On February 13, Sports Weekly broke the news that Antonio Gomez, the former head coach of Henan Songshan Dragons, will take charge of the Qingdao Sea Bulls. Meanwhile, the names of Kim Byung-soo and Stano have long been closely associated with the coaching position of Qingdao Sea Bulls.
Before Antonio was finalized, the names of Kim Byung-soo and Stano were in the spotlight for a while. Kim Byung-soo, who is known in South Korea as the "Guardiola of the K-League", was interested in coming to China at the end of last year, and had a strong connection with the Qingdao Manatees. However, Kim's contact with the Qingdao Manatees ended in vain, but he was indeed one of the candidates for the team.
Another candidate is Chinese Super League star Stano, who has coached Dalian Albin, Beijing Guoan, Beijing Beijin and Beijing Renhe. Stano has been idle since his dismissal from Belgrade Rangers in 2022. He was said to be interested in returning to China last year, but Turkish Super League's Anasia Sports extended an olive branch to him. It is understood that the Turkish Super League for Stano to provide the conditions of treatment far more than his period in the guerrilla team, which is extremely rare in Europe. In the end, Stano chose Turkey.
Antonio Gomez has a long association with the Qingdao Sea Bulls, having coached the Henan Songshan Dragons.In October 2021, after Javier left for La Liga, Antonio became the head coach of the Henan Songshan Dragons U21 youth team. He has had both successes and setbacks in terms of his performance in leading the team. He led Henan to a historic run to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup, and at one point led the team to a seven-game unbeaten run in the league, with only two goals scored by their opponents. Before arriving at Henan in November 2020, he also assisted Stielike at Tianjin Teda.
Qingdao has made him their top target this time around, with sources saying that Antonio's familiarity with Chinese soccer, especially in tapping players' potential, has made him highly sought after. Currently, Antonio is on the verge of taking charge of the Sea Bulls' coaching staff. As for the construction of the coaching staff, former Shandong soccer player Su Maozhen is expected to return.
