体坛英语新闻：Perrin ends doomed coaching stint in China

BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Frenchman Alain Perrin has a Chinese translation of his family name same as a plant with fragrant flowers. His trip to China, however, could hardly be described with such a pleasant word.

The former Lyon boss stepped down as Chinese national soccer team head coach Friday after nearly two years in charge and his departure has been predicted after China tied Hong Kong, China 0-0 in November last year and were just theoretically alive for next stage of Asian Zone qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.

Perrin will leave, as most of his seven predecessors, with still some time on his contract of which details the Chinese Football Association (CFA) refused to disclose. The only one of the eight foreign coaches who served out his contract was Bora Milutinovic, who took the country to their first and only World Cup finals in 2002 in South Korea and Japan.

While in China, Milutinovic was adept at dealing with people around him or handling "Guanxi" in Chinese terms which kept him on a good term with the CFA, the players and the Chinese media.

This may partly explain why Perrin was less popular here as he was described as "stubborn" for player selection or tactics.

Actually, Perrin's stay in China had bee doomed from the very beginning when the CFA was bombarded to select a coach "without outstanding achievements", as Hangzhou Daily put it when Perrin was hired in February 2014.

Perrin had previously coached at clubs such as Marseille, Portsmouth, Saint-Etienne and Lyon, which he led to its seventh consecutive Ligue 1 title in 2007 but his lack of national team experience drew doubts from fans and media.

The CFA praised Perrin in a statement on Friday for his hard work and strict management style, and for bringing new life to the team. And the 59-year-old did have his moment in China.

Under Perrin, China won all three of its group stage games in the Asian Cup to reach knock-out round for the first time in 11 years, before being eliminated by eventual winner Australia in January last year.

Back to Beijing, fans weathered sub-zero temperatures to welcome their "hero coach" and "the crowd were so excited to see Perrin that they accidentally pushed Perrin's wife away from the coach", as 163.com reporter Long Hao observed on Jan. 24.

The honeymoon of Perrin and the Chinese, however, was shortlived as the team slumped in the World Cup Asian Zone qualifiers.

Now China ranked third behind Qatar and Hong Kong of China in the group in a 40-team qualifying stage and the chances of entering the next phase are just in theory.

With Perrin leaving, Chinese national team will be back to square one for next World Cup circle and the task of reaching the second World Cup finals is surely a painstaking one.

As a profound soccer reform plan was introduced early last year, social investments poured into the most popular sport of the country and the Chinese professional league has been studded with world-class coaches and players.

The changes have yet to influence the national team which stand a mediocre 82nd in the world, just behind Libya.