AFC champions sign coach to 3 more years

The defending AFC Champions League champion, Guangzhou Evergrande, announced a renewal of contract with World Cup winning coach Marcello Lippi on Friday, the club said.

The contract will extend from Dec 1, 2014, to Nov 30, 2017, after the previous one is due to end at the end of this year, according to an announcement released by the club on its website on Friday.

Lippi's coaching members, including Maddaloni Massimiliano, Pezzotti Narciso, Rampulla Michelangelo, Fabrizio Del Rosso and Gaudino Claudio, will also stay with the club until 2017.

The Guangzhou club said Lippi's pay will remain the same as what the previous contract had offered, without giving the details.

The silver-haired Italian coach guided Guangzhou to an epochal victory in last year's AFC Champions League, on top of his two Chinese league titles and one Chinese FA Cup since joining in May 2012.

qiuquanlin@chinadaily.com.cn