China-Portugal Ties: Portuguese coaches help nurture new Chinese talent

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02:29

We head now to eastern China, where Portuguese coaches have become a regular feature at football schools for kids in Shandong Province. Our reporter Wang Mengzhen went there to find out more.

After years of disappointment on the international stage, China is trying to cultivate a new generation of footballing talent. Despite the winter chill in northern China, the under-17 team are doing their morning exercises at Shandong Luneng football school. The Portuguese football veteran Francisco Ramos joined the school as head coach six months ago.

FRANCISCO SILVEIRA RAMOS HEAD COACH, SHANDONG LUNENG TAISHAN FOOTBALL SCHOOL "I'd like to see players with 10 or 11 years old and follow his way of doing the evolution, and some years later see him in high performance."

Ramos had more than 30 years' experience in youth training before he came to China, having cultivated future stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo.

FRANCISCO SILVEIRA RAMOS HEAD COACH, SHANDONG LUNENG TAISHAN FOOTBALL SCHOOL "But sometimes people think there is standard to build fine players. That's a big difference between China and other countries including my country. To have good players, we must give them some freedom. We must give them some personal way of doing."

The kids here have plenty of respect for Portuguese football stars and their coaches.

"We've learned the footwork, movement from Portuguese coaches. Also teamwork and good communication."

A rich international experience at a young age has given them plenty of confidence.

"Are players in other countries better than China?"

"No, we don't think so."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because of us, Chinese football has hope."

Luneng is China's leading youth football training center, and it's developed a tradition of bringing in coaches from overseas - especially powerhouse like Portugal and Brazil.

TAN ZHAOHUI, VICE PRESIDENT SHANDONG LUNENG TAISHAN FOOTBALL SCHOOL "First, we really appreciate their passion and professional attitude towards coaching. They have set up specific programs and guidelines for our players at various stages. Second, almost all our players above 15 have played games in Portugal, which helped them improve a lot."

WANG MENGZHEN WEIFANG "That's why schools like Luneng will continue international sports exchanges for Chinese football and its exciting future. WMZ, CGTN, Weifang, Shandong province."