The newly-appointed Chinese national football team coach, Marcello Lippi, arrived in Guangzhou on Tuesday afternoon. The Italian stepped down as head coach of the Chinese men's national team in January after the Asian Cup debacle. But he has returned to rebuild the squad in order to fulfill China's goal of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The 71-year-old Italian, who coached the Azzurri to the 2006 FIFA World Cup triumph, will lead the new-look Chinese side, who will camp in Guangzhou on June 3. Team China will prepare for a warmup against the Philippines on June 7 followed by another friendly against Tajikistan on June 11. The Chinese Football Association earlier confirmed Lippi's return for his second spell with China on May 24.
Previously, Lippi made his debut as China's coach in 2016 against Qatar in the fifth round of the last 12 of 2018, Asian Zone World Cup qualifying, with the game ending 0-0.
China failed to qualify but did win three group stage matches under the Italian, including an inspiring 1-0 home victory against South Korea. The former Guangzhou Evergrande coach also led China into the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup this year but resigned after the team failed to reach the semifinals due to a 4-0 defeat to Iran.
