Ratomir Dujkovic presents a press conference in Beijing on Saturday. Oct. 22 - China's National Olympic soccer team will set their sights high at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games under the lead of their new head coach, Ratomir Dujkovic.
Dujkovic signed an agreement with the China Football Association (CFA) on Saturday to take the helm of the Chinese team until the end of the Olympics.
With more than 20 years of experience under his belt, the 60-year-old Serbian led Ghana into the last sixteen of the German World Cup earlier this year. He said he is pleased to be China's coach and hopes to bring fresh blood to Chinese soccer.
"It's a great challenge because I have an opportunity to bring something to the country. China was recently 103rd in the world rankings, while Ghana is in the top 30. But in every country I have worked, I have moved the team between 25 and 30 places up the rankings," he said.
With less than two years to go before the 2008 Olympics, Dujkovic is confident he can lead the Chinese team to new heights in the Games.
"You have material, and now you have a successful coach, and together we can make very good results. I believe that we can make the target, which is the top four in Olympic Games. We have enough time to prepare a very good team,” he said.
According to the CFA, Dujkovic will watch China's friendly match against Japan next Wednesday, before coaching the team for their match against Cameroon in November.