Camacho soap opera masks deeper issues
- By Mark Dreyer
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E-mail China.org.cn, July 26, 2013
And for every Marcelo Lippi, who is on course to lead Guangzhou Evergrande to a third straight Chinese Super League title – his second with the club – there are two like Philippe Troussier, the enormously experienced Frenchman who oversaw Shenzhen Ruby's relegation from the CSL. Even Lippi's success has been due in part to inheriting a very strong squad, whose high wage bill has been more conducive to team harmony.
But the misguided notion persists among certain levels of management that experienced and successful foreign coaches can immediately transfer their supposedly superior knowledge to any set of Chinese players and results on the field are bound to improve. China's millions of soccer fans know otherwise, of course, because they have seen this experiment fail time and again.
This is not a problem specific to China. England, for example, has hired two foreign coaches in recent years and both contracts ended prematurely in disappointing circumstances. But the contrasts in China are that much larger.
Camacho has undoubtedly had a very successful career, but in China coaches are operating on a very different plane. The professional attitudes and training methods taken for granted overseas can be entirely alien to Chinese players. Unless a coach truly understands the realities of the job at hand – and really grasps the enormous differences between a coaching job in China and elsewhere – the results will be all too predictable.
Foreign coaches often have many new ideas, but it can be too much to take on board all at once for players who can also be resistant to change. In the end, it often boils down to one thing: Time. Changes do not happen overnight, and a full overhaul of a club or a system takes years – even without the red tape in China which further hinders the process. But an upturn in results is expected within months, or even weeks, and that simply is not feasible.
Again, this is not specific to China. Sir Alex Ferguson's reign at Manchester United famously started very hesitantly. In China, he would likely have been sacked decades before he eventually retired. But given time to change the culture of the club, the success was evident.
Soccer fans in China have long lost patience, and with good reason. They have seen this soap opera play out time and again, while the CFA can only offer empty words. But until those in charge implement some real grassroots changes, there is every reason to believe that this farcical cycle will continue.
Mark Dreyer has 15 years experience in sports journalism and worked for Sky Sports, Fox Sports and AP Sports. He has covered the last three Olympic Games and has been based in China since 2007. He can be contacted at dreyermark@gmail.com
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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