As the 2023 season comes to an end, the Chinese Super League is showing an unprecedented phenomenon - a wave of coaching changes sweeping through the league. Even the two giants, Harbor and Shenhua, who just won the championship, have decided to change their coaches. The relegation team is also not willing to show weakness, Qingdao Hainiu even replaced the relegation meritorious coach. All in all, most of the Chinese Super League clubs are looking forward to a breakthrough in the new season, so they have taken the initiative to start the mode of changing coaches. In January 2024, as coaching changes continue, veteran club Henan has also joined the ranks of managerial changes. After Sarko led the team to relegation, the club was still dissatisfied with its performance despite the praise from the outside world and the relative stability of its lineup. As a result, after 10 months at the helm of the team, Sarko had no choice but to step down.
With this decisive decision, Henan also left a hand for themselves. The club officially announced that they welcome the new coach after reaching negotiations with South Korean star coach Nam Ki Ik, who has become the first new coach of the CSL in 2024. When it comes to Nam Ki Ik, fans familiar with the Korean league are naturally no strangers. The 50-year-old coach has set two records in the Korean soccer world. First, he was the first coach to lead three different clubs, Cheonan City, Gwangju and Seongnam, to promotion to the K-League, and all of them reaped the rewards of Nam Ki-il's coaching. Secondly, he is also the longest coach in the history of Korean soccer, with a wealth of experience, which is a major reason why Hanam is looking at Nam Ki-il.
Before Nam Ki-il joined Henan, he coached Jeju United, leading the team to a solid mid-to-high-table K-League finish over the past two seasons, contributing immensely. For his outstanding performance in team leadership, Nam won the Coach of the Month honor several times and his popularity soared. Henan also offered Nam a generous package, and the two sides hit it off right away. The joining of Nam Ki-yi coincides with the 30th birthday of Henan, which is not only a gift to the outside world, but also the club's expectation and confidence in the performance of the new season. With the pressure of relegation still on Henan, it is more realistic to aim for a place in the Asian Champions League.
However, after signing Nam Ki-yi, Henan also faces certain risks. On the one hand, Nam Ki-il has been coaching in the Korean league for a long time and lacks coaching experience in the international league, which is a challenge for him. It is not clear whether he can adapt to the brand new league environment. Once he is unable to integrate effectively, Henan's performance will be difficult to guarantee.
On the other hand, the arrival of Korean coaches brought with it a language barrier. Difficulties in communication were evident, with both internal and external assistance needing to be matched with Korean translators. While communication itself was not difficult, an adaptation period was essential. The early signing was also intended to help Nam Ki Ik integrate into the team more quickly, aiming to complete the bonding during the winter training phase and prepare for the new season.
