Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande have appointed former Real Madrid and Juventus defender Fabio Cannavaro as their new coach.

Cannavaro replaces his former mentor Marcello Lippi, who on Sunday announced his decision to retire from football management and take over as Guangzhou technical director.

Evergrande's official Twitter page posted photos Wednesday of Cannavaro arriving at the airport and at an official press conference alongside Lippi, with the tweet "welcome to Guangzhou, Fabio Cannavaro." It also posted "Fabi Canavaro has officially joined as coach," in Chinese.

Cannavaro, who captained Italy to the 2006 World Cup title while playing under Lippi as coach, spent last season as an assistant coach at United Arab Emirates club Al Ahli.

The Guangzhou post will be the 2006 world player of the year's first has head coach.

Lippi, 66, who won the 2013 Asian Champions League with Guangzhou, said Sunday he felt too old to continue coaching.

"I will be 67 years old in the near future, and I do not want to be the head coach anymore," he said. "But I will be in charge of technical staff as a member of the coaching team."