The Chinese national soccer team arrived in Rome January 6. And there they will have a friendly match with Lazio, last champion team of Italian Series A, in the Olympic Stadium on January 9.

Milutinovic, head coach of the Chinese team, hoped that the Chinese players would get more experiences from the match. We've already made our strength felt since we are invited to attend the closing ceremony of their centenary celebration. However, the match will still be a hard job for us because even the Lazio substitutes are very strong too, he said.

After the friendly match, the Chinese team will go to Iran and the US for more contests. According to Milutinovic, the players are not only expected to gain more experiences, but also to get themselves adapted to whichever circumstances that might occur by playing more games abroad.

As learned from Yang Chen, who arrived there earlier, although it is a friendly match, it will still be a brilliant one as Lazio is a famous and strong team in the world.

(People's Daily 01/08/01)