Troubled China hand reins to ex-Everton player Li Tie

Former Everton midfielder Li Tie was named as coach of China's men's football team on Thursday, tasked with reviving their World Cup qualifying campaign after Marcello Lippi's abrupt departure.

The Chinese Football Association said Li, who played in China's only World Cup appearance in 2002, is an "outstanding representative of Chinese football players" and was appointed after an open process.

Li is already familiar with the national coaching set-up having been in temporary charge during the East Asian championships in South Korea last month.

The 42-year-old was the manager of Chinese Super League club Wuhan Zall before his appointment.

"It is believed that under the leadership of the coach, the Chinese national men's football team will work hard to train and prepare scientifically with a high sense of mission and honour," the Chinese Football Association said in a statement.

Li's permanent appointment follows a turbulent year for Chinese football when Lippi's resignation put another dent in the government's hopes of making the country a superpower in the sport.

The Italian 2006 World Cup-winning coach stormed out of the role in November after a 2-1 defeat to Syria left China with seven points from four games in their qualifying group for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The former Juventus and Italy boss reportedly earned 180 million yuan per year, making him one of the best-paid coaches in the world.

Li is the first Chinese coach to take charge of the national team since 2016, when Gao Hongbo replaced Frenchman Alain Perrin, only to resign eight months later.

The official Xinhua news agency said he was among three Chinese managers who were interviewed for the job, a change of strategy after looking to foreign coaches for much of the past decade.

"We believe that Li can bring about the change we want, as he admires high pressing and a compact tactical style," CFA secretary general Liu Yi told Xinhua.

"More importantly, Li showed a strong desire to win during his interview, and he will definitely have a better understanding of the players' psychological changes than a foreign coach would," Liu said.

- 'Play every game well' -
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