Lippi made in China

 

According to Tuttosport, Marcello Lippi is set for Guangzhou Evergrande FC. Chinese Super League's team sacked Korean manager Lee Jang-Soo despite a 2-1 win against Buriram United in AFC Champions League that made the team progressing to the knockout stage. What kind of team Lippi will find? Recent signing of Borussia Dortmund's Lucas Barrios made the Chinese champions in 2011, and currently No. 1 team of the Super League's rankings, a bit stronger. The arrival of Lippi will benefit the growth of Chinese football, giving the Chinese league a new impulse. Though Japan’s J-League is still the best league in Asia, we saw some development in China. The signing of Lippi will contribute to Chinese soccer: he will join  Japanese Takeshi Okada, and Dutch coaches Henk ten Cate and Jan Versleijen, in the coaching rank. By the way, Chinese soccer still suffers growing pains, with money injected into the professional league and not in the youth development. CFA took a stance against corruption that has plagued it in the past, and the 18-team professional division is now talked just because its spending list of international players and foreign coaches. Leaded by Brazilian striker Cleo and Argentinian midfielder Dario Conca, Guangzhou also has a good number of current China internationals, such as holding midfielder Zhao Xuri. Guangzhou displayed very fast speed and they have several good players up top. Brazilian Muriqui is the cutting inside left wing: he has no fear to exploit 1 vs 1 situations and to come up trying to score.
Team utilized 4-2-3-1, looking for the depth.  The construction phase is awarded to the four-men back line and to the holding midfielders. When they control the game, playing a ball possession game, this is waiting the right moment to go deep.
 






 On the transition phase, the 6-men between defense and midfielder have the duty to come back quickly. Team has to improve the overall transition game, being weak against counterattacks and also playing them. The four men up top can have the goal to press highly on rival’s defensive line, as they did against Thai's side Buriram or to press at the midfield's line, helping the rest of the team in the defensive phase, as they did against Jeonbuk Motors (KOR).

At the end, it's a well coached side. Lippi will have the task to improve the team's tactics, using his experience to made it better and more organised. But the first goal will be to adjust himself to the Chinese way of life.