Trophy tour gives China bittersweet whiff of World Cup

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

BEIJING, Mar 15 (Reuters) Chinese soccer fans got a taste of World Cup fever today when soccer's most prestigious trophy went on display at a university in Beijing.

But sight of the coveted prize drew mixed emotions from still-disappointed backers of the national side.

''I am getting a closer look at the Cup than any Chinese footballer,'' Jia Jia, an 18-year-old student told Reuters as she attended the event at Peking University.

China's national team failed to qualify for this summer's World Cup finals, a crushing blow to fans already dismayed by a string of scandals in the country's top professional league.

''I prefer watching European leagues rather than any domestic games,'' said Zheng Wei, 26. ''Every time I go back to Chinese football, it disappoints me more.'' The China leg of the World Cup trophy's tour started on Monday, the first time gold statue has been in the country.

The fans who turned out on Wednesday said they hoped it would not be the last, one way or another.

''I wish I could live long enough to see China host a World Cup,'' said Jin Zhiwei, 60, a soccer enthusiast for more than four decades who still watches the struggling Chinese Super League every week.

''I am quite confident it will come here some day,'' he added after posing for a photo, a wide smile on his face, with the cup.

Some Chinese see hope in their emerging young players. The national under-17 team made the quarter-finals of the World Youth Championship for the first time in 20 years in 2005 while the hosting of the 2008 Olympics will give a boost to their under-23 team.

REUTERS AY PM1629

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