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The national football team was eliminated in the Asian Cup, Jankovic was about to leave class, and Cui Kangxi or the new coach chose the national football team's performance in the Qatar Asian Cup was disappointing, losing all three games and not scoring a goal, creating the worst record in history.
This also puts Jankovic's position in jeopardy, and it is reported that the Football Association has decided to announce the termination of the contract after the team returns home.
So, who will take over the coaching whip of the national football team, lead the national football team out of the trough, and hit the 2026 World Cup? It is reported that the Football Association has set its sights on the Chinese Super League, among which Choi Kang-hee, the Korean head coach of the Shandong Taishan team, is one of the most likely candidates.
Choi Kang-hee is a coach with a wealth of coaching experience and a successful resume, having led South Korea to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup, the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup, and a two-time runner-up in the Asian Cup.
He also has a good record in the Chinese Super League, he has coached Tianjin TEDA, Dalian Yifang, Shanghai Shenhua and other teams, and last season, after he took over the Shandong Taishan team, he led the team from eighth place all the way to the runner-up, and won the title of the best coach in the Chinese Super League.
His coaching style is known for being rigorous, pragmatic and flexible, he is good at formulating appropriate tactics according to the characteristics of his opponents and the characteristics of his own players, and he also focuses on developing the fighting spirit and team spirit of his players.
These advantages of Choi Kang-hee are exactly what the national football team needs.
The performance of the national football team in the Asian Cup exposed the problems of insufficient tactical execution, weak organizational ability on the field, and unstable psychological quality.
The arrival of Cui Kangxi may be able to bring a new atmosphere to the national football team and improve the team's combat effectiveness and competitiveness.
In addition, Cui Kangxi's communication and cooperation with Chinese football is also relatively smooth, he has a deep understanding of the current situation and development of Chinese football, and he is also able to mobilize and make good use of the player resources of the Chinese Super League.
Of course, Choi Kang-hee is not without obstacles.
First of all, he is currently coaching the Shandong Taishan team, and his annual salary is as high as 3 million US dollars, about 21.5 million yuan, which is more than double that of Jankovic.
The current financial situation of the Football Association is not well-off, and they are not willing to spend a lot of money to hire foreign coaches, they prefer to find a manager who is cost-effective and can cooperate with the Football Association.
Secondly, Cui Kang-hee himself is not very willing to coach the national football team.
Last year, when he was asked if he was interested in taking over the national football team, he directly denied the possibility, saying that he had no idea and just wanted to focus on the work of the Shandong Taishan team.
After all, he also knows that the position of coach of the national football team is not easy to sit on, and once the results are not good, he will not only lose his job, but also affect his reputation, and it will be more difficult to find a job in the Chinese Super League in the future.
Therefore, there are still many uncertain factors whether Cui Kangxi can become the new coach of the national football team.
The Football Association can't put all their hopes on him, they also need to consider other candidates, just in case.
It is reported that if the national football team cannot find a suitable foreign coach in a short period of time, then the Football Association may use the local coaches who have led the national football team before, and let them temporarily take on the role of technical director to lead the national football team to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers in March.
In this case, Gao Hongbo may come out of the mountain again to save the national football team.
Gao Hongbo has coached the national football team twice, his record is quite good, and his technical football has also significantly improved the ranking of the national football team.
He is currently in charge of youth training at the Football Association, and he also has his own views on the current situation and future of the national football team.
If the Football Association wants to find a local coach, then Gao Hongbo is undoubtedly one of the most suitable candidates.
The defeat of the national football team in the Asian Cup made Chinese football fall into a trough again.
But we can't give up hope because of that, we need to stay calm and rational and continue to work hard to improve our level and strength.
Choosing a suitable head coach is the first step for the national football team to get out of the predicament, but it is not the only step.
We also need to reform the football system, strengthen youth training, cultivate more excellent players, and increase the popularity and influence of football.
Only in this way can we truly realize the rise of Chinese football, return the national football team to the top in Asia, and even challenge the world's first-class.
Cui Kangxi introduced 4 "descendants" in one go, Shandong Taishan makes people unable to understand that the 2023 Chinese Super League has been carried out for six rounds, and Shandong Taishan team ranks fifth with three wins, two draws and one loss, only three points away from the Guangzhou Evergrande team at the top of the list.
