Asian Cup: China adventure ends in tears as Marcello Lippi fires parting shot at players
- China limp out of tournament with dismal 3-0 loss to Iran in the quarter-finals
- Departing coach Lippi says it is ‘unacceptable for players to make these kinds of errors’
China’s AFC Asian Cup 2019 adventure ended in tears and finger pointing on Thursday night with a 3-0 loss to Iran in Dubai.
China’s fans in the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium were seen crying after the loss, as was long-term leader Zheng Zhi.
The 38-year-old was misty-eyed during his post-match interview in what might be his final game for his country. Along with manager Marcello Lippi, it might also be the end of the line for most of the squad – the oldest ever taken to an Asian Cup.
There were 17 members of the 23-man party that were aged 29 or older, with Zheng the oldest of the lot.
Despite the disappointment, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) thanked fans for their support throughout the tournament on their official Weibo account.
Age was a common theme for discussion among commenters on Weibo, with many comparing China to the rising southeast Asian footballing nations Vietnam and Thailand as well as Japan, who won their quarter-final with a young squad.
The loss to the best team in Asia was expected, but it has not passed without discussion – though there were some positive reactions.
Though China have risen to seventh in the Asia rankings from eighth in Lippi’s reign, the media and fans have taken a step back to look at the direction of Chinese football.
Their Asian Cup exit means the “China Football Association 2020 Action Plan” has failed – China missed out on their aim of qualifying for the 2018 Under-18 Asian Cup and the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups.
There is widespread agreement among social media users that as well as the team being too old there needs to be better youth training in the future.
Some suggested Chinese football will not improve until the body that runs it is taken apart.
Change is on the way in the form of Lippi’s exit, at least – the 70-year-old, who won the World Cup as Italy boss in 2006, stepped down after the game.
The Italian’s departure was widely expected, and the reviews of his reign have been mixed.
“A retired coach, in his 70s, holds the world’s top salary. Do you dare to say that he is unsuccessful?” asked one commenter.
Others pointed out Lippi was “not a god” so could not take China further than he did.
The Italian’s record compares favourably to China’s greatest ever manager, Bora Milutinovic. The Serbian coach took China to their only World Cup appearance in Japan and South Korea in 2002.
Qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar begins in 223 days’ time, and the question now is who will be in charge.
Commenters fancifully mentioned Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, who is now looking for a job after being sacked by Manchester United, as potential replacements.
Whoever gets the gig might have their work cut out based on Lippi’s parting words.
“I want to thank all of you,” he said. “It was an honour managing the national team of such an important country and I tried my best to improve this team.
“I was really hoping to end this experience in a better way, but you cannot make these kind of mistakes.
“We had a good Asian Cup and played some good games but I find it unacceptable to commit these types of errors.
“I thank my players for their efforts, but not for what they did tonight.
“I’m a bit angry, this was just a lack of concentration. I knew they were stronger than us. I was expecting a tough match but you cannot give such gifts to a team like Iran.”
