Marcello Lippi Angry with Chinese Players
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - World Cup winner Marcello Lippi is angry with his players’ performance against Iran which saw them eliminated from the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
The Red Dragons failed to book a place in the Asian Cup semis after being defeated by Iran 3-0 on Thursday.
The Italian confirmed that his two-year tenure as coach of China was over following his team's exit from the Asian Cup.
"This match ends my contract with the Chinese national team, the end of my journey with China," the 70-year-old told a news conference.
"I want to thank all of you. It was an honor managing the national team of such an important country and I tried my best to improve this team. I was really hoping to end this experience in a better way but you cannot make these kind of mistakes," Lippi added.
"We had a good Asian Cup and played some good games but I find it unacceptable to commit these types of errors. I thank my players for their efforts but not for what they did against Iran,” the former Juventus coach stated.
"I'm a bit angry, this was just a lack of concentration. I knew they were stronger than us, I was expecting a tough match but you cannot give such gifts to a team like Iran,” Lippi concluded.