Wounded Chinese football was searching for a new national coach on Friday after an angry Marcello Lippi ended his reign with a humiliating exit at the Asian Cup.
The 70-year-old Italian World Cup winner confirmed after Thursday's 3-0 quarter-final defeat to Iran in Abu Dhabi that he would not extend his contract.
Lippi made no effort to hide his displeasure at the nature of the defeat, which came from some calamitous Chinese defending.
"You cannot afford to gift a team like Iran three goals," an exasperated Lippi, fondly known in China as "Silver Fox" on account of his hair, said.
Lippi, appointed coach of China in October 2016, won 12 of his 31 games in charge, losing 11 and drawing eight.
He was reportedly among the best-paid coaches in world football, but the meek defeat of his ageing side underlined the limited quality of the squad at his disposal.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping, a known football fan, has vowed to make the country of 1.4 billion people a competitive force in international football.
The government is throwing resources at the grassroots game, but the gulf between Iran and China was more glaring evidence that patience is needed.
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) appears committed to hiring foreign expertise to fix the shortfall in the medium term.
In September, veteran Dutch coach Guus Hiddink was hired to take the Chinese team into the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and all the signs are that the CFA will hire another big name to succeed Lippi.
Jorge Sampaoli, who was in charge of his native Argentina when they crashed out in the last 16 of last summer's World Cup, was linked with the job late last year. He has since taken over at Santos in Brazil.
- 'Feel sorry for Lippi' -
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