Jose Antonio Camacho has endured a harsh initiation as head coach of the Chinese national soccer team.

His squad was knocked out of Brazil World Cup qualification three months after the controversial move to have him replace coach Gao Hongbo. With no formal international games to play in 2012, the Spaniard was questioned about what exactly he had achieved since arriving in China in August, 2011.

However, if the 57 year-old felt last year was a tough one, he hasn't seen anything yet. China's first Asian Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia on Thursday morning ended in a 2-1 loss on the road and Camacho's substitutions - or lack thereof - drew widespread condemnation.