KUALA LUMPUR - A nearly perfect opener against hosts Malaysia may soothe the heavily-pressurized Chinese coach Zhu Guanghu, but he is still in a delicate situation as Chinese media and fans doubt his coaching ability when facing strong teams.

China's soccer team coach Zhu Guanghu speaks during a news conference for the upcoming 2007 AFC Asian Cup soccer tournament in Kuala Lumpur July 9, 2007. [Reuters]

 

Zhu is fully aware of this. He purposely downplayed the significance of the team's 5-1 demolition against a slack Malaysia side, saying that what he really cared was not the five goals, but the one conceded when his players lost concentration and didn't abide by his tactics.

In the post-match press conference, the 58-year-old boss underlined thrice that the goal should not happen, and it was just the beginning of the real battles.

China had come close to the trophy in the last edition of the AFC Asian Cup, but lost to defending champions Japan 3-1 in the final clash before some 65,000 crazy fans. Zhu is now carrying on a task to lead the squad to at least the last four this time, or he will probably step down in any second.

The next match against formidable Iran is to some extent a life-and-death test for the coach. On the one hand, if China loses in rather awkward style, his position may become all the more unsteady; on the other hand, it is the best chance to prove his level to fight against one of the biggest pre-tournament favorites, and a cardiotonic three points after convincing process may strengthen his role greatly.

Zhu has been criticized heavily for his inability in his two-year-reign to implant advanced tactics to the team, always made amateurish changes on match occasions, and was without a clear idea of a fixed formation, which has led to the team's sluggish performance in the Asian Cup qualifiers and the embarrassing defeats by Thailand and the United States at friendlies.

And Ratomir Dujkovic, whose arrival has helped the Chinese Olympic team improve a lot, further exacerbated Zhu's trouble, as the experienced former Ghana coach posed a strong contrast to his Chinese counterpart.

It seems that Zhu is not willing to receive interviews these two days. A team official told Xinhua that Zhu would like to keep silence presently, and only after a good qualifying position was acquired might he say something.