The Tianhe Stadium outfit have had three years of overwhelming success, but the appointment of Marcello Lippi back in May 2012 has progressed the period of prosperity.
It is no coincidence that the 65-year-old has turned Evergrande into Asia’s best team; he has forged a managerial career out of operating at the game’s pinnacle.
The AFC Champions League, which has won after a 1-1 draw on home soil at the weekend, makes Lippi the first-ever manager to lead teams to be crowned champions in both Europe and Asia.
Lippi’s pedigree cannot be questioned, and given his achievements in the world game and his illustrious past it would be easy to diminish his efforts in China.
The former defender’s amazing run of winning trophies as a manager started during his time at Juventus over two spells in the hot seat, with a season sabbatical at Derby d’Italia rivals Inter in between.
Lippi lead the Bianconeri to five Scudettos over eight seasons in charge in Turin, with Champions League success also achieved in 1996 with final victory over Ajax.
The wily head coach’s greatest success came ten years later, leading the Italian national side to World Cup glory in 2006.
After time away from the game following a second stint as boss of the Azzurri, persuasive negotiating and a bumper payday convinced the Italian maestro to embark on one last challenge in a far off land.
Evergrande were the reigning Chinese Super League champions when Lippi was appointed, and the Italian has led them to two further back-to-back domestic crowns. During this year’s title victory, Lippi’s side won 24 of their 30 games, losing only once and winning the top flight by 18 points.
The last Chinese side to be crowned as kings of Asia was Liaoning all the way back in 1990, and Lippi’s feat of ending the wait is massively significant in the football-mad country.
Evergrande looked like a major contender from the start of the tournament, and ruthlessly dispatched the likes of Australia’s Central Coast Mariners (5-1), Qatar’s Lekhwiya (6-1) and Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol (8-1) on the way to the final.
South Korean outfit FC Seoul stood in the way of Evergrande and Lippi making history, with the first leg seeing the Chinese team away from home. A 2-2 draw, despite being 2-1 up with ten minutes to go, put Evergrande in the driving seat.
In the end a nervy 1-1 draw on home soil was enough to clinch victory on the away goals rule, with 55,000 in attendance to witness the historic feat.
South American trio Darío Conca, Muriqui and Elkeson caught the eye with their combined total of 27 goals in the Champions League success, but a host of homegrown stars also shone.
With the Chinese national team looking to emulate Evergrande’s success, nine of the Tianhe Stadium outfit’s players were named in the most recent national squad.
For Lippi, Evergrande’s evolution into Asian champions under his tutelage will go down as another achievement, another record.
Maybe not as glamorous as the Uefa Champions League or the World Cup, the success should not be overlooked.
If Evergrande can complete a momentous treble this season by winning the domestic cup competition, it will be Lippi’s 20th major trophy over his illustrious career.
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