As the night wore on, Shanghai Port FC held a press conference tonight to announce the departure of team manager Leko in a high-profile announcement.
Club executives made it clear at the meeting that after much deliberation, Mr. Ivan Leko is no longer in charge of coaching the first team of Shanghai Port Football