Lippi's departure signals another tough road ahead

Asian Cup exit leaves national team with more questions than answers

Thursday's crushing 3-0 loss to Iran in the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup underlined the failure of Chinese soccer's big-spending strategy over the past few years.

In addition, the departure of Italian head coach Marcello Lippi, along with the probable retirement of a core of veteran players, points to a continuance of the men's national team program paying the price for neglecting youth development for so long.