Fans who follow Chinese soccer are no strangers to the Croatian coach. Back in 2009, Ivankovic developed an attachment to Chinese soccer. He coached Chinese Super League giants Shandong Luneng for a year and a half, leading the team to win the 2010 Chinese Super League title. He also coached Oman to a direct match against China in last year's Round of 12. Oman went undefeated in the two matches with a win and a draw, making the Chinese men's soccer team an early World Cup spectator.
He also led Oman into a slump at the Asian Cup earlier in the year. In three group matches, Oman only managed two draws and one loss, and were eliminated after the group stage. The unexpected exit from the Asian Cup also led to a decision by the Oman Football Association not to renew Ivankovic's contract, which was due to expire, and so he regained his freedom. Considering that the preliminaries will start in March, the national football team must find a coach who is familiar with Asian soccer, and Ivankovic entered the scope of the FA's investigation at this time.
After many comparisons, Ivankovic was more in line with the CFA's requirements in terms of seniority, salary, and teaching performance, so his eventual victory didn't surprise anyone. As for the local coach Gao Hongbo, who has a high reputation among fans, he didn't even make the list of candidates. Because the FA is the new coach of the national football circle, so it is still a high-level foreign coach. After the Li Tie bribery scandal broke out, the local coach seems to have lost the trust of the top management.
Hopefully, under the command of this new coach, the Chinese men's soccer team can get out of the slump as soon as possible and regain the feeling of winning!
