AGL 40.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.16 (-0.4%)
AIRLINK 129.53 Decreased By ▼ -2.20 (-1.67%)
BOP 6.68 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.15%)
CNERGY 4.63 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (3.58%)
DCL 8.94 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.36%)
DFML 41.69 Increased By ▲ 1.08 (2.66%)
DGKC 83.77 Decreased By ▼ -0.31 (-0.37%)
FCCL 32.77 Increased By ▲ 0.43 (1.33%)
FFBL 75.47 Increased By ▲ 6.86 (10%)
FFL 11.47 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.06%)
HUBC 110.55 Decreased By ▼ -1.21 (-1.08%)
HUMNL 14.56 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (1.75%)
KEL 5.39 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (3.26%)
KOSM 8.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-6.46%)
MLCF 39.79 Increased By ▲ 0.36 (0.91%)
NBP 60.29 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
OGDC 199.66 Increased By ▲ 4.72 (2.42%)
PAEL 26.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.15%)
PIBTL 7.66 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (2.41%)
PPL 157.92 Increased By ▲ 2.15 (1.38%)
PRL 26.73 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.19%)
PTC 18.46 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (0.87%)
SEARL 82.44 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-0.7%)
TELE 8.31 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.97%)
TOMCL 34.51 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.12%)
TPLP 9.06 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (2.84%)
TREET 17.47 Increased By ▲ 0.77 (4.61%)
TRG 61.32 Decreased By ▼ -1.13 (-1.81%)
UNITY 27.43 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.04%)
WTL 1.38 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (7.81%)
BR100 10,407 Increased By 220 (2.16%)
BR30 31,713 Increased By 377.1 (1.2%)
KSE100 97,328 Increased By 1781.9 (1.86%)
KSE30 30,192 Increased By 614.4 (2.08%)

Marcello Lippi was back as coach of China on Friday, four months after the World Cup winner quit and following a failed stint by fellow Italian Fabio Cannavaro. The 71-year-old's return was broadly welcomed by fans and local media, who are desperate to see China reach the World Cup for only a second time.
Lippi, who opted not to renew his contract after China were dumped out of the Asian Cup quarter-finals 3-0 by Iran in late January, is tasked with guiding the team to Qatar 2022. China's only previous World Cup appearance came in 2002, when they exited without a point or scoring a goal.
"Since Lippi coached the national team, they have shown a positive and tenacious fighting spirit," the Chinese Football Association (CFA) said. "We believe that in the days to come, under the leadership of Lippi and his coaching team, the national men's side will make a full impact on their World Cup dreams."
China sit a lowly 74th in the FIFA rankings, a rung above Cape Verde - whose population is 550,000, compared with China's 1.4 billion.
But under football-fan President Xi Jinping, China have ambitions to host and even win a World Cup.
The reappointment of Lippi, who took Italy to World Cup glory in 2006, follows four months of confusion and speculation.
The former Juventus, Inter Milan and Napoli boss was succeeded by his World Cup-winning captain Cannavaro in March.
The 45-year-old former legendary defender combined the job with being coach of Chinese Super League (CSL) title-contenders Guangzhou Evergrande.
However, China lost to lower-ranked Thailand and Uzbekistan in Cannavaro's opening two matches and he quit, saying that he could not do two jobs at once.
Re-enter his mentor Lippi, who was a three-time CSL champion with Guangzhou and among the best-paid coaches in football during his first spell in charge of the national side.
Lippi - fondly known in China as "Silver Fox" on account of his hair - was reportedly on between $23 million and $27 million a year, evidence of the country's determination to get success at any cost.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019

Comments

Comments are closed.