SHANGHAI: Guangzhou Evergrande fans mobbed Luiz Felipe Scolari at the airport as he departed after leading the club to two Chinese Super League championships and the AFC Champions League crown.
The 69-year-old Brazilian, who was succeeded as coach last week by the Italian World Cup-winner Fabio Cannavaro, was a popular figure during his two-and-a-half years at the club from southern China.
Guangzhou supporters, most of them dressed in the red of the club, draped a team scarf around Scolari's neck and cheered and clapped as he flew out of Guangzhou airport on Wednesday night.
Some held a banner reading: "General Felipe, thanks, from Guangzhou fans."
It is not clear what the next step will be in Scolari's varied coaching career spanning more than 30 years, but he has given no hint that he plans to retire.
Previous posts include coach of Portugal and Brazil, winning the World Cup in 2002, and he was also manager of Chelsea in what was an unsuccessful spell in the 2008-2009 season.