Li Tie front-runner to replace Marcello Lippi as China head coach, with Li Xiaopeng and Wang Baoshan also in the mix
- The Wuhan Zall coach led China to their only victory, over Hong Kong, in the EAFF Championship in Busan last week
- The former Everton midfielder is favoured by the Chinese Football Association over the other two candidates, mainland reports say
China will not look for an overseas head coach with Li Tie seemingly the front-runner for the top job following the departure of Italian Marcello Lippi.
Mainland media reported that a selection interview was conducted on Thursday evening by a Chinese Football Association panel with three candidates sitting in. Li, who led China at the recent EAFF E1 Championship in Busan, South Korea with their only victory being over Hong Kong, is the favourite ahead of Wang Baoshan and Li Xiaopeng.
A final decision will be made before the China national team gather for a winter training camp beginning on January 5, likely to be in Guangzhou, although they won’t play their next 2022 World Cup qualifying match – at home to Maldives – until late March.
Li, 42, led Wuhan Zall to a sixth-placed finish in the Chinese Super League (CSL) this season. Li Xiaopeng steered Shandong Luneng to fifth place while Wang’s Henan Jianye came eighth.
Both Lis are considered among the younger generation of outstanding home-grown coaches after retiring from the national team. Li Xiaopeng, 44, was once the favourite after his impressive record in the CSL. However, he was heavily criticised after his side lost 3-1 on aggregate to Shanghai Shenhua in the FA Cup final early this month.
A retired midfielder, Li Tie was named the Chinese Footballer of the Year in 2001 before representing his country in the World Cup finals the following year. He then played in the Premier League, spending four years with Everton from 2002 to 2006, playing 34 games before moving to Sheffield United, where he failed to start.