BEIJING (AFP) - The much-maligned coach of China's national football team, Zhu Guanghu, has handed in his formal resignation after a humiliating first-round Asian Cup exit, Chinese state media reported Friday.

Zhu's faxed resignation to the Chinese Football Association, coming after his initial refusal to quit, sets the stage for the search for his successor, who is very likely to be a foreigner, the Beijing Youth Daily said.

"I did not complete my task, failing to live up to the hopes of the fans and the trust of the leaders, and I would like here to express my apology to the fans," it quoted Zhu's fax, sent last week, as saying.

Zhu's resignation followed a shock 3-0 loss to Uzbekistan at the Asian Cup last month, setting off a barrage of criticism in the media, with one paper calling Zhu "a giant in speech, but a dwarf in action."

Zhu took full responsibility for the loss but remained defiant, refusing to step down. "I will not leave football," he said then.

He appeared to be clarify that statement in his resignation letter, saying that "this temporary setback will not defeat me. I will never leave Chinese football."

The official announcement of Zhu's resignation will happen after a coaching committee conference in the coming days, according to the paper.

The paper quoted team manager Wei Shaohui as saying Zhu's successor would almost certainly be a foreigner.

"We'll definitely pick a foreign coach, that's clearly the direction," Wei said.

"But when a couple has a divorce, they have to finish all the necessary procedures before they can start thinking about remarriage."

Meanwhile, popular national Olympic coach Ratomir Dujkovic of Serbia has reportedly ruled out taking over as caretaker coach because he wants to maintain his focus on next year's Games.

"I will not take the job of national team coach in October. You can not have two jobs and do well," the China Daily newspaper quoted Dujkovic as saying on Thursday during a four-nation Olympic warm-up tournament in northeast China.

However Dujkovic reiterated he would be interested in the position after the Olympics.

"Personally, I would like to take the job. But for the time being, as you know, my job is coaching the Olympic team."