Yin Tiesheng was appointed as the caretaker coach of the Chinese men's soccer national team, according to a statement released by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) on Monday.

The 52-year-old Yin, a veteran Chinese top-flight soccer club coach, will guide the Chinese national team to play at least two Asian Cup qualifiers.

The coaching position of the Chinese team has been vacant since Vladimir Petrovic of Serbia stepped down in the wake of China's exit from 2010 World Cup Asian Zone qualifying contentions.

"As the domestic league was underway and many local coaches were committed to the clubs at that time, we could not start a formal process to recruit the new head coach of the national team, " the CFA statement said.

"Considering the two imminent Asian Cup qualifiers next January, it has been decided to appoint caretaking coaches for the matches."

China will kick off their Asian Cup qualifying campaign on January 14 when they will play away game against Syria. Then they will take on Vietnam at home in a week.

The CFA will decide on the official head coach for the team after the two matches, according to the statement.

(Agencies via China Daily December 9, 2008)