SHANGHAI (AFP) - Marcello Lippi says he will quit for a second time if he fails to guide ambitious China to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The 71-year-old Italian World Cup winner is back as national coach just four months after leaving.
But with qualification for Qatar 2022 beginning in September, the under-pressure veteran has little time to lose if he is to inspire China to only their second World Cup appearance.
"Will we qualify for the Qatar World Cup? I don't know, we will try, we will make every effort," the former Juventus, Inter Milan, Napoli and Italy coach told broadcaster CCTV5.
"If we can do it, that's great, if we can't, I will embrace all the Chinese and go home," he added in his first substantive comments since his return was confirmed last week.
"This is work, this is life - using all passion, all enthusiasm, all experience to try to do one thing, but the final result may be success or it may be failure."
The Italian, who was speaking ahead of Friday's (June 7) home friendly with the Philippines, said that he had declined to extend his contract with the Chinese Football Association (CFA) after his side lost 3-0 to Iran in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup in January.
Â
Â
Â
Â
But Lippi remained popular in China, where there was an acceptance that he did not have a good-enough squad to progress further.
"After staying at home for three or four months, I realised that China's appreciation and expectation of me was so important so I decided to give something back," he explained in the interview broadcast on Monday.
"I have not made a long-term commitment because it makes no sense - our goal is Qatar in 2022."
Guangzhou Evergrande coach Fabio Cannavaro, Lippi's captain when Italy won the 2006 World Cup, succeeded his mentor earlier this year.
But Cannavaro lost both matches in charge of the national side and stepped down.
Separately, the Asian Football Confederation confirmed on Tuesday (June 4) that China will stage the 2023 Asian Cup, a possible dry-run for hosting a World Cup, after all the other countries in the running dropped their bids.
It will mark the second time China has hosted the quadrennial continental tournament, after the 2004 edition when they finished runners-up to Japan.
"It's great for China, a great honour for China to be hosts of the 2023 Asian Cup. We are ready and confident of staging a successful tournament," Chinese Fifa Council member Du Zhaocai said at the AFC Extraordinary Congress in Paris.
Last month, South Korea abandoned its bid to stage the tournament, leaving China as the sole candidate with a free run to become hosts.
Thailand and Indonesia had also previously expressed interest in hosting the 2023 event, but had dropped out earlier.
China's football-fan President Xi Jinping has stated his aim for the country to stage the showpiece World Cup one day and wants the country to become a major force in the sport.
China, who have qualified only once for the World Cup in 2002, are ranked a lowly 74th in the world in Fifa's rankings, sandwiched between Panama and Cape Verde.
This year's Asian Cup in the UAE was expanded to 24 nations for the first time, with Qatar winning the final 3-1 against Japan.
Son Heung-min is one of the most popular footballers in the world. A superstar in Asia and beloved in Europe, the 26-year-old Tottenham forward is at the top of his game right now with 16 goals on
No more tears for Son Heung-min as Spurs star eyes Champions
LONDON (REUTERS) - Investigators searching for a lost plane carrying Premier League soccer player Emiliano Sala said on Wednesday (Jan 30) an underwater search would begin after they found two
Football Extras: Plane cushions found in search for missing
Ajax Amsterdam took a massive stride towards a first Champions League final for 23 years as Donny van de Beek's early goal earned a 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of their semi-final.
Football: Van de Beek gives Ajax edge over Spurs in semi
Villa into playoff final after shootout win over West Brom 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Aston Villa beat Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion 4-3 on penalties to reach the Championship playoff final on
Aston Villa into play-off final after shootout win at West Brom
Check out our range of Claw Hammers products at your local Bunnings Warehouse. Visit us today for the widest range of Hammers & Wreckers products.
Hammer Punch Set Sold Direct - eBay | Fantastic prices on Hammer Punch Set
AD
Vincent Kompany. He works with the homeless, is incredibly bright and even Manchester United admire him City's captain marvel is very good Kompany. dailymail.co.uk - Jack Gaughan. Vincent Kompany has such presence at Manchester City that a hush descends on the dressing room when he chooses to speak. There is real weight behind …
Manchester's Homeless - Benefit Gig for Lifeshare Charity
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 07, 2019, with the headline 'City in seventh heaven with Rotherham mauling'.
MAN CITY 7-0 ROTHERHAM | VLOG | SEVENTH HEAVEN! - youtube.com
Manchester United goalkeeper was in sensational form for The Red Devils against Everton at Old Trafford on Saturday. The hosts secured a 1-0 win over The Toffees, hence reviving their top four hopes. But Luis Van Gaal's side risked losing the slim
Manchester :: Football News :: Live Soccer TV
Arsenal start 2019 on the front foot with 4-1 thrashing of Fulham. The lively New Year's Day encounter nearly saw the hosts start 2019 how they left 2018: with a defensive collapse.
Manchester Unite :: Football News :: Live Soccer TV
Australian female footballers to earn same base pay as men the base annual pay for players in the W-League was hiked 33 percent to Aus$16,344 (US$11,393). Australia is not the only nation
Qatar punished unwelcoming hosts United Arab Emirates 4-0 in a politically charged clash marred by disgraceful crowd behaviour on Tuesday to reach their first Asian Cup 2019 final. The Qataris
Qatar thrash UAE amid ugly scenes to reach Asian Cup final
Former Liverpool winger John Barnes believes they can still win the Premier League and urged calm amid growing criticism of Jurgen Klopp's approach. Four draws in the last six league matches have
Danke | By Mario Götze
Man City's De Bruyne upbeat as he bids to put injuries behind him Premier League / 21 December 2018, 09:00am / Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne and teammates celebrate a goal against Leicester City.
Man City's De Bruyne upbeat as he bids to put injuries behind
Almoez Ali brushed off a row about his eligibility to scoop an Asian Cup winner's medal and smash a 23-year-old scoring record on Friday, confirming that Qatar have a potential star in the making
Almoez Ali Qatari goal machine targets Europe move before
0 comments:
Post a Comment