Shanghai Daily news

The Chinese women soccer team's poor showing at the recent Algarve Cup in Portugal may dampen public enthusiasm for the forthcoming women's World Cup, one of the legends of the game said yesterday.

China is hosting the September 10-30 World Cup in five cities, including Shanghai.

Sun Wen, the 1999 FIFA women's Player of the Year, expressed concern after China finished in the 10th place at the annual showpiece tournament in Portugal.

On Wednesday, it suffered a shock 1-4 mauling at the hands of unheralded Iceland. It was China's sixth defeat in a row over the past two months, its longest losing streak.

"If the home team fails to put on a competitive performance at the World Cup, it is going to take a toll in terms of public interest toward the event," said Sun.

"The dismal run will definitely dent the players' confidence, making failure inevitable."

China was once a formidable women soccer power, finishing runner-up at the 1996 Olympics and later at the 1999 World Cup. But since then it has slipped to ninth place in the world rankings.

Its lowest point was a humiliating 0-8 debacle at the hands of eventual champion Germany at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The Shanghai-born Sun pointedly blamed the powers-that-be for the current state of affairs of the national squad.

"The situation is made worse largely because of the way the sport's governing body runs the team," said Sun, referring to the Chinese Football Association's frequent experimenting with coaches.

There have been frustrations galore as five different coaches have come and gone in less than four years' time.

The status of the current coach Ma Liangxing is also up in the air adding to the confusion of it all.

The team is currently being trained since early January by acting head coach Wang Haiming, a former assistant to Ma, who went on "sick leave" citing cardiac problems and giving rise to a lot of rumors.

It is being speculated that Ma went on long leave to protest against the alleged interference in his job from meddlesome CFA officials.

Though Ma later backed down and agreed to return to work, the governing body, shocked by the apparent insubordination, went about hunting for a new manager.

Veteran German Eckhard Krautzun, who acted as adviser and assistant to the current national team, was being tipped to take over but abruptly put in his papers for health reasons.

His compatriot Tina Theyne-Meyer, who guided Germany to an Olympic gold in 2004, is reportedly in the running along with former French national manager Elisabeth Loisel.

But Sun says a change in coach is unlikely to change the fortunes of the national team, given the very short period of time available on hand.

"You can't expect the new coach to make a big difference in six months," Sun said. "They must settle the issue of coach and the coaching staff quickly and then pray for luck."