Sweden's Marika Domanski-Lyfors has been appointed as head coach
of the Chinese women's soccer team. She will take on her duties
after the upcoming all-star game in Wuhan, Hubei Province.
Domanski-Lyfors and the China Football Association (CFA) inked a
contract last month set to last until 2008, and making her the
inaugural foreigner to ever coach the Chinese women's national
team.
For the moment, caretaker coach Wang Haiming remains in charge
whilst the 47-year-old Swede closes her business at home.
Domanski-Lyfors has a proven track record at the summit of
international competition having led Sweden to the 2003 World Cup
final before losing to Germany. After nine years heading up the
Swedish outfit, she stepped down in 2005 although she remained in
charge of the under-21 side.
The April 21 all-star game, which will pit World Cup hosts China
against a World XI, will precede the World Cup draw happening the
next day.
Domanski-Lyfors, who will survey the all-star game from the
bench, was confident the "Steel Roses" would quickly regain their
fierce reputation.
"I'm very confident of achieving the task and the Chinese team
has great potential," the Swede said upon her appointment last
month. "I watched their second-half against Sweden during the
Algarve Cup. Although they lost 1-0, the players had some really
good performances."
The Roses discovered the thorns of international competition
after losing all four games of the Algarve cup last month,
including a calamitous 4-1 defeat to minnows Iceland.
China will host the women's World Cup in September, the last
major sporting event to grace the nation before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. China hopes to use the
opportunity to reverse a downwards trend that has seen the World
Cup runner-ups plummet to 11th.
Domanski-Lyfors may find every fiber of her experience, skill,
knowledge and technique taxed in this job, given the gargantuan
task set by Chinese sports officials desirous to see the squad at
least qualify for the World Cup semi-finals.
(Xinhua News Agency April 19, 2007)
