Asian Cup successful, loss in final regrettable: China press
Asian Cup successful, loss in final regrettable: China press
Agence France Presse, Beijing
The Chinese state press Sunday lavished praise on the nation's hosting of the just ended Asian Cup and squarely blamed the home side's devastating 3-1 championship game loss to rivals Japan on poor refereeing.
Most dailies carried blurry front page pictures of Japan's Koji Nakata apparently using his hand to punch in Japan's winning second goal in Saturday night's hard fought final.
"The national side losses to the 'hand of god'," the Beijing Youth Daily headline screamed.
"Hand Gun" was the headline carried by Southern Sports, while the front page headline on the Soccer Daily merely said "Regrettable."
Kuwaiti referee Saad Kameel took a sound drubbing in all papers, while critical comments on the match officiating by China coach Arie Haan also played prominently.
"China did not lose face," the Beijing Daily Messenger said in an editorial.
"The mistakes of the three referees were not just a few, their performance left much to be desired at one of the most important matches in Asian football."
None of the papers mentioned the political aspects of the match, or the anger by Chinese fans over Japan's World War II invasion of China that resulted in loud booing and jeering of the Japanese team throughout the three-week tournament.
Most papers praised the performance of the Chinese players and championed up and coming stars like Shao Jiayi and Zheng Zhi, while casting a vote of confidence for the Dutchman Haan.
The Beijing News said that Haan's four win, one tie and one loss performance at the tournament should guarantee his job security, while the Soccer Daily also praised his coaching abilities but questioned his selection of players.
"The Asian Cup has given Beijing a valuable opportunity to host an international sporting event, while offering cherished experience for the hosting of the 2008 Beijing Olympics," the Beijing Youth Daily said in an editorial.
Not only did the tournament bring great football matches to the Chinese fans, but it was also a showcase for an improving Chinese side, it said.
Other papers said that China's play in the tournament and the smooth hosting of the event signalled a new era for Chinese football, which is still trying to shrug off poor performances at the international level and a scandal-plagued domestic league.
"From the 22 days of exciting football, beginning with the booing at the opening ceremony to the grief of some 70,000 fans in the final, we must say that this has been a very successful event," Soccer Daily said in a front page editorial.
"Chinese football has been too long at the bottom, we must be clear that it has not been easy to fill stadiums with 70,000 screaming fans. We have to improve on this opportunity."
Meanwhile, Japan coach Zico hailed his side's mental strength and resilient character to defend their Asian Cup title.
The 3-1 victory in the final over China in Beijing Saturday was a spirited performance from Zico's men who came to the tournament decimated by injuries and club commitments.
Hidetoshi Nakata, Shinji Ono, Naohiro Takahara and Junichi Inamoto played no part in the tournament, leaving a makeshift squad to prove once again that they are the heavyweights of Asian football even when denied their top stars.
"In the past, Japan has not played international matches very well away from home. But this time we did, so this is good for our team," said Zico after Japan claimed its third Asian Cup title in four attempts.