Cannavaro quits as Lippi rumors swirl

An increasing sense of farce is enveloping China's national soccer team after Fabio Cannavaro quit as caretaker head coach on Sunday night amid speculation that his predecessor, Marcello Lippi, could return to the job in which he underwhelmed.

Cannavaro only managed two games in charge, both limp losses at last month's invitational China Cup, after controversially taking the role in addition to his job as head coach of Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande.

Further confusion was caused by the nature of Cannavaro's appointment, with both he and the Chinese Football Association not disclosing the basic terms of his contract and refusing to confirm if it was as it appeared to be - a short-term trial.

Now the former Ballon d'Or winner, 45, has exited the role with as much mystery as he entered it.

"Out of respect for the great country of China, I think it's necessary to announce that I have decided to give up my job as head coach of the Chinese men's football team," Cannavaro wrote on Weibo on Sunday night.

"I really appreciate that the Chinese Football Association and Evergrande want me to coach the two most important teams in China at the same time, but dual duties distract me from my family.

"As head coach of Evergrande, I want to pour all my passion and expertise as always. I will do my best to help China's young players keep growing and improving, and help our club achieve good results in the Chinese Super League and the Asian Champions League.

"I wish China's men's football team good luck in the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup."

Cannavaro's dual club-and-country role never convinced fans and his resignation sparked heated debate online, with related topics viewed over 8 million times by Monday morning.

Reports from Italy that Lippi might revive his role as China's head coach added extra intrigue to the conjecture of who will steer the squad through qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

With the campaign kicking off in September, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the CFA has contacted Lippi over a possible return, while tuttomercatoweb.com claims the 71-year-old has been offered a four-year contract.

Neither the CFA nor Lippi has commented on the reports.

Lippi resigned after a 3-0 loss to Iran in the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup in January, bringing to an end of a largely lackluster two-year spell in charge that will mostly be remembered for another failed World Cup qualification campaign.

The 2006 World Cup winner also drew criticism for failing to nurture new talent, with his Asian Cup squad the oldest in the tournament with an average age of 30.

On the plus side, the last-16 win over Thailand at the Asian Cup was China's first victory in the knockout stage of an international tournament in over 14 years.

After quitting, Lippi said he turned down the chance to renew his contract with the CFA.

"The Chinese Football Association has offered me a new four-year contract, but it's time for me to return after six years away from home," he said at the time.

"I hope I'm leaving an important legacy behind. I will not coach an Italian club or work for any club, but if another national team that is not far away like China wants to hire me, I'll consider it."

Lippi was subsequently persuaded to continue working with the national team as a consultant to assist Cannavaro, his former captain on Italy's 2006 World Cup-winning squad.

While the fans might have been unsure about his reign, China's captain Zheng Zhi believes Lippi made the best of what was at his disposal.

"No coach can eradicate all the problems," the Evergrande veteran told China Central Television in March.

"Lippi left a great legacy for the team. He was very confused as to why some Team China players could perform so well in the Chinese Super League and not for their country. I said that it's because of the huge pressure.

"The Iran match at the Asian Cup was the first time I saw him so angry in the locker room. He was really disappointed. He was very genuine to the players. He just gave us advice instead of attributing blame."