In a recent interview, Italian coach Lippi revealed the reason why he came to China to coach, and he admitted that he was for money. Lippi also said that the first coach Evergrande looked for was actually Hiddink.
Recently, former national football coach Lippi talked about his coaching experience in China in a speech at a university in Rome. Lippi said that he came to China to coach for money, and in early 2012, Evergrande's first coach was Hiddink, and finally seized the opportunity.
In his speech, Lippi recalled his experience of leading Italy to the 2006 World Cup, and then said that he did not fight for money during his time in Italy, "Although I can do that, I never put money first during my time in charge of Italy. Based on such factors, when Evergrande's invitation was placed in front of me, I gladly accepted it. ”
Lippi revealed that in 2012, Evergrande first invited Hiddink to coach, and only invited himself after being rejected, "Evergrande's first coach in 2012 was not me, they first invited Hiddink, I and Hiddink also communicated, Hiddink said that Evergrande offered him an annual salary of 10 million euros." ”
After learning of Evergrande's huge annual salary, Lippi clearly told Hiddink that if he did not want to accept the invitation of the other party, please give up the opportunity to himself, "I heard the number of annual salary and immediately said to Hiddink, if you do not go, please give me the opportunity." In February 2012, Hiddink took office in the Russian Premier League upstart Anzhi, and Evergrande was unable to withdraw to go to China when he contacted him, which eventually led to Lippi's marriage to Chinese football.
Lippi won the Chinese Super League championship in his first year of coaching Evergrande, and then helped Evergrande win the AFC Champions League in the following year, and after the 2014 season, Lippi left Evergrande, but soon accepted the invitation of the Chinese Football Association and became the manager of the national football team. And when Lippi first coached the national football team, Evergrande bore most of the salary, and the annual salary when Lippi coached the national football team reached 20 million euros.
During his speech, Lippi also shared an interesting story from the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
'On the morning of the semi-final with Germany, as we warmed up near Borussia Dortmund, I saw some flashes of trees nearby and I suspected there were photographers hiding there and trying to get some inside information about our tactics, so I told my players about it and I had them lined up with their backs to the tree and then, under my command, leaned over and took off their shorts.
"We did it and then we all laughed and no photos were published to prove there wasn't a photographer there, but at least we had a lot of fun, which was an integral element of the team's win. If there is no harmony within the team, technical ability alone is not enough. The best coach is not the most capable, but the best team spirit. ”
Wen | Huang He
Edit | from the heart