China coach Marcello Lippi announced resignation in Beijing on Thursday after China lost to Syria 2-1 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian Zone qualification.
(ECNS) -- Marcello Lippi has resigned as China’s head coach after taking "full responsibility" for a 2022 World Cup qualifying defeat to Group A leaders Syria on Thursday.
The 71-year-old coach's second stint in charge of China lasted just six months.
"A team should give everything on the pitch. The tactics of the head coach should be carried out. If the player is afraid of losing the game, then there is no fighting spirit, desire, guts,” he told a news conference.
"It is my responsibility, the head coach’s responsibility. My annual salary is very high, and I am fully responsible for this loss. Now I declare that I have officially resigned."
The Chinese Football Association said it has accepted the resignation of Lippi, who guided Italy to World Cup glory in 2006.
"The Chinese football team has left fans very disappointed. The association apologized for that and will reflect deeply, reorganize the football team, and try to play well in the matches,” said the association in a statement on social media.
Lippi first took charge of China's national team in November 2016 and quit his role in January this year when his contract expired after China lost 3-0 to Iran in the AFC Asian Cup. He was reappointed as the head coach of the Chinese team in May.
