Chinese fans, media lay into men's soccer team

By Edwin Chan

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's men's soccer team have come under fire since their early elimination from the Olympic Games this week, a stark contrast to the adulation for other Olympians whether they win or lose.

In newspaper editorials, Internet chatrooms and on blogs, Chinese soccer fans and the media alike are calling the team's performance a "disgrace" and agitating for change.

In an online survey on popular website tom.com on the future of the men's soccer team, nearly 41 percent of 577 respondents said the squad should be dissolved.

Another 17.9 percent thought the team should think deeply about the reasons for their defeat, while nearly a fifth saw the need for fundamental change.

"It should have been a chance for Chinese soccer to be honored, but in the end it was dishonored. What has gone wrong there?" Xinhua quoted former national football captain Fan Zhiyi as saying.

"The FA officials need to reflect upon themselves. Now Chinese soccer is confronted with the biggest ever crisis, our grassroots are withering, our professional league is also spiraling downward and can produce few quality players. Who should be responsible for all these mess-ups?"

Chinese football boomed in the late 1990s, culminating with the country's sole appearance to date at the World Cup finals in 2002.

But observers and experts say corruption and the lack of grassroots participation have contributed to the sport's decline in popularity among disillusioned fans and players.

Still, hopes had run high in China that the men's team would make it to the tournament's final four, newspapers said. Instead, they lost two of their three group matches, drew one, and failed to make the cut for the final eight.

The final straw was a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Brazil on Wednesday.

The backlash contrasts sharply with glowing words of praise or consolation heaped on athletes that fail to meet sky-high expectations, such as shooter Du Li, heavily favored to grab the 10m air rifle gold but who cracked under pressure with a below par performance on the Games' opening day.

She went on to win gold in the 50m rifle three positions on Thursday.

Another team never expected to get anywhere near a gold are the men's basketballers, led by NBA star centre Yao Ming.

"Look at our Chinese basketballers," China Youth Daily commentator Ma Lei wrote. "They lost games, but never lost their characters."

(Reporting by Edwin Chan and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Nick Macfie)