Lippi looks set to leave the
well-paid post when his contract expires after the tournament in the
United Arab Emirates, which begins Saturday, and at the age of 70 the
end of his coaching career is in sight.

He is aiming to add an Asian Cup to a long
managerial CV that includes the 2006 World Cup as well as a Champions
League medal and five Italian league titles with Juventus.

Lippi
was also a Chinese Super League winner three times in a row with
Guangzhou Evergrande from 2012 to 2014. But his two years in charge of
the national side have been underwhelming.

The Chinese government is throwing money at
youth football but the squad at Lippi’s disposal is limited and one of
the oldest at the tournament.

Their build-up to the UAE has been complicated by injuries to back-up goalkeepers, while cold and flu have crept into the squad.

China have won only one of their previous
seven games, and scoring goals has been a particular problem during
Lippi’s stuttering reign, managing on average barely a goal a game.

Lippi drove his players hard to ramp up their
fitness while at a closed camp on the wet and humid southern island of
Hainan, where the bulk of China’s Asian Cup preparations took place.

“I am very satisfied with the performance of
the players in training, (but) injuries and sickness did occur,” Lippi,
reportedly one of the best-paid coaches in football, said.

The Italian was buoyed however by being able
to get the squad together at the start of December, giving him ample
time to get his message across.

“This is truly the first time that we have
enough time for better preparation tactically and physically,” added the
Italian, who must find a way to get Shanghai SIPG forward Wu Lei, last
season’s CSL top-scorer, banging in goals for his country.

Expectations back home are as low as ever —
Chinese football fans have long been exasperated by their team — though
Lippi’s men ought to have enough to squeeze out of Group C, most likely
behind South Korea.

Kyrgyzstan and the Philippines are the other
countries in the group and failure to qualify for the knock-out rounds
would trigger another bout of hand-wringing.

Zheng Zhi ploughs on

It says much about the scarcity of Lippi’s options that Zheng Zhi, at age 38, remains a figurehead.

This will be Zheng’s fifth and surely last
Asian Cup and the midfielder, formerly of Charlton Athletic when they
were in the English Premier League, wants to go out with a bang.

“I thought the previous Asian Cup would have
been my last and I didn’t expect that I can still take part again four
years later,” said the Guangzhou Evergrande stalwart.

“I’m very happy and honoured, and will cherish the chance.”

China, who have never won the Asian Cup, will begin their tournament on Monday against Kyrgyzstan.

A sideshow will be whether the Chinese players
cover up their tattoos — something they have done in previous
international matches with long sleeves and bandages, though there has
been no official announcement from the Chinese Football Association
banning body art.

Tattoos have long been considered taboo in
China. The country’s media watchdog last January banned tattoos and
other “decadent” subculture elements from broadcasts, as it cracks down
on what it sees as behaviour contrary to the ruling Communist Party’s
“values and morals”.