BEIJING, Jan. 5-- The Chinese men's football team only accepts players who are willing to fight for their country at the expense of their own interests, said newly appointed head coach Li Tie on Sunday. Li, 42, flew to Guangzhou to lead his team's training camp on Sunday after being unveiled to the press in Beijing. "My first goal with my team is very simple, it is to build a team that is good at fighting and well-disciplined," said the former manager of Chinese Super League club Wuhan Zall. "I hope all my players have a strong sense of national honor and are willing to offer all that they have for our country. The national team is not a place where personal interests can be sought," he said. He said he was disappointed when some players snubbed him for personal reasons last time. "When we prepared for the East Asian championships, I made telephone calls to all the players I wanted. Some players told me that they could not go with me. I could not accept that," he said. Li emerged as a possible candidate when he managed China on a temporary basis at last month's East Asian championships. The Chinese team demonstrated positive changes under Li's charge after they lost to Japan and South Korea before beating their Hong Kong compatriots, according to CFA technical director Chris Van Puyvelde. "What I saw of the team that it is a compact team, not all the time, but in general you could see that was a very compact team, and that for me is the first step that you have to do in the future," said the former technical chief of the Belgian Football Association. |