Surprisingly, he took it upon himself to take on this new position. The internet was abuzz with the suggestion that Ivankovic was actually waiting for the default to come. Any other coach with a modicum of respectability would have been mortified at the prospect of such a poor record. However, he stood firm, unwilling to give up even a single point of liquidated damages. This further shows that the contract does not contain a clause that the coach will be dismissed if he scores zero points in two rounds of matches. If there really is an "assessment mechanism", then two consecutive defeats obviously do not reach the threshold of dismissal.
Ivankovic's firm stance contrasted with a trip to Guangzhou by Antonio, the rumored favorite to take over as the new manager and head coach of the U21 National Youth League. Antonio was on hand to observe a Chinese League One clash between Guangzhou and Suzhou Dongwu. Not long ago, Antonio coached the U21 National Youth Football Team to a second place finish in the Changsha International Soccer Invitational Tournament with two wins and a draw. Tonight's Central League match will feature Guangzhou's Wang Shijie and Liu Langzhou, as well as Suzhou Dongwu's Hu Haoyue and Ainifa, all of whom were members of the U21 National Youth Football Team.
