For various reasons, Shenhua were unable to keep this very good 'stopgap' at the end of the season. In 2004, Dejan Saric returned to China and joined Xiamen Blue Lions in the Central League. However, his return did not last long. He never appeared again in the Chinese professional scene, after the season.
Dejan Saric reportedly went on to establish a soccer school in Serbia, and the school's logo actually mimics Shenhua's. This is a testament to his nostalgia for his time at Shenhua.
In any case, Saric Jr, the child of Saric Sr, has now joined Qingdao Hainiu, and after 23 years, he will continue to prove the ability of the "Old Saric Family" by playing in the top league of China with Qingdao Hainiu.
With the addition of Marko Saric, Qingdao Hainiu also have an interesting scenario of having two foreigners named Saric in their squad. As this season, they also introduced 33-year-old Bosnia and Herzegovina midfielder Elvis Saric. This particular renaming is really rare on the green field. According to reports, the Chinese translation of Marko Saric is translated as "Saric" to facilitate communication.
Qingdao Hainiu will host Chengdu Rongcheng on Friday, August 4 at 19:35 in the 20th round of the 2023 Chinese Super League season. Sharic is expected to make his debut at that time.
