Actually, it was the lunar new year last night all around the world, but for the first time in a lunar century, China have something to celebrate on the pitch. They won the mini-tourney East Asian Cup, ahead of Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong (who really are just a formality). I don't quite understand the purpose of this cup other than World Cup warmup for Japan and Korea, but the level of rivalry and hatred between all three Asian giants always results in at least a handful of red cards. The final 3-1 match between Korea and Japan was no different, with a sending off to each side.
The sad fact is that this win is meaningless, other than another sorry reminder of the potential that China holds. For having so many people in one time zone, the fact that the best Chinese export outside of cheap textiles was former Evertonian Li Tie stands in the face of the PRC's sorry record. Despite the meaningless trophy, China's domestic league is still being threatened by a late start because of the insanely deep corruption within the league. Then again, it is difficult considering the level of boneheaded stupidity within China's government controlled bureaucracy, which seems to act against obvious logic.
I've always thought that with enough time obvious talent and potential will emerge, no matter what may stand in the way. Maybe for the most populous country in the world who didn't even come close to qualifying this summer, maybe this will give a taste of how to go about letting that talent through.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment