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.