Gao Hongbo reappointed as head coach of China

Former Chinese national team coach Gao Hongbo returned to the post on Wednesday as he was named the new head coach of Team China by the Chinese Football Association (CFA).

But his role is considered to be that of a caretaker as the CFA said in a statement that they hired Gao to prepare for the Asian second-round qualifiers of the 2018 World Cup in Russia against Maldives on March 24 and Qatar on March 29.

The disappointing run of results by Gao's French predecessor Alain Perrin has put China's 2018 World Cup qualifying hopes in jeopardy.

China is currently sitting in third place in Group C, trailing second-placed Hong Kong by three points.

The four best runners-up across all eight groups will advance to the third round along with the eight group winners.

But soccer pundit Zhang Lu is not bullish about China's hope of advancing to the World Cup.

"Gao did well during his previous tenure," Zhang told the Global Times. "But based on the current players, it is hard for the team to qualify for the 2018 World Cup even if Gao led the team through the second round."

Zhang believed if Gao did well in the next two matches, he is likely to be given a permanent job. Zhang also noted that, as the squad lacks depth, picking a domestic coach to earn experience is better than spending big on hiring a famous foreign coach.

Gao left his previous tenure as the national team head coach after the team suffered an early elimination from the 2011 Asian Cup. He was replaced by Spaniard Jose Antonio Camacho, who was sent packing midway through a lucrative contract in 2013 after the team was humiliated 5-1 by a second-string Thailand.

But Gao's tenure did see some heydays, highlighted by a 3-0 win over South Korea in 2010 - China's first win in 32 years to get rid of the Korea-phobia - and a 1-0 win over France as well as a 1-1 draw with Germany.

When Gao was dismissed in August 2011, he said his "first half" with the national team was finished, and he would wait for his "second half."

Later he had stints at Chinese Super League sides Guizhou Renhe (now Beijing Renhe), Shanghai East Asia (now Shanghai SIPG) and Jiangsu Sainty (now Jiangsu Suning) before being sent to Dutch top-tier side ADO Den Haag as a member of backroom staff

In comments to Gao's only post on his Sina Weibo page dating back to the end of 2010, some netizens expressed their fierce disappointment with the CFA.

"We've wasted a lot of time … Talented young players aged, passionate players got fooled, and we've lavished too much money on hiring foreign coaches," one Weibo user commented. "Only an apology from the CFA is not enough for their mismanagement during these years."

The CFA issued apology letters on their website both after the Thai match in 2013 and a disappointing draw with Hong Kong in November.