Well-travelled coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has become an unlikely figurehead for China's soaring football ambitions as he takes Guangzhou Evergrande into the Club World Cup this week.

Just a year after leading Brazil's ill-fated World Cup campaign on home soil, the mustachioed "Big Phil" is thriving with the megabucks club after helping them secure their second Asian title in three years.

The ebullient Brazilian has brought a dash of Latin passion to the touchlines and military rigour to his team, who are unbeaten since he arrived in June and won their fifth straight Chinese title in October.

The ex-Portugal and Chelsea boss now returns to the global stage at the Club World Cup, where Evergrande will meet Spanish uber-team Barcelona if they win their opening match against Mexico's Club America on Sunday.

In the background are moves to revolutionise football in China, a country which has so far been better known for watching rather than playing the sport with huge viewing figures for European leagues.

But under football fan President Xi Jinping, China has its eyes on hosting and even winning a World Cup, while football has been mandated at more and more schools.

China's most ambitious club -- full name Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao -- have proved a good fit for the resurgent Scolari, 67, who departed the Selecao after their thumping 7-1 World Cup semi-final defeat to Germany, before a brief stint at Gremio.

"The winners are those that will not give up," said the jubilant Brazilian, after hoisting the AFC Champions League trophy last month.

"My next target is the (Club World Cup). Why not? I have a great team at a great club and great players -- I can realise this dream," he said.

"In life we have happy days and not so happy days, but tonight it has been a wonderful night. I've had a few great moments before and tonight, I feel quite extraordinary."

Scolari is handsomely compensated for his work in Guangzhou, a bustling metropolis of 8.5 million people not far from Hong Kong, where he rakes in a reported salary of $5 million.

Money seems no object for some clubs in the world's second biggest economy, where Mano Menezes this week arrived at Shandong Luneng as the third ex-Brazil boss in China -- reportedly on even more money than Scolari.

But Evergrande, jointly owned by Internet giant Alibaba and one of China's biggest real estate firms, have been in a league of their own when it comes to splashing out on foreign talent.

Former Real Madrid striker Robinho arrived in July, following in the footsteps of ex-Spurs midfielder Paulinho (14 million euros, $15.4 million) and another Brazilian, striker Ricardo Goulart, who signed for a Chinese record 15 million euros in January.

Scolari is also Evergrande's third big-name coach of recent times, after fellow World Cup-winner Marcello Lippi, who led them to the 2013 Asian crown, and the brief tenure of Fabio Cannavaro.

The thick-set Brazilian appears popular with his players, who bounced him up and down -- with some difficulty -- after the Champions League win, and say Evergrande are "transformed" under his watch.

"Two years ago, we were very much an attack-minded team under Lippi. But now with Scolari in charge, our team has been transformed into a new side," said midfielder Huang Bowen.

"We have more balance between defence and attack. We remain an offensively strong side and our back-line has become more solid. We have entered a new level."

Even so, Scolari's biggest test may yet be in negotiating the notorious complexities of Chinese football -- an environment where discretion and cultural sensitivity count for as much as football know-how.

Evergrande chairman Xu Jiayin enjoys a relationship of some significance with president Xi, and accompanied the head of state on his October visit to Britain.

However the vastly experienced Scolari, who has held nearly 20 head coaching positions in his career, is showing he knows how to win off the pitch in China as well as on it.

"Who is the leader of China? Of course I know it is Xi Jinping," Scolari told the Southern Daily.

"I know... Xi is a football lover and has already made big efforts to improve the development of football in China."

However, not everything in Guangzhou is to Scolari's taste -- the coach has lamented the "lack of authentic Brazilian barbecue houses" in the southern Chinese city.