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Au Revoir

Friday, 28th March 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

Ever since Hotpotgate, speculation has been swirling about the firing of Elizabeth Loisel, head coach of China's women's football (soccer) team. And over the past week, domestic media have published conflicting reports about whether she had been fired.

Now, the news that's appeared inevitable since the team's ninth-place finish in the Algarve Cup seems to finally be official: Loisel is out.

Shang Ruihua
Shang Ruihua
And it appears that over the past several days she was as confused as the Chinese sports media. An official from the China Football Association sent her an e-mail earlier this week saying that her services were no longer needed, but she could not immediately determine whether it was an actual official notification. After confirming it, she canceled her plans to return to Beijing this week.

Not surprisingly after the recent instability (seven coaches in four years), the Chinese Football Association is reportedly bringing in a veteran of the Chinese coaching world. Sixty-four-year-old Shang Ruihua (商瑞华) led China's women in the 1991 World Cup, and has been coaching the Zhejiang women's team since last year.

Loisel, former head coach of the French national team, was hired just five months ago. She followed the Swedish Marika Domanski-Lyfors as the team's second foreign coach. But it proved difficult for her to adjust to the Chinese system, where a powerful group of officials exercise great control over the coach and team.

Image: China Daily

Tags: football, Loisel, women's soccer

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