Li seeking 'selflessness' from China's underachievers

Li Tie is on a mission to restore pride in the red jersey, with the newly installed Team China coach stressing slackers won't be tolerated in his squad.

A series of limp performances have left China's chances of qualifying for the 2022 Qatar World Cup hanging by a thread and left many fans questioning whether players put as much effort into matches for their country as they do for their clubs.

Facing the media for the first time since being officially appointed as Marcello Lippi's full-time successor in the job, Li made it clear reviving the team's flagging spirits is his top priority.

"Not having the right mentality has been a persistent problem for the national team, I hope that my arrival can help our players fulfill their potential when they play for the national squad," said Li at a media conference in Beijing on Sunday morning, before heading to a national team training session in Guangzhou.

"During the player selection process, our focus will be on those who are willing to play for their nation with selflessness. We want players who can devote themselves to the national team.

"Some players produce brilliant performances for their clubs in the league, so they need to learn to cope with the huge pressure in the national team.

"We'll endeavor to help them to adapt to that pressure during our training sessions and we will also turn to experts in this area to help them too."

The Chinese Football Association appointed Li as the permanent successor to Marcello Lippi on Thursday after initially installing the former Everton midfielder on a caretaker basis following Lippi's resignation in November.

Whether Li remains in the job beyond the expiration of his contract in June looks likely to depend on how the team performs in the remainder of the World Cup qualification campaign.

With four more first-round qualifiers to play, Team China is eight points adrift of Group A leader Syria. The eight group winners and four best second-place finishers will enter a second phase of Asian qualifying. China is currently ranked as the sixth best runner-up team.

The addition of Brazil-born naturalized star Ai Kesen has so far not quite had the impact many had hoped for, with China still struggling to break down teams in crunch games－such as November's 2-1 defeat to Syria in Dubai.

However, Li, whose team resumes its qualification campaign against the Maldives in March, attempted to steer attention away from the naturalization policy, saying: "The door of the national team is open for everyone who is capable.

"It doesn't matter if he's born in China or he's a naturalized player. I only have one standard－as long as he's good enough."

As for his own qualities, Li was keen to emphasize what he has learned from his Italian predecessor, not how he differs from him.

"I really don't want to talk about the difference between domestic and foreign head coaches. For a soccer coach, the only thing that matters is whether you can handle your job," said Li.

"If you can, you will be the coach. If you can't, you'll leave the position. For me, my advantage is that I'm very familiar with the current Team China players.

"From 2012, I worked with Lippi for five years. Three years in the Evergrande and two years in the national team. I've learned a lot from both positions, and the most important thing was his strong desire for victory."

Li was a member of the only Chinese squad to ever play at a World Cup, in 2002. After retiring as a player, he began his coaching career at Evergrande before taking head-coaching positions at Hebei China Fortune and Wuhan Zall.

The Shenyang native has long had his eye on the national team job, revealing his ambitions to Chinese media in 2011.

Now the 42-year-old is determined to show he can outlast his six-month contract.

"Being the national team coach is the highest honor for me, and it also means a huge responsibility," said Li. "I was very excited when I knew that I had the chance of becoming Team China's head coach.

"This has always been my dream. When I have the chance to serve my country, I don't consider other things too much. Even if the CFA had only offered me a one-day contract, I'd still have signed it without hesitation."

Chris Van Puyvelde, the technical director of the CFA, believes Li can be an inspiration to those eyeing careers in coaching.

"I'm really happy that we have a young Chinese coach. Not too young, but a coach with experience," said Van Puyvelde. "And I believe there will be more Chinese coaches in the future that can be very high-level coaches. I think the head coach can be an example to the future coaches of China. I believe China has a big future in football, but it will take time."