Hongkou Football Stadium witnessed a football feast, but for the new coach of the national football team, Ivankovic, it was even more of an inspection trip. Immediately after the Super Cup, he departed for Croatia to prepare for the long trip to China.
The purpose of Ivankovic's trip is clear - to understand the current situation of Chinese football and inspect the players. However, judging by last night's game, the performance of the current internationals did not quite live up to expectations. While there was no shortage of good players, overall, their performances were mediocre and lacking in brilliance. This undoubtedly poses no small challenge for Ivankovic.
The Chinese team plans to regroup around March 12 to prepare for the round of 36 of the two-legged World Preliminary Tournament against Singapore. This means that Ivankovic's time to field out potential internationals is very limited. Therefore, the generation of the new national football training squad will rely on the combination of the self-selection of the new foreign coaching team and the recommendation of the Chinese team.
Last night's game attracted a lot of attention, including many national football managers. In the box of the Hongkou football stadium, they played with Ivankovic. In this game, a total of 14 players have been selected for the national football team in different eras. Some of them are the main players of the Asian Cup, and some are players from the time of former coach Jankovic.
However, it is worth noting that the content that can be provided to Ivankovic as a basis for the draft is very limited. On the one hand, due to injuries and other factors, some of the main players did not participate; On the other hand, most of the players in the competition are veterans, and there are very few young players. This makes it more difficult for Ivankovic to select the new national football training squad.
I had an appointment with the author and despite the challenges, Ivankovic was not discouraged. He plans to renew his visa as soon as possible after returning to Croatia and return to China in early March. At that time, he will go to the Chinese Super League and the home stadium of the AFC Champions League 1 4 finals Taishan team to further inspect the players. With only two weeks to go until the round of 36, Ivankovic is likely to send foreign assistants to the regions to get a more complete picture of the players.
At the same time, several Chinese assistant coaches from Jankovic's tenure are likely to stay in the team, and they will assist the new foreign coaches in the selection of international players. This means that the production of the new national football training squad will be the result of the combination of the self-selection of the foreign coach team and the recommendation of the Chinese members. Despite Ivankovic's intention to speed up the change, he could slow down the process under pressure to prepare for the round of 36.
In short, Ivankovic faces no small challenge. He needs to have a comprehensive understanding of the current situation of Chinese football and the situation of players in a short period of time, and build a competitive team to cope with the upcoming round of 36 of the World Preliminary Championship. We look forward to him leading the national football team out of the trough and meeting new challenges.