Thank You and Goodbye

by Mick Jones

photos by Hu Jinxi

The chant echoed round the Worker's Stadium in Beijing: "Niu bi! Niu bi! Niu bi!" Thousands of delirious supporters of Beijing Guo'an soccer team lifted their voices in adulation of their new heroes -- the "Three Musketeers."

Between them, Andreas Rubio from Spain and Casiano Delualle and Jorge Campos from Paraguay had just put eight goals past Shanghai Shenhua in a record 9-1 drubbing. It was the first time the three had played together for Guo'an, and they went on to be lauded as the most successful imports in the five-year history of the Chinese professional soccer league.

Less than two years later, the Three Musketeers were packing their bags.

A disappointing season in 1997-98 had led to calls for fresh blood. The papers said Casiano was too slow and injury-prone; Rubio never passed and wasn't trying in the air; and Campos couldn't pass and hadn't been in shape ever since the World Cup.

The club prevaricated over new contracts, and in the meantime brought new players in on trial. Last month, Guo'an finally wielded the axe and the Musketeers went their separate ways.

BTM went to the club in early December to talk to general manager Zhang Lu about the influence of overseas players on Chinese soccer, and about the difficulties of recruiting high-class foreign talent.

"It's not a question of money," said Zhang. "The problem is that really good players won't come to Beijing. And it's hard to discover good potential abroad."

Whatever problems had overtaken the club's relationship with its imports, Zhang was highly appreciative of their contribution.

"The foreign players adapted well, and got on well with the fans, their teammates, the coach and the administration... They have had a very important influence. They're the most successful foreign players in China, and Guo'an has been stronger when they played.

"The Chinese players learnt a lot from them in terms of technique and professional ethics. Their strong self-discipline was a good model for the Chinese players."

This has not been the case with every club that has brought in talent from overseas. But with the exception of a few foreign donkeys, Zhang reckoned most imports had brought a positive influence to bear on their teams.

"They improve the standard, forcing the Chinese players to compete with them to keep their place... so I don't think it's necessary to worry that there are too many foreign players in the league."

Improvement of standards is the top priority for Chinese soccer. Zhang argued that despite the national team's disastrous World Cup qualifying campaign, which effectively ended with a humiliating 3-1 home defeat against Qatar, the establishment of the professional league in 1992 had yielded significant improvements.

"The league has brought Chinese soccer closer to modern football, and we've formed a good basis for future development. We can't expect too much -- it's not realistic to hope Chinese soccer can change very dramatically. There's still a long way to go to reach the top standard of international soccer.

"The administrators can't be as crazy as the fans. We have a clear, cool opinion of Chinese soccer, and we're very clear about how serious our mission is. But we're still confident."

A big plus for Zhang is the impact Chinese players are starting to make in foreign leagues, and the experience they are gaining from playing abroad. National team captain Fan Zhiyi and fellow international Sun Jihai are at Crystal Palace in England, and former Guo'an star Yang Chen got off to a flying start for Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany this year.

"European teams used to think Chinese soccer was not very good, but Chinese players are now making more of an impression. And that goes for Guo'an in particular.

"England's World Cup goalkeeper David Seaman was very impressed when Arsenal lost here in a friendly. And we had two terrific games against AC Milan. The first time [in 1995], we had to try very hard to persuade them to come. But we beat them, and their coach Fabio Capello was very annoyed, so they agreed to a rematch very quickly the following year. That game ended nil-nil and AC won on penalties.

"Capello was very excited, and the next year AC were the ones to propose the match. But we turned them down!"

After beating Dalian Wanda, China's leading club by a large margin, to take the Chinese Cup in late 1997, things turned rather sour for Guo'an last season. The fans became disenchanted as the goals dried up and the team failed to win a single away game. Zhang sees the next season, which begins in March, as one of transition.

"We have young players with great potential. We're prepared for more difficulties next year, but we hope that the young players will gain experience and develop for the season after next.

As for the relationship between club and supporters, Zhang doesn't see any big problems.

"In general the fans are very friendly, but of course they curse us when we don't play well. After matches, they line up along the fence as the players return to the building where they live - if we win, they chant, 'Niu bi!' [the translation is unprintable in a family magazine]; if we lose, they yell, 'Sha bi!' [this is even worse].

"We always educate the players to treat the fans properly. They love you, so even when they curse you, it means they love you. If they don't curse you, they don't love you any more."