With the Chinese men's soccer team on the verge of two crucial matches against Singapore in the 36-team tournament, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) is also in the throes of identifying a new men's soccer head coach.
On the evening of February 21, famous media personality Li Xuan broke the news on social media that the much-anticipated candidate for the new head coach of the national soccer team, Ivankovic, had arrived in China, and allegedly may have come to fight for the new position of coaching the national team.
Born in 1954, Ivankovic coached the Iranian men's soccer team and led them to the final round of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.In 2009, he joined the Chinese Super League as the head coach of Shandong Taishan.In the 2010 season, Ivankovic led the Taishan team to an outstanding performance, winning the championship with a record of 18 victories, 9 draws and 3 defeats, accumulating 63 points, 13 points ahead of the runner-up, Tianjin Jinmen Tigers.
Moreover, during his tenure at Shandong Taishan, Ivankovic set records for the most wins, the most goals scored, the highest goal difference and undefeated at home during the season. At the end of the season, Ivankovic was honored as the "2010 Chinese Super League Coach of the Year". Unfortunately, due to health reasons, Ivanovic resigned in May 2011 as the head coach of Taishan.
Previously, Ivankovic led the Omani national team in the Asian Cup tournament. However, like China, Oman failed to advance in the group stage with two draws and one loss. Subsequently, Ivankovic was relieved of his coaching duties. At this time, he expressed a strong interest in returning to China to coach the Chinese national team. He revealed that he was confident that he could lead the Chinese team to the final stage of the FIFA World Cup Americas.
The CFA is looking at other possible candidates, besides Ivankovic. Former South Korean boss Jurgen Klinsmann and renowned Portuguese coach Queiroz are also considered among the candidates for the new national team manager.
