THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
GUANGZHOU, China — Marcello Lippi has been hired to coach big-spending Chinese Super League team Guangzhou Evergrande and plans to bring an Italian style to the club immediately.
Evergrande released a statement Thursday saying it had hired the World Cup-winning Italian coach until November 2014. Lippi later appeared at a news conference broadcast live on Chinese television to discuss his appointment.
"My arrival should be a big deal and the most important thing in China today," Lippi said in comments translated from Italian. "I will start my work today, the same way I did in Juventus and Inter Milan. The most important thing is to bring the Italian football concepts to China."
The 64-year-old Lippi replaces South Korean manager Lee Jang-soo, who took Guangzhou to promotion and then the 2011 Chinese Super League title. Evergrande also is the only Chinese club through to the last 16 of the Asian Champions League.
Lippi led Juventus to five Italian titles over the 1990s and 2000s and Italy to the 2006 World Cup title. He stood down from the Italian job after winning the World Cup but was reappointed in 2008 and guided Italy to another World Cup, quitting again after the Azzurri’s shocking first-round exit.
Lippi said he’d been watching Evergrande’s matches for several weeks, including the Chinese Super League and the Asian Champions League.
"I almost know all the players now," he said. "I am glad to accept the invitation from Evergrande."
Guangzhou is owned by Xu Jiayin, a Chinese billionaire who has made his fortune in real estate and renamed the club after his company when he bought the team.
At a news conference, Xu said his goal is to make the club a continental powerhouse, and that Lippi is part of his grand scheme.
The club won the Chinese Super League last year, and also broke the Chinese transfer spending record to sign Argentine playmaker Dario Conca.
"We need everybody to be passionate and confident about it," Lippi said. "I promise to work with my utmost passion and professional knowledge."
Cheng Gong, a fan of Beijing Guo’an, applauded Xu’s ambition to boost the profile of Chinese football by spending the money to bring in Lippi.
"No matter whether Lippi came to Evergrande for money or for passion, it is a good thing for Chinese football — at least in the short term," Cheng said. "More people will participate in the sport when there are winning teams."
Chinese football has long been mired in corruption and underachievement. Lippi’s arrival is further evidence, however, of the drive to use the country’s burgeoning financial strength to emerge from its lowly status at both club and international level, where it lags far behind neighbours South Korea and Japan.
Shanghai Shenhua made global headlines at the start of this year by signing former France international Nicolas Anelka, who has since been promoted into a major coaching role. Shanghai has also been linked with a move for Anelka’s former Chelsea teammate Didier Drogba.