Portuguese coach Paulo Bento did not renew his contract with the Korean Football Association (KFA) after the World Cup in Qatar. Some media outlets pointed out that the CFA wanted Bento to be the new head coach of the national football team and sent an official invitation. However, as things stand, that goal has fallen through - according to Poland's claim TVPSport TV: 53-year-old Paulo Bento will be the new coach of the Polish team, and the appointment will be announced next week by the president of the Polish Football Federation, Kulesza.
Hondo
Last January, former Poland coach Paulo Sousa insisted on terminating his contract and leaving for Flamengo. With the world qualifying playoffs approaching, Polish Football Association (PFA) president Kulesza temporarily abandoned the "foreign coach route" and appointed 52-year-old Czesław Mihnevich as Poland's head coach.
Kulesha and Mihnevich
Although Mihnevich's professional resume is not glamorous, the local coach who focuses on "practicality" has led Poland to accomplish three tasks: to reach the Qatar World Cup finals; to stay in the UEFA A League; and to reach the last 16 of the Qatar World Cup.
According to the Polish Football Association's previous consensus with Mihnevic: once the set target is reached, the two sides will renew their contracts after the World Cup, but due to the overly conservative style of play, Mihnevic was criticized by the Polish media and fans, and Kulesza, who was affected by public opinion, eventually announced that he would not renew his contract with Mihnevic.
Kulesha
After that, the selection panel headed by Kulesha quickly circled the candidates for the new coach, invariably famous foreign coaches. With Steven Gerrard declining the offer, Vladimir Petkovic and Paulo Bento became the two most popular candidates.
Three candidates
Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Petkovic spent many years in Swiss soccer and has a Swiss passport.In 2012, he made his debut in the top five leagues as head coach of Lazio. After leading the team to win the Coppa Italia, he became head coach of Switzerland.
In his seven years in charge in Switzerland, Petkovic's three campaigns (two Euros and one World Cup) led the team to the knockout stage, with Euro 2020 setting the best record in the team's history (top eight finish). However, after coaching Bordeaux, he was dismissed because of his poor record.
Bento to coach Chongqing Lifan
Paulo Bento has no experience of coaching in the top five leagues compared to Petkovic, but he has a more distinguished record at national team level - Bento led Portugal to the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 and guided an underwhelming South Korea side to break through to the group stage of the just-concluded World Cup in Qatar.
Hondo
Earlier this week, Polish Football Federation (PFF) President Kulesza had already told the media that Poland's new coach would definitely be a foreign coach, with the PFF set to announce the appointment on another day.The latest news from TVPSport TV suggests that the new coach is Portuguese Paulo Bento, and that the newly-formed coaching staff will also include a local Polish coach.
