BEIJING (AFP) — Chinese football has been languishing in the doldrums for years but under new coach Gao Hongbo the national side could be turning a corner, if recent results are anything to go by.
Gao, at 43 China's youngest ever coach, got his reign off to a promising start with a 1-1 draw against an under-strength Germany last Friday, and followed it up with a battling 1-0 victory over Iran on Monday evening.
But Gao, who was appointed last month after managing club teams in Beijing, Guangzhou and Singapore, is not getting carried away.
"One-nil doesn't mean we are better than them," he told reporters following the game in Qinhuangdao, in which striker Gao Lin scored the winner just before half-time.
"After this match we have gained some good experience, it is useful when we meet another team from west Asia.
"This China team is young and we have lots of work to do before we can reach our goal. I hope I can lead this team on the right path as soon as possible," he added.
A former national striker, Gao is China's seventh coach since 2000 and took over after the side failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup and then made an embarrassingly early exit from the Olympics on home turf.
They have since slumped to 97th in the FIFA world rankings -- sandwiched between Qatar and Sierra Leone -- and have qualified for the World Cup just once, in 2002.
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