Chinese President Xi Jinping is a sports enthusiast who enjoyed playing football and volleyball when younger and actively takes part in swimming and mountaineering.

He has made a number of public comments related to Chinese football to express his support and has high hopes for the national team.

He said it is the unpredictable nature of sport that attracts him and his passion for, and participation in, sports has made him more down-to-earth, winning a lot of fans inside China and around the world.

Then Chinese vice-president Xi Jinping, center, receives a Los Angeles Lakers jersey signed by Kobe Bryant and a jersey bearing David Beckham's signature. Beckham, left, and Lakers star Magic Johnson presented the jerseys when Xi was watching a National Basketball Association game in Los Angeles during his visit to the United States on Feb 17, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]