Cannavaro returns to Chinese champions Guangzhou

SHANGHAI: Italian World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro was named manager of Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Everg rande on Thursday, returning to the club that cut him loose in 2015.

The 44-year-old former Juventus and Real Madrid defender, who quit Tianjin Quanjian earlier this week, signed a five-year contract and replaces Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari at China’s perennial league winners.

Cannavaro will be expected to continue Guangzhou Evergrande’s domination of the Chinese Super League (CSL) – on Saturday they lifted a seventh consecutive league title – and inspire them to a third AFC Champions League crown.

Speaking at the Ital ian’s unveiling, club boss Xu Jiayin, China’s r ichest man, said Cannavaro will also be tasked with fielding a side of only Chinese players by 2020.

In the summer they lost Brazilian international midfielder Paulinho to Barcelona, but their overseas contingent still includes three other Brazilians and Colombian striker Jackson Martinez.

“I am f lattered and happy to come back here, I said that I will come back one day,” Cannavaro told the media.

“I am excited by Evergrande’s plan in the next few years and happy to work together with the club.”

Cannavaro said that he was relishing building a team of homegrown stars, part of a bigger push by the Chinese government to improve the fortunes of the underachieving national side by promoting local players.

“I am sure that players from Evergrande can not only serve Evergrande, but what we hope even more is that they can serve the national team,” said Cannavaro, cautioning however that would take time.

Cannavaro, who resigned as Tianjin boss just days after steering them into the Champions League for the first time in their history, was in charge at Evergrande for seven months to June 2015.

But he was replaced by World Cup-winning coach Scolari after what Cannavaro described at the time as a “consensual resolution” of his contract. — AFP