Sun Wen would trade them all for an Olympic gold medal, but the personal awards she has gathered over recent years make a most impressive collection. Last year was the best of all. The star Chinese forward received the Golden Ball trophy at the 1999 World Cup after scoring seven goals in six games. Later, she was named the International Football Federation's Women's Player of the Year. She followed up this year by being named Asian Football Player of the Year, the first woman ever to receive the honour. Sun narrowly has missed out on getting her gold medals, too. In both the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and the 1999 World Cup, the United States beat China for gold in close games. In May this year, Sun finally managed to give China a major psychological boost with a penalty kick that beat the United States in a game at Canberra, Australia. Sun played just behind the two forwards at Atlanta, her favourite role, but coach Ma Yuanan drops her back to midfield at times to take advantage of her tackling and play-making skills. A composed player who is a published poet away from the game, she possesses a deft touch for passing as well as scoring.