Lack of trust costs Cannavaro Evergrande job

GUANGZHOU - Four-time Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande announced the sacking of Fabio Cannavaro, who finally understood the cost of the lack of trust on Thursday night.

The club named World Cup-winning Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari as the replacement.

Guangzhou Evergrande, the 2013 AFC Champions League winners, signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Scolari, without further details immediately available.

Guangzhou Evergrande have been less dominant than in last three seasons when they had experienced a highly successful spell with Marcello Lippi at the helm.

The club fired Cannavaro, who was just six months into the job, after a 2-2 home draw with 10-men Tianjin Teda in the Chinese League on Thursday.

The 66-year-old Scolari had guided Brazil to win the FIFA World Cup in 2002 and led Portugal to the runner-ups in the European Championship in 2004. His arrival revealed Guangzhou Evergrande's ambition to revive their dominance not only in the Chinese league, also in Asian competition.

The club said that the change of coach is to meet the strategic need and that a press conference will be held in a few days.

The 41-year-old Cannavaro took charge of Guangzhou Evergrande last December to succeed Lippi, who assisted in the signing.

"We believe Scolari fits our club's strategy and ambition," a top official of the club told Xinhua.

"We also believe Scolari will make improvement not only on our club, but also on Chinese soccer.

"The reason for the change is the same as before. We always focus on the strategy instead of the results of games."

Guangzhou Evergrande are having an under-par season, collecting 26 points from 13 rounds in the domestic league, nine points less than the same period of last season though they can still manage a shared top place at the Chinese Super League.

Guangzhou Evergrande suffered an early exit in China's FA Cup and have encountered tough challenges in reaching the AFC Champions League quarter-finals the season. The lackluster situation weighs on the inexperience of the rookie Italian and undermines the club's trust on Cannavaro.

Guangzhou Evergrande had got in touch with Scolari in 2012 but the Brazilian did not say yes at that time. It doesn't look like a sudden decision as it had been rumored Scolari will come to manage the club in the early season.

Scolari retook the rein of Brazil for the 2014 World Cup but stepped down after a humiliating 7-1 loss to Germany in the semifinal.