Former Chinese national team coach Bora Milutinovic told Xinhua in an exclusive interview that China needs to learn from the failure of its pursuit of a berth at the this year's World Cup finals.

Milutinovic, who led China's only participation in the joint South Korea - Japan World Cup in 2002, was hired as a youth training consultant by the Chinese Football Association(CFA) last week.

The Serbian coach said he is excited to get back to Chinese soccer, where people called him an "old friend."

"I love China. I'm so happy people remember me as a friend of China. If Chinese soccer needs some help, I'm always ready to provide it," said Milutinovic.

China has exited early from its past four World Cup qualifiers since 2002.

As an adviser to the Qatar 2022 World Cup, Milutinovic has a first - hand appreciation of what it takes to build a winning culture on the difficult road that lies ahead.

"Qatar is doing a great job to prepare for the World Cup, with incredibly new stadiums with air conditioning. The distance between some stadiums is not far, so after watching a match, fans can drive to watch another one the same day.

"I believe it also will be a perfect experience for teams; the only problem is you have to earn the qualification and it won't be easy, you must find the right way to make it, specially during the tough times," he added.

Milutinovic also cited the case of the Chinese U23 national team, which was eliminated in the group stage at the AFC U23 Championship tournament last week.

"I saw the match China lost to Qatar 2 - 1 in AFC U23. The Chinese players are talented, and I hope they learn from this match what they need to do in the future.

"They still have time to learn. Don't be afraid of failure, the most important thing is, just like I always say, attitude. That is everything."

Milutinovic said China can learn from Qatar's experience as it takes steps to improve its youth training system.

The Serbian now is a technical adviser for the Aspire Academy, a talent - spotting operation financed by Qatar's government.

"It's not about how many people or registered players you have. Qatar is a small country, but it has first - rate coaches and facilities for the young players; they have a clear plan, and stick to it," concluded Milutinovic.

XINHUA