CHINA'S home-grown David Beckham, the charismatic Shanghai Shenhua player Xie Hui, has experienced the highs and lows of professional football. Aubrey Buckingham finds the now retired star in reflective mood about life at the top.

One could not help but be skeptical about meeting "China's David Beckham." While there is no doubting the immense talent of the England legend, the media furore that has dogged "Golden Balls" throughout his career in England, Spain, America and now Italy has often detracted from his on-the-pitch performances.

On paper at least, recently retired local superstar Xie Hui appears similar at first glance - the same number 23 shirt, the celebrity wife, the same magnet for local paparazzi looking for a scoop off the field rather than on it. Throw in the high-profile lawsuits and heart-wrenching injuries that Xie has suffered throughout his term and one would assume the Shanghai native has emulated the celebrity status of the English superstar down to a tee.

What comes as a surprise, however, is the greatest similarity between the talismanic footballers - their dedication to the sport. Meeting him in Xintiandi last week with his beautiful wife Tong Chenjie in tow, the charisma and style may have been on show, but by the end of the interview, it was apparent that Xie was not only remarkably self-aware but also not interested in buying into his own hype.

Xie was born into the national sports system. His father was a javelin thrower while his mother a high jumper with the national sports academy. Naturally, his parents had track and field aspirations for their darling son, but the young Xie had different interests in mind. "They tried to make me a sprinter but I didn't have the talent or interest," he admitted over a bottle of Voss mineral water (he is a firm believer in bottled water as part of his strict dietary regime). "I was more interested in the ball. I liked to kick everything round."

At that time, the young athlete was privy to the first World Cup broadcast on the Chinese mainland - Spain 82. Xie recalled that the tournament, eventually won by Italy, was "very impressive" and ignited his passion for the sport.

Initially, the Shanghai native found the going tough due to his lack of pace and technical ability. It was only when the lad turned 15 that he was given a chance to play up front - a position he would later make his own and would result in 74 career goals for club and country.

He admitted to a huge slice of fortune that the Chinese Super League was established the same time Xie was ready to turn pro. His first game for Shanghai Shenhua, however, is one he would rather forget. Brought on in the 63rd minute, he was taken off just 10 minutes later even though the team went on to win by a single goal.

"I was not happy with that appearance. Still, I believed I could do something. I'm not technically good and I don't like to dribble, so sometimes (coaches) don't see me often. But later they would see I was someone who could change the result."

Xie's forte lies in being a poacher. Just like his idol Fillipo Inzaghi, who continues to knock them in at AC Milan, Xie likes to prey far up the pitch. Good in the air and with good timing, the lanky center forward scored 25 goals for Shenhua, including the winning goal in the 1998 Cup final against Dalian Wanda, and Shenhua finished second in the league.

It was then that Xie's wanderlust met Europe's calling for Chinese players. His compatriot Chen Yang, who played for Beijing Guo'an, was already a startling success for Bundesliga (Germany's top division) side Eintracht Frankfurt, scoring on his debut against Hamburg and later against Bayer Leverkusen that would finish second that season.

While there was interest for Xie to join Chen in Germany, Shenhua was hungry for success and Frankfurt's US$500,000 bid was turned down. A year later, however, he was finally given a chance to play his football abroad, and he joined second division side Alemannia Aachen.

"I got used to Germany quite fast; almost everybody speaks English," he said with a German twang to his accent. Xie himself is one-eight English, and was exposed to the Western way of life from an early age.

"The food was no problem, and I had my family come out to live with me there. One of my national teammates, Li Jinyu from Shandong, played for Nancy (in France) for a year, and he said he had to talk to himself everyday," he added.

"Still Chinese players should go to Europe, even at lower divisions. They have to sacrifice. I learned a lot in Germany. It changed my point of view. Just as people who want to learn table tennis should come to China, players who want to learn football should go to Europe."

In the early 1990s, Xie's career was flying. He notched 14 goals in his first season with Aachen to become the club's top scorer. His second season, however, saw him traveling back to Asia regularly to play in the World Cup qualifiers and his domestic form hit a slump.

His performances for the national side, on the other hand, were much better, and he netted eight times for China as it qualified for its first ever World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea.

There was bitter disappointment though as coach Bora Milutinovic famously dropped his top scorer for the finals. China was drawn with Costa Rica, Turkey and eventual winner Brazil, and the veteran coach's ultra-defensive 4-5-1 formation meant Xie was deemed surplus to requirements.

"I was quite angry; this is a kind of chance you never have again. It was a big hit as I never thought I would lose this opportunity. I think his decision was wrong (China would go on to crash out after conceding nine goals and scoring none), as the best defense is to attack. When you sit back you have problems as the pitch is too big for 11 players.

"But you have to accept it. Life goes on. Later, when I made my comeback for the national side and scored against the same Costa Rica team that beat us (China won the game 2-0), Milo called and apologized. He congratulated me on my return and said maybe he made the wrong decision then, but it's passed. Now he's a good friend, a good teacher and a good coach. He's a big guy, and has had a lot of successes because of his character and personality."

Xie's career came to a standstill after that let-down. He returned to the Chinese Super League with Chongqing Lifan after a career-threatening knee injury in 2003, but became embroiled in a bitter contract row after the team was relegated. The courts would eventually rule in Xie's favor, but he had already missed out on a lot of football.

He eventually resigned with his home team Shanghai Shenhua in 2005, for whom he has a lot of gratitude for giving him another chance. He repaid the team's faith with 18 goals in 61 appearances before he cast one last throw of the dice with a loan move to Germany, this time with SV Wehen.

Injury eventually got the better of the talent, and on February 28, Xie made his last appearance for the club that shaped him in a 2-1 testimonial victory over sister club Sydney FC in front of 10,000 adoring fans.

Now Xie is media officer and spokesman for the club, handling the baying hounds of the press while providing steady advice for the side's young players. His wealth of experience in the game is ideal for a batch of young prima donnas who tend to make news for all the wrong reasons.

In December, young hotshot Mao Jianqing was arrested and charged for his role in an assault of a man in a local restaurant. Xie believes that young players such as Mao need to understand their role in society. "I have to tell them that as players it's not just about performances on the pitch. It's like being an actor ... you have to sell yourself very carefully," he said.

He is also mindful of criticism of the national team, saying the problem is more fundamental than what fans and the media see on television.

"The national team is the top of the tower, but if you don't have the foundations the top is not strong. The basics are the most important. In Europe, football is like a religion and in their blood; you can smell it everywhere.

"It is not about population but about how many kids are playing. Last year only 1,200 kids in Shanghai registered (for football training); in a city of 20 million this is ridiculous. We need to bring them to the pitch. Here we have just three divisions. In Germany there are 16. Even my lawyer was playing in the 12th division, training on Wednesday and playing on Sunday. This is what they are doing in Europe, and this is why they go to the finals."

Tight-lipped about his personal life, Xie also takes a dig at the media and fair-weather fans. "Fans and media are on the same ship, and the media has to be professional," he said.

"They only write about fancy things and nothing about what happens on the pitch. In Germany, there are magazines with pure tactics and football news, but here we don't have that kind of journalism.

"Journalists in China have to learn more. We have to improve together."