They were handed the two most high-profile jobs in Chinese football but Marcello Lippi last week angrily quit as national coach and protege Fabio Cannavaro is hanging on by his fingertips at Guangzhou Evergrande.
The downfall of the Italians, coach and captain respectively when Italy won the 2006 World Cup, has been swift and comes with a whiff of humiliation.
The 71-year-old Lippi's final act was to bang his fists on a table and storm out of a press conference in Dubai after a damaging 2-1 defeat in 2022 World Cup qualifying to Syria last Thursday.
He earned more than 400 million yuan ($57 million) over two spells in charge, Economic Weekly said, publishing a file photo of him bare-chested and smoking a cigar in a kayak.
Cannavaro just about remains in charge of Chinese Super League (CSL) leaders Evergrande, despite being temporarily ordered aside last month and publicly rebuked.
Evergrande host Shanghai SIPG on Saturday in a top-of-the-table clash which will go a significant way towards deciding the fate of the title -- and perhaps Cannavaro's future.
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There is some sympathy in China for Lippi with an acceptance that the highly regarded Italian had a squad of limited ability.
But there has also been criticism, with some pundits saying he failed to take responsibility when results did not go China's way.
"Whether on the training ground or in private, Lippi was more irritable than the first time he coached the national side," said the Guangzhou Daily on Monday.
- 'Slap in the face' -
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That did not stop the Oriental Sports Daily accusing Lippi of arrogance and asking:
"What right does he have to point fingers and carp about Chinese football?"
- 'Weak ability' -
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