each year--this money was used in league matches and in infrastructure construction including the training of youngsters as well as coaches, such a thing unimaginable for the forbears is now gradually become the order of the standard operation of Chinese football. In Kunming, Shanghai, Dalian, Shenyang, Jinan and in other places possessing Class A football teams, high standard football training bases have been set up, and thousands upon thousands of youngsters, like children in soccer developed countries, have begun to take off on the road to football career in the green grass field. In weekends, a hundred football matches of various types at all levels are held nationwide, and a thousand football teams made up of middle and primary school students enter their names for the matches. Without all these, there would not be the social value of the Chinese football team breaking the Asian records.

At this moment when the dream was turned into reality, countless people who did not know each other before have been closely linked together by a football checkered with black and white, who were immersed in joy and excitement. However, compared with the broad development prospect of the Chinese football, the strength of the shock force of Chinese football is not big enough and the foundation of Chinese football reserves is not very solid.

Indeed, the success gained by the national team has brought about the long-expected opportunity for the faster development of Chinese football. Objective of the Chinese football team will not stay in the success gained in one assault, nor will the effort of the Chinese football team remain in the celebrations of one victory. There is still a long, long way to go.

(People's Daily 10/09/2001)