On January 26, Beijing time, the much-anticipated Qatar Asian Cup group stage dissipated, and the top 16 teams were newly released. Among them, the plot of the South Korean men's football team and Malaysia to a 3:3 draw made fans jaw-dropping, and many netizens questioned the Korean team's suspected "release of water", in order to avoid the showdown with the Japanese team.
In any case, the national football team's Asian Cup journey has come to an end, and at this moment, the eyes of thousands of fans are focused on a crucial question: can Jankovic still sit firmly in the position of national football coach, and when will the Football Association reveal the mystery of the new coach for us?
Today, let's discuss together!
According to informed media, because Jankovic failed to lead the national football team to the top 8 of the Asian Cup, the Football Association will most likely not renew his contract, and the plan to change the coach is already in full swing. Among the many candidates, the 64-year-old legendary coach of Asian football, Choi Kang-hee, stands out and is considered a strong contender for the successor.
When it comes to Cui Kangxi, he has become famous in Chinese football, not only winning the title of Best Coach in the Chinese Super League, but also winning the Best Coach of the AFC, which shows that his coaching skills are profound and his grasp of Asian football and even Chinese football can be called accurate.
However, the Football Association encountered two difficulties in the process of selecting a new manager.
First, Cui Kangxi's annual salary in the Shandong Taishan team is as high as 3 million US dollars (equivalent to about 21.5 million yuan), far exceeding Jankovic, which makes it difficult for the Football Association, which is financially stretched.
Second, Cui Kangxi himself decisively refuted the rumors about his coaching of the national football team in the AFC Champions League, bluntly saying that he has no such plans at present, showing a rigorous and responsible attitude towards his personal career, and is more inclined to continue to cultivate the Chinese Super League club.
Seeing their request in March to embark on the journey of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the Football Association will naturally not sit idly by and will make a decision quickly.
There is news in the market that in case a satisfactory foreign coach cannot be found in a short period of time, the Football Association may invite back the meritorious veteran coach who once coached the national football team to serve as the technical director, in order to make a smooth transition and deal with the current situation of "no leader".
At this moment, a familiar name has surfaced, that is, Gao Hongbo, the 58-year-old former national football coach who is active in the youth training field.
Coach Gao has achieved remarkable results during his tenure as coach of the national team, especially when he was in charge of the national football team for the first time, he created the "Gao Family Army" of Megatron Asia, and once led the national football team to achieve a qualitative leap in the international ranking (jumping from 109th to 69th).
Fan Zhiyi once publicly bombarded the Football Association, believing that Gao Hongbo should not be replaced easily, and emphasized that the Football Association should clarify the concept of football, rather than blindly changing the coach. So far, General Fan still supports Gao Hongbo, and combined with the worst record in the group stage of the National Football Asian Cup led by Jankovic, it has further strengthened this position.
Let's go back in history and take a look at the bumpy journey of former national football coach Lippi.
At the beginning, the silver fox Lippi was full of confidence, claiming that the national football team has the strength to defeat any opponent in Asia. However, after the national football team suffered a heavy blow to Syria, he severely criticized the players for their lack of honor, and resolutely gave up the sky-high salary and chose to resign because of his extreme disappointment.
All these cases tell us that the price is not the decisive factor in the selection of the national football coach, the key is to find an iron-blooded coach who has both a sense of responsibility and practical ability, and always sticks to the national football camp.
Gao Hongbo is such a figure, he only had an annual salary of 1 million yuan when he joined the national football team for the second time, but he showed extraordinary leadership.
If the Football Association intends to reuse local coaches, the 58-year-old Gao Hongbo, who has been in charge of Taiwan for three times, is definitely worth looking forward to.
It is particularly worth mentioning that Gao Hongbo has maintained integrity and self-discipline in the anti-corruption storm of the Football Association, and his low-key and high-profile character, as well as the spirit of devoting himself to the technological innovation of Chinese football, are enough to prove that he is the ideal candidate for the head coach of the national football team.