Bora Milutinovic has taken four teams to the World Cup, but his task of leading China to the 2002 finals is surely his toughest. He must overcome cultural and language barriers and a history of failure.

The years may pass and the countries may change, but the wily ways of Bora Milutinovic do not.

“Is not important which passport you have,” he said recently when asked by a reporter of his nationality. “What is important is how you feel.”

Right now, he’s feeling a bit of pressure. Milutinovic faces a burden he has never borne before: That of earning qualification for a nation steeped in failure.

In the most populous nation in the world (1.3 billion), fans adore Manchester United and Inter Milan and Brazil yet strafe their own team when it falters.

During his recent return to the United States as head coach of the Chinese national team, Milutinovic didn’t disappoint those who thought a year in Beijing might have altered the man or his methods. Not to worry.

Milutinovic still speaks in riddles, still flashes an endearing smile – and still relies on charm and chuckles to slip through tricky situations, like press conferences.

And he still has his job, although a 4-0 loss to Iran and a 2-1 defeat to the U.S. in January have more than a few critics calling for his ouster.

In fending off those critiques, he’s thrown up the defenses quite familiar to U.S. fans: Results in preparation games are not important; play will improve when all his players are available

It was all vintage Bora. The man who speaks at length but says little hasn’t lost his touch.

BORA THE TEACHER. “Perfect. I don’t understand nothing,” he replies to a question of how he communicates with his players. What he didn’t say is his lack of Chinese fluency also allows him to ignore much of the criticism.

For the record, Milutinovic has an interpreter with him to communicate with the players. A few of them, such as Crystal Palace defender Fan Zhiyi, speak some English. Another of his languages is Italian, which midfielder Ma Mingyu is presumably learning while he sits on the bench at Serie A club Perugia.

“I speak in Spanish,” says Milutinovic, who still maintains homes in Mexico City and Southern California but lives in a Beijing apartment. “My interpreter, who is very good, he speak Spanish and Chinese. My impression is they understand the vision – what they need to do. To play and enjoy the game.”

His predecessor, former Colorado Rapids coach Bob Houghton, got the ax late in 1999 after China failed to qualify for the 2000 Olympics. Houghton had signed on to become the national team coach in 1998 and didn’t want the Olympic job; it was forced upon him by the China Football Association (CFA).

Houghton suspected at the time of his Olympic “appointment” he was being set up. He was right.

“He only had a short time with the team,” says midfielder Li Ming, 28, through an interpreter. “He didn’t have enough time to understand each player. He was a good coach, but the players could not take what he was trying to teach us.”

Of Milutinovic, Li says, “He understands the weak points of the team. This coach has a lot of experience. Of each player, he can see the weak point and the good point. He knows how the players think. He wants us to enjoy the game as we play the game.”

The Milutinovic message of enjoyment seems to have gotten through to the Chinese players. Whether they can assimilate the rest of his baroque preachings and transform them into success won’t be known for several months, when they begin World Cup qualifying.

‘BLACK MINUTES.’ China’s previous qualifying campaigns are all marred by failure, highlighted by periods of collapse referred to as “black minutes.”

Isolationist policies dictated by the Communist Party kept China out of international soccer competitions until the late 1970s. It didn’t enter Asian World Cup qualifying play until the preliminaries for Spain ’82.

During China’s previous visit to the United States in 1992, several players and coaches cited examples. One of the most glaring was a 1985 loss to feeble Hong Kong that triggered rioting.

A string of coaches, both foreign and domestic, has tried unsuccessfully to forge a team of sufficient physical and psychological strength to qualify.

In the qualifiers for France ’98, China fell in its opener at home to Iran, 4-2, despite leading, 2-0, in the 55th minute on goals by Fan and Li.

“We just made some mistakes,” said Li. “That is always the problem.”

A 1-0 win over Kuwait in its last game left China in third place, one point short of a playoff spot.

At the Asian Cup in Lebanon last October, China got to the semifinals but lost to Japan and South Korea to wind up fourth. In its semifinal against Japan, China fell behind, 1-0, on a Fan own goal, rallied to take a 2-1 lead, then gave up two goals in eight minutes to lose, 3-2.

“My hope is we play good soccer, to be very competitive,” says Milutinovic. “To go to World Cup is what I prefer. Korea now is better than us. We must accept. But we need to prepare in the best way.”

Milutinovic caused a furor by leaving Beijing to spend Christmas with his family. The national team was in training at the time.

“I would hope we would respect each other’s customs,” he said.

Left unsaid was the suspicion the CFA may be paving the way for his departure if results don’t improve. China plays in a tournament in Thailand in February.

THE PLAYER POOL. Only once, in 1988, has China qualified for the Olympics. It has competed in several U-17 and U-20 world championships, but none of its teams has reached a semifinal.

The CFA sent a group of players to Brazil for training in 1993 and reaped some benefits when its under-20 team qualified for the 1997 World Youth Championship in Malaysia. It lost to the United States, 1-0, and failed to advance, but several members of the current national team – Sun Jihai, Li Tie, Li Weifing – played in Malaysia.

The Chinese League, formed in 1994, features mostly unknown Europeans and South Americans as its foreign allotment, and its standard of play is lower than the J-League or Korea’s K-League.

Li Ming, who plays for champion Dalian Shide, believes the league is helping develop Chinese players.

“The players have to play at a higher level, and we have many different coaches,” said Li. “I think we have improved a lot. The level is professional, not like a friendly game.”

Milutinovic was without five European-based players for the recent U.S. game. Another player – Hao Haidong – was unavailable because of injury.

Hao, a temperamental striker with a history of suspensions, also didn’t play in the Asian Cup. The CFA suspended him from national team play for charging at a referee’s assistant in a league match, but it allowed him to return to his club.

Milutinovic is grooming a few young players. Striker Qu Bo is only 19 and midfielder Shao Jiayi is 20.

Qu scored a fluky goal against the Americans, and Shao unhinged the defense with his dribbles and runs up the left side.

“All the people in China hope the coach can bring the Chinese team to a new level,” says Li Ming.

by Soccer America senior editor Ridge Mahoney