The inaugural Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) league, to be kicked off on April 14, will be of great success with the participation of five Chinese players, the other great players from the United States and the world, said acting commissioner Tony DiCicco.

"The league has the key ingredients to success as we have the star power, the great players from the United States and the world, and the TV," said DiCicco in an exclusive interview with Xinhua in Chula Vista, San Diego on Thursday.

"We have the restriction of four international players per team, but we have our best foreign players, and they will be stars and leaders on the teams," said the former head coach of the US women's national soccer team from 1994 to 1999, "Along with the American World Cup and Olympic champions, they will be expected to be the best performers."

"The (physical) size is not to make the player the star, but the heart, the talent and the brain," the commissioner discarded hints that the Chinese players are in a weak position against their peers in the league.

"The Chinese players have been all outstanding, obviously as I've coached against them for many years, and I recognized how excellent they are in the field," said DiCicco, "What I'm so excited about is that they've been accepted 100 percent by their teams and they like their teammates."

"The Chinese players we bought to America are stars, they are special players and they have proved to be special people," said the commissioner, "Sun Wen in Atlanta is a favorite there, Wen Lirong is a favorite player in Carolina, and Gong Hong in New York, and so on so for the others."

Although Sun Wen, the Player of the Century, has been absent from the training matches, DiCicco said that "she is in the target and she is getting better. We didn't feel we should rush her recovery because she is still hurting and it's important for her to fully recover before she plays. We think for five months after her surgery, she will be fully ready for play, probably in May."

"Soccer in the United States is something like in China, it's a number one sport for the youth, and we're confident of full success for the league with the best players from America and from all over the world."

(People's Daily 03/30)