Gao Fengwen passed away at 81

SHENYANG - Gao Fengwen, who led China's football national team at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, died on Tuesday at the age of 81.

Born in Liaoning province in 1939, Gao joined the national football team in 1960 and retired in 1973. He coached the Chinese youth team in 1979 to place second at the Asian Youth Cup in 1982, qualifying for the World Youth Cup in 1983.

Gao took the reins of the Chinese national team in December 1986, leading it to a 2-0 win over Japan in the Olympic Asian Football Qualifiers on October 26, 1987. The following year, China's football made it to the Olympic Games for the first time.

In 1995, he founded the Gao Fengwen Football School in Shenyang, the first private football school in China, which has boasted of footballers such as Chen Tao, Du Zhenyu and Wang Dong.