China Daily takes a look back at the top 10 Chinese sports stories of 2019

Double trouble for Lippi

Italian soccer guru Marcello Lippi resigned as head coach of Team China for a second time on Nov 14 after a 2-1 loss to Syria left the nation's 2022 World Cup qualifying hopes hanging by a thread. Lippi (pictured) first walked away from the post in January following China's quarterfinal exit at the Asian Cup, but later returned for the start of the 2022 qualifying campaign. His exit underlined an uneventful year for Chinese soccer that has seen a reshuffle of the Chinese Football Association's leadership, the recruitment of naturalized players for the national squad and a successful first 12 months for striker Wu Lei in Spain's La Liga.