The new Turkish coach will return to China tonight to renew his visa, and will bring four foreign assistants, Zheng Zhi and Shao Jiayi to stay in office
According to the plan, the new coach of the Chinese team, Ivankovic, will watch the Super Cup "Shanghai Derby" in Shanghai on February 25, and depart for Croatia that night to implement the renewal of visas to China. He expects to return to China as soon as early March, followed by a trip to the Chinese Super League to inspect the players. According to a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily, including assistant coach Mario Tokizi, a total of 4 Croatian assistant coaches assisted Ivan to coach the national football team. In addition, Zhang Yu, the interpreter of the former Shenhua team and the Croatian coach of the 1989 National Olympic Team, Blazevic, will serve as Ivankovic's full-time interpreter during his tenure as coach of the national football team.
In fact, while the Chinese Football Association confirmed the hiring of Ivankovic, other details about the cooperation between the two sides have also been finalized. It is reported that the two sides signed a long-term contract of no less than 3 years, and the contract period is until the end of the 2027 Asian Cup. However, the Chinese Football Association has also set detailed and strict "restriction clauses" in the contract between the two parties. In other words, during the total contract period, Ivankovic's coaching team must complete the various phased leadership targets as agreed. If he takes over the team, his first goal is to lead the team to the round of 18 of the 2026 World Preliminary Championship. In other words, if Ivan is unable to complete the stage goal, then the Chinese Football Association has the right to unilaterally terminate the cooperation.
Like his predecessor Jankovic, Ivankovic will also bring a number of foreign assistants to the national football coaching staff. The new national football coaching team will select 4 foreign assistant coaches according to Ivan's recommendation, namely the first assistant coach, physical coach, goalkeeper coach and technical and tactical analyst. Zheng Zhi, Shao Jiayi and other members of the Chinese coaching team during Jankovic's tenure are likely to stay in the team to help the new coach familiarize themselves with the team and candidate international players, and build a bridge of communication between the new coaching staff members and the players.
It is understood that Ivankovic is very eager to familiarize himself with the current situation of the Chinese Super League and players as soon as possible. According to the plan, he will leave Shanghai for Croatia that night after watching the Super Cup. On the one hand, he packed his bags for the next long-term work in China, and on the other hand, he wanted to renew his visa to China. If all goes well, Ivankovic will return to China as soon as early March, after which he will be the first to travel to the Chinese Super League to further examine the players.
It is also understood that in order to cooperate with Ivankovic's smooth coaching of the country, the Chinese Football Association has invited a professional with rich experience in football translation work to serve as a full-time translator for the new coach. This person is Zhang Yu, who served as the translator of the late famous coach, former Shanghai Shenhua and the coach of the 1989 National Olympic team, Blazevic. Prior to that, he also served as an interpreter for former Jiangsu Shuntian team coach Dragan and former Wuhan Zall team coach Baisek.
Since it is only about half a month before the national football team reconcentrates in early March, it is impossible for Ivankovic to independently complete the inspection of all players in such a short period of time. Therefore, the new national football training squad needs to be recommended by the Chinese coaching team to a large extent, and the specific candidates may not be very different from the Asian Cup.
Text/Beiqing Sports Xiao Yun