Such a record is undoubtedly satisfactory for a team that has just changed managers.
However, fans were puzzled and even dissatisfied with the Taishan team's recruitment strategy.
Why did head coach Choi Kang-hee bring in four players he had coached in one go? Was he motivated by selfishness or did he have far-reaching strategic considerations? Choi Kang-hee is a well-known coach in Asian football, who has led the Korean national team and Jeonbuk Hyundai to win the Asian Cup and AFC Champions League, and has also coached three teams in the Chinese Super League: Tianjin Quanjian, Dalian Yifang and Shanghai Shenhua.
His coaching style is characterised by intense physical training and a full-court press-and-press style of play, and his teams are usually able to display strong fighting and cohesion.
However, he also has his own stubbornness and preferences, he likes to use players he knows and trusts, he is very strict with the discipline and execution of his players, and he is not easy to get along with players with strong personalities.
These characteristics have also caused him a lot of controversy and trouble, and none of his three teams in the Chinese Super League have achieved the desired results and have not stayed in office for long.
In May 2023, Cui Kangxi took over the coaching whip of Shandong Taishan team, which is his fourth time coaching a team in the Chinese Super League, and his first time coaching a traditional giant club with deep heritage and strong strength.
The Taishan team ranked fourth last season and has a group of excellent players at home and abroad, including Fellaini, Jin Jingdao, Liu Junshuai, Liu Binbin, Wang Tong and so on.
However, the Taishan team also faced some difficulties and challenges, and the former head coach Hao Wei was arrested for alleged sexual assault, which hit the team's reputation hard and affected the mentality of the players.
In addition, there are also some problems with the lineup of the Taishan team, the average age of the players is on the high side, the lack of fresh blood and competitiveness, and the team's attack and defense are not stable and effective enough.
The arrival of Choi Kang-hee is undoubtedly to bring changes and improvements to the Taishan team, but in what way and at what cost is his change and promotion? After Choi Kang-hee took office, he quickly started the work of recruiting and bringing in a total of four players, namely South Korean defender Kim Sang-sik, South Korean striker Kim Shin-yu, Chinese defender Li Shuai, and Chinese striker Lee Won-il.
The common feature of these four players is that they were all once "descendants" of Choi Kang-hee and have all played for the team coached by Choi Kang-hee.
Kim Sang-sik and Kim Shin-wook are Choi Kang-hee's right-hand men at Jeonbuk Hyundai, both of whom have won the AFC Champions League with the team and have both been selected for the South Korean national team.
Li Shuai and Li Yuanyi are Cui Kangxi's favorite players in Shanghai Shenhua, both of whom have won the FA Cup under the leadership of Cui Kangxi, and both have been selected for the Chinese national team.
The joining of these four players is undoubtedly to enhance the strength and depth of the Taishan team, and also to allow Cui Kangxi to establish his own tactical system and style in the team faster.
However, the introduction of these four players has also raised some doubts and objections.
First of all, the age of these four players is not young, Kim Sang-sik and Kim Shin-wook are both 33 years old, Lee Shuai and Lee Won-il are both 31 years old, their form and physical fitness have declined, whether they can adapt to Choi Kang-hee's high-intensity training and games, and whether they can bring long-term stability and development to the Taishan team, it remains to be seen.
Secondly, the introduction of these four players will also have a certain impact and impact on the original players of the Taishan team, they will occupy a certain amount of playing time and position, will squeeze the opportunities and space of some young players, will affect the status and mentality of some veterans, will break the tacit understanding and cooperation between some players, and will increase some contradictions and frictions within the team.
Finally, the introduction of these four players will also make the tactical play of the Taishan team become single and rigid, they are all Cui Kangxi's "descendants", and they all play according to Cui Kangxi's requirements and ideas, they will make the Taishan team's offense and defense more dependent on Cui Kangxi's command and arrangement, and will also make the Taishan team's tactical changes and innovations more difficult and lacking.
Is Choi Kang-hee's strategy of recruiting reinforcements out of selfishness, or is it a far-reaching strategic consideration? This is a difficult question to answer, and perhaps only Choi Kang-hee himself knows.
However, we can find some clues and inspirations from his coaching experience and achievements.