Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The new coach of the national football team, Ivankovic, is a safe short-term choice.
Xinhua News Agency reporters Xiao Shiyao, Gong Bing, and Zhao Jiantong.
The Chinese Football Association announced on the 24th that Croatian coach Branko Ivankovic was appointed as the head coach of the Chinese men's national football team. This is the sixth coach of the Chinese men's football team in the past five years.
From an objective point of view, Ivankovic, who has rich experience in leading the team and is familiar with Chinese football, is a more secure choice in the short term.
After the defeat in the Asian Cup in January this year, Jankovic lost the public opinion base to continue to lead the team, and it was imperative to change the coach. But there are actually very few choices in front of the Chinese Football Association, on the one hand, the mainstream European leagues are underway, and there are not many excellent coaches who are idle. On the other hand, the 2026 World Cup qualifiers will be restarted in March this year, leaving a new coach with little time to prepare. Coupled with the poor financial situation of the Chinese Football Association, the salary package that can be given is also quite limited.
In the end, Ivankovic was chosen, which was expected. Ivankovic, who has been coaching the Asian national team for a long time, is familiar with the rhythm of preparation for the World Preliminary Tournament and can immediately take over the work of the national football team. The biggest advantage of the Croatian is that he has led the Oman team to play against the Chinese team many times in recent years, and he has a better understanding of the overall situation of the national football players. The experience of coaching in Shandong Taishan has made it easier for him to adapt to the work and life in China, and he will not be "unadaptable". In terms of salary, he is also one of the few coaches who meets the conditions of the Chinese Football Association.
During his four years in charge of Oman, Ivankovic led the team's regeneration, leading them to the round of 12 of the World Preliminary Tournament and beating Japan 1-0 away. After taking charge of the Chinese team, Ivankovic's first goal is to lead the team to the round of 18 of the World Preliminary Tournament. Although the current promotion situation of the Chinese team is relatively favorable, the defeat in the Asian Cup has sounded the alarm for the team, once it fails to qualify for the round of 18, the national football team will fall into an embarrassing situation of no major tournament to play for two years.
Ivankovic needs to help his team regain their confidence as soon as possible to play the four World Qualifiers in March and June this year. If he can make it to the round of 18, he will have a period of preparation to lead the team to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Since 2019, Cannavaro, Lippi, Li Tie, Li Xiaopeng, and Jankovic have ......The coach of the national football team changes frequently, and the longest coaching time is less than two years. The optimistic expectation is that Ivankovic can get two to three years of stable coaching time to promote the replacement of the aging national football team.
Of course, for Chinese football in the trough, it is impossible to expect a coach to bring earth-shaking changes, not to mention that this is an old coach who will celebrate his 70th birthday next week. Even if everything goes well with the team, Ivankovic's time in the national football coach may not be too long.
If we want to truly improve the level of national team construction, Chinese football has a lot to do: strengthen the construction of elite echelons, straighten out the management model of the national team, and actively integrate with international ......It is hoped that Ivankovic's appointment can become the starting point for Chinese football to get out of the current downturn.
*: Xinhuanet).