Lippi lavishes praise on Asian Champions League rival Graham Arnold Central Coast Mariners coach Graham Arnold. GRAHAM Arnold's management skills are renowned across Australia - now Italy's World Cup-winning coach is taking notice. Marcello Lippi, who will coach Guangzhou Evergrande against the Mariners in tonight's Asian Champions League clash at Bluetongue Stadium, lauded Arnold's ability to turn a modest payroll into the premier footballing force in Australia. "A team that has won their country's championship is a team with quality and good technique," Lippi said of Central Coast. That's what I am expecting from the Mariners. I have seen videos from their Champions League matches - they are very organised. The Mariners are a very physical and organised team and we will have to put everything into the match. Evergrande is blessed with some of the highest paid footballers in the world, although their foreign imports Muriqui, Dario Conca and Lucas Barrios certainly aren't household names. Lippi is more likely to be the figure fans will be itching to get a glimpse of at Bluetongue Stadium tonight. The 65-year-old has already won the Chinese Super League and the Chinese FA Cup with Evergrande and he'll be looking to add the Asian Champions League title to that list. After all, he's getting paid over $30 million to do just that. Arnold, meanwhile, was effusive in his praise of Lippi, who led Italy to the 2006 World Cup. "To see the level that he's got this Chinese team playing at, I think Chinese football could do a wise thing by eventually getting him to be the Chinese national coach," Arnold said. After analysing Evergrande's tactics under Lippi, Arnold believes the Mariners are going to have to perform at a much higher level than what they're used to in the A-League. "You can't compare the A-League with the ACL - it's a totally different level," Arnold said. Our concentration has to be spot on for 95 minutes, our discipline has to be spot on for 95 minutes and our ball retention has to be the best it's ever been because if you give away any cheap ball they'll kill you, they're that good. I'm really keen and interested and excited to see our best performance because we have to play better than we do in the A-League. We hold no fear, make no mistake. We've got a lot of pride in what we do. We're not only representing the Mariners, we're representing the A-Leaguet. It's not a friendly game and it's not an appearance by a club team. It's a meaningful competition that means a lot to both teams. Central Coast Mariners v Guangzhou Evergrande. Tonight 7:30 at Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford. TV: Fox Sports 3.