No World Cup (again), no Olympics (again) - Chinese soccer is starting over (again), Tang Zhe reports.

You can find "Made in China" almost anywhere in the world. International soccer is one glaring exception. Things began falling apart in June, when the Under-23 team was booted from qualifying for the Summer Olympics by Oman. The women's team was then eliminated at home in September, erasing all hope of a Chinese soccer presence in London next year.

China's soccer team (in red) walks off after losing to Iraq, 1-0, at the Asian Zone World Cup qualifier on Nov 11 in Doha, Qatar. It was the latest setback for a team that's had little recent success. [Photo/China Daily]

Two months later, the men's senior team ended Chinese fans' last hope with an early exit from qualifying for the 2014 Brazil World Cup.

This is the third consecutive time China will stand outside the last round of Asia qualifiers.

Under coach Gao Hongbo, China became one of the five seeds in Asia with impressive friendly results, avoiding an early clash with rivals Japan, South Korea, Iran and Australia.

However, the team lost three games against Jordan and Iraq, and only managed two victories against Singapore under new coach Jose Antonio Camacho.

The team's exit puts Camacho at the center of debate.

Is the Spaniard, who replaced Gao in August under the sponsorship of Dalian Wanda Group, good enough to be called world-class?

Should the Chinese Football Association (CFA) and Wanda be blamed for changing coaches at the wrong time?

Camacho rarely talks to Chinese media due to the language barrier, but the CFA and team captain Li Weifeng said the coach shouldn't take the blame and should have more time to develop a program.

"Chinese soccer was on the wrong path over the past 10 years. We always made mistakes, and when others were moving forward with great strides, we were retreating. This is the reality," Li said. "We can't blame Camacho for the loss, we didn't give him enough time (to prepare for the matches), and it's unfair to criticize him.

"Since we have invited the coach to China, we should be patient and believe in him. Obviously, Chinese players' understanding of soccer strategy is of a certain distance from the coach's requirements it's just like if you asked a Chinese table tennis coach to teach a Zambian team.