Young coach full of praise for Lippi

Working with World Cup winning coach Marcello Lippi at Guangzhou Evergrande has given Peng Weiguo a new perspective on coaching.

"I have learned a lot from Lippi. He attaches great importance to training young players," Peng said.

Lippi, the head coach of the Chinese Super League defending champion, freely exchanges his views about training young players, Peng said.

"I am very impressed by his tactics - relying on all players on the field to win a game," Peng said.

As head coach of Guangzhou Evergrande's youth team, Peng has unearthed some young players with the potential to make the senior side.

"We would like to focus on developing those players for the first-tier team and even the national side," Peng said.

For example, Guangzhou-born Tan Jiajun, 19, has been called up by Lippi to train with international stars such as Dario Conca and Muriqui.

"Different from previous coaches, Lippi is confident enough to use young players in games. And I think it will not take much time for Tan to play in the Chinese top league," Peng said.

In the current squad at Guangzhou Evergrande, young players like Tang Dechao, who were sidelined by former coach Lee Jang-soo, have become regular players for Lippi.

"Coaching young players is a real different experience. You must provide them with chances and don't take the results too seriously. It will be a great success for me if a big star rises from my young team in the near future," Peng said.

He also said he hoped more children would turn out to play soccer.

"The number of children registered to play soccer is not big in Guangzhou. That's why the city has been lagging behind since 1997, when Guangzhou Apollo was relegated to the second division," he said.

Gao Feng, a former national team striker, also hopes more parents will allow their children to play soccer.

"As far as I know, there are not many children who are officially registered to play soccer in big cities. Parents are worried about their future if they play soccer at an early age," Gao said.

qiuquanlin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/27/2012 page15)