The suspense of the new coach of the Chinese men's football team is over
In the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup, the Chinese men's football team ranked third in the group stage with 1 draw and 2 losses, and failed to qualify. It also means that head coach Jankovic's national football journey is over. While disappointing the fans, the Chinese Football Association is also facing the difficult situation of choosing a new coach. After a month of observation and screening, the well-known European coach Ivankovic has become the best candidate and is expected to be officially announced as the new coach of the Chinese men's football team after the Spring Festival.
1. The loss of the Asian Cup caused Jankovic to step down
In this Asian Cup, the Chinese men's football team was divided into Group C, and the group opponents were South Korea, Uzbekistan and Iran. The first game was 0:2 to South Korea, and because South Korea defeated Uzbekistan 2:1 in the last game, the Chinese team was out of the tournament early. In the last game against the strong opponent Iran, the Chinese team played an outstanding performance throughout the game, establishing attacks many times, although they lost 0:1, but also showed a positive side.
Overall, the performance of the Chinese team in this Asian Cup is not bad, and it has been a great improvement compared to only 1 point in 2018. But there were almost no goals in three games, and the attacking end was clearly lacking. This is mainly related to the defensive style of play of coach Jankovic. Since he took office, the Chinese team's defense has indeed been more solid, but at the cost of insufficient offensive firepower. This also highlights the lack of talent reserves and tactical level of the Chinese team.
After exiting the Asian Cup, Jankovic resigned as head coach. The outside world commented that he brought a change in defensive thinking to the Chinese team, but his defensive strategy limited the team, and it was time for tactical adjustments and blood changes. The most urgent task next is to find a new coach who can bring new changes to the Chinese team.
Second, the Football Association selects coaches with high standards, and Queiroz becomes the best candidate
In order to ensure the selection of the most suitable head coach candidate, the Chinese Football Association has set up a special selection expert group composed of Shen Xiangfu, Cheng Yaodong and Fu Bo. They have set four criteria: international vision and experience, understanding of the development of Chinese football, successful cases, and reasonable salary expectations.
Portugal coach Queiroz has long been regarded as the best candidate for the Chinese men's football team. Queiroz has coached at top clubs such as Real Madrid and Manchester United, and led the Portuguese national team to Euro 2016. He is also very familiar with Asian football, having coached the largest league in Asia, the Japanese Professional League, for eight years.
Because of this, Queiroz has become the first choice of the Chinese Football Association. According to reports, the Football Association has made full preparations to bring in Queiroz, including offering an annual salary of 1.5 million to 2 million euros and giving him enough managerial autonomy. For a time, public opinion was generally optimistic about the possibility of Queiroz becoming the new manager.
3. Algeria cut off halfway, and the national football coach was in trouble again
However, while Chinese fans were waiting for the news of Queiroz's joining, the Algerian Football Association intervened at a critical moment and successfully signed Queiroz. It is reported that Algeria offers an annual salary of 3 million euros, which undoubtedly exceeds the price line of the Chinese Football Association. So, Queiroz chose Algeria.
The news that Queiroz was "cut off" put the national football coach in trouble again. The World Championship against Singapore will start at the end of March, and the change of dynasty will require a certain period of operation, so the time is very tight at the moment. Local coaches Xu Zhengyuan, Xie Hui and others do not meet the criteria for selecting coaches, and foreign coaches such as Marcelo and Cannavaro ask too high prices, which leads to the Football Association being unable to find suitable candidates for a long time.
Fourth, Ivankovic became the only suitable candidate
After repeated screening and evaluation, Ivankovic has become the only suitable candidate for the new coach of the national football team. The Serbian coach has coached in major leagues and national teams, and led Shandong Taishan to the Chinese Super League title, with a positive coaching style.
Ivankovic's coaching experience and achievements may be a little less than that of Queiroz, but he knows Chinese football better and his last time in China was a huge success. This will undoubtedly help him adapt to the environment more quickly and integrate into the national football team for reconstruction. In addition, his expected annual salary is only 1.5 million euros, which is fully in line with the price standard of the national football team.
Therefore, although Ivankovic is not the first choice, under various factors, he has become the best candidate for the national football coach position at this stage. It is reported that Ivankovic himself also expressed a strong interest and confidence in coaching, and said that he would give an answer within ten days. All indications indicate that he is very likely to be officially announced as the new coach of the national football team after the Spring Festival.
Fifth, the Chinese Football Association needs to be more decisive in decision-making
The process of changing the coach of the Chinese men's football team this time also exposed some problems in the decision-making and action of the Chinese Football Association.
The Queiroz incident shows that the Chinese Football Association is not decisive and direct enough, resulting in missed opportunities. In addition, there has been hesitation to bring in a head coach. It turns out that in order to hire a truly first-class coach, it is necessary to provide adequate salary and support. The Chinese Football Association still needs to change its concept on this point.
It can be said that this change of coach can be described as "moving forward in failure". It is hoped that the Chinese Football Association can learn a lesson from this, and when choosing the head coach of the national football team in the future, it can be more decisive, open and direct, and truly seek the best solution for the Chinese team and create better results.