Talking Balls: Ding's Derby Ding-Dong & Media Humiliates Child Footballers
"Let's start at Old Trafford, and a debut goal from Neil Webb." These were the opening words on Goals Galore 1989/90 - the season that Manchester City famously humiliated Manchester United 5-1 at Maine Road. Fittingly, Talking Balls starts this week at Old Trafford in the week in which United were humbled 6-1 at home. Snooker whizz Ding Junhui was at the seven-goal thriller and his reaction to the game on Sina Weibo sparked internet fury. Chinese reds thought that the cuesmith was being sarcastic and Ding wasn't standing for it. Read all about it here on China Daily but don't miss the bit where a friend of Ding's says that the star "loves Wayne Rooney very much."
Wild East Football's coverage of football in China is consistently good (and we're very happy to have Brandon offer us his match reports for Beijing Guoan home games). They have excelled themselves this time with this thoughtful article on Goal.com on why Guangzhou's money might be good for Chinese football and by producing this list of foreign footballers with Chinese blood. Some you'll know and some you won't but the seven of them might get a result against Team China. They could do with a 'keeper though.
Beijing's schoolkids could have done with a goalkeeper when they took on Dynamo this week. The visiting Russians, all under 12 years old, took on Beijing's 8-to-13-year-olds. Game one ended 11-0 to the visitors against Beijing Ditan Park Primary School while game two was a more creditable 7-3 for the Russians over Nanhudongyuan Primary School. China's battle with hating losing and loving football now has a new focus and negative comment has been widespread. China Daily's got a particularly ridiculous take on the situation. It includes such gems as:
- "Beijing Ditan Primary School should never have agreed to play as it was destined to end in defeat"
- "These child players are probably Russia's future national team players who undergo intense training. It was unfair, immoral and stupid to expect a few kids from two small schools in Beijing to win over this team."
- "It would be similar to inviting the youth academy players of Manchester United or AC Milan to play a school side of paraplegics."
To put the game into perspective, some children lost to some other children. That's part of sport. Kids need to learn that you don't always win. They need to enjoy the taking part. If Chinese footballers are to improve then they will have to do so the way that everyone else has done so since football began: they need to consistently play against people that are better than themselves. Let's just hope that this media scrutiny has not made any of these youngsters fall out of love with the beautiful game.
With the London Olympics getting ever closer it's not surprising that the previous host city is coming under the media spotlight. Beijing's second time in the sun is not all positive, not when Paul Newman (not that one) writes in the Independent of Beijing's Olympic venues as White Elephants. He's not wrong, is he?
The NBA is still mired in its salary dispute. That could be good news for the CBA, but only if they grab the opportunity. China Sports Review has offered the CBA a seven-point plan. If the CBA gets more men like Stephon Marbury, who has been riding the subway to work, that would be a start. The New York Times has an article on another giant in the game, or recently out of it: they take a look at how China will cope without Yao on court.
From one Chinese sporting superstar to another. Your weekly update on Li Na is brief this week. She was beaten (6-2, 6-2) by
And finally are the two words that mean you've done the right thing getting to the last paragraph of any news roundup. In this case it's the honesty of Shenzhen that is the reason. The city has refused to take part in the Guangdong Farmers' Games as they don't have any farmers. Well done, Shenzhen. You can read more here.
Photos: Ding Junhui's Weibo & CRI
