Can Cannavaro instill some pride in the national team?

SOME MEDIA OUTLETS have reported that Fabio Cannavaro, coach of the Guangzhou Evergrand club, has been appointed coach of Chinese national team. China Daily reporter Li Yang comments:

These reports may not be accurate, as the Chinese Football Association's news release on Friday said that Cannavaro will act as coach of the "China national training team" for the China Cup. In contrast, one year ago, the CFA's official announcement for the same event said that Marcello Lippi－who quit the job in January after China was eliminated by Iran in a quarterfinal of the AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates－had been appointed as the coach of the "China national team".

Since January the CFA has been looking for candidates to take the job. Although Cannavaro told the media that he is happy to take the job, the Italian is apparently not yet officially the coach of the Chinese national team. China, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Uruguay will compete for the China Cup this year, which will be held from March 21 to 25 in Nanning, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, and it is believed the CFA regards the cup games as a test of Cannavaro's ability.

As manager of Guangzhou Evergrand, Cannavaro should be familiar with the Chinese national training team, among whom eight players come from that Guangzhou club.

But none of the games in the China Cup will be easy, especially given the Chinese players' desire to protect themselves while playing for their country. They are simply afraid of getting injured and losing their wellpaid positions in their clubs. Which Lippi said showed a poor sense of responsibility and national pride when talking to the media after China's defeat in the Asian Cup. If Cannavaro cannot solve the issue, he will likely share the fate of his predecessor.

The CFA has always been prudent in picking a national team coach, but coaches from Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Serbia have all failed and quit the job before Lippi. And after the Chinese clubs obtained big investment in the late 1990s, playing for money has become the main cause of the national team's nightmare performances. Some talented players would rather play at home where they can earn more money rather than proving their abilities in more testing foreign leagues.

Hopefully, Cannavaro can prove his value in his enrollment exam, and bring some refreshing changes to the Chinese team's performance.