Former China\’s women\’s volleyball team head coach Cai Bin had lost control of his players, an insider told the Southeast Express.
"The head coach lacked strategy and the players were not even listening to him. How could you expect a team to be successful in such circumstances?" a former national team player, who was reluctant to give her name, told the paper recently.
"The team gave everyone the impression of being disorderly and it was really very depressing."
After one year and two days in charge, Cai stepped down last Thursday following a series of disappointing results, including losses to Japan twice and to Thailand for the first time in the Asian Championships final.
Having won five consecutive world titles in the 1980s, the women\’s volleyball team was renowned for its strong will and dogged defense and was considered the embodiment of national spirit and thus enjoyed great popularity in China.
The team reached another peak, under the guidance of Cai\’s predecessor Chen Zhonghe, when it won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
However, Chen was edged out by the then 43-year-old Cai in March 2009, which aroused great controversy among fans.
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