Lee bids farewell to Guangzhou Evergrande as Lippi comes

Lee Jang-soo from South Korea, the head coach of Chinese Super League (CSL) champions Guangzhou Evergrande, has to step down as more well-known Marcello Lippi from Italy comes.

"Lippi arrived in Guangzhou at about 2:00 a.m. on Thursday and the club will officially announce the replacement in the afternoon," said a top club official in anonymity.

Guangzhou edged Thai league champions Buriram United 2-1 with Dario Conca's penalty in injury time on Tuesday night, standing out from the Group of Death to the final 16 in AFC champions league.

Lee was told by the club president Liu Yongzhuo that he was sacked, when the team departed Buriram for Guangzhou via Bangkok on Wednesday noon.

The 56-year old South Korean held a team talk later in the Bangkok airport.

"I will no longer be your coach after we return to Guangzhou, you are all professional players, you should continue working hard in your future career," he said.

Lee saw many fans waiting at the airport when he arrived in Guangzhou, holding banners saying "Don't go!", "Guangzhou Thank you!".

Lee hugged his players one by one at the airport for farewell. Some players bursted into tears.

"Together, we have gone through good days and bad days. We have achieved so many glories. You are the best coach. I will never forget you," said the team's right wing back Zhang Linpeng, who joined the team in 2010 along with Lee Jang-Soo's arrival.

The 56-year-old South Korean took rein of the club in 2010, when Guangzhou was relegated from the CSL over a match-fixing scandal. Lee led the team back to top flight and claimed the CSL title in 2011. The team also won the CFA Super Cup in February.

Lee's job was in danger after the team suffered a bitter 2-1 home defeat to Thai league champions Buriram United and surrendered their advantage in late March. Meanwhile, "Lippi Rumor" started to spread out.

However, Lee's team quickly resurged as they harvested a stunning 3-1 victory over Japanese J-League champions Kashiwa Reysol to top Group H, keeping the only hope for Chinese clubs to survive AFC Champions League group stage.

"The team is on a right way, and it is the crucial time now. The coach is under pressure, but we are giving him full support. I told Lee that we were behind him," Liu Yongzhuo said in late April, when the club denied the Lippi link.

But Lee's job again fell into jeopardy after Guangzhou suffered a bitter home loss against Jeonbuk Hyundai 3-1 in AFC Champions League two weeks ago, when team's top star Dario Conca lashed out at the coach after he was replaced in the 60th minute.

The Argentine midfielder received a 9-match suspension and a fine of 1 million Yuan (about 160,000 U.S. dollars).