I am not a big soccer fan, and I don't care much about how the Chinese men's national soccer team performs. As far as I can recall, the players have rarely played like men, though their incomes have reached astronomical figures since the Chinese professional soccer league was established in the early 1990s.

History shows monetary incentives are not a panacea for success for the national men's soccer team. That is why I cannot understand the logic behind the Chinese Football Association's decision last week to hire Marcello Lippi as the coach of the Chinese team for a jaw-dropping 20 million ($21.76 million) a year.

The amount sets a record for the money earned by the world's best coaches for a national team. The top earner, Roy Hodgson of England, was paid 5 million a year, and Germany's World Cup winning coach Joachim Loew made 3.2 million. Lippi's predecessor, Gao Hongbo, who resigned after China lost 0-2 to Uzbekistan early this month during the World Cup qualifiers, earned a meager 800,000 yuan ($117,800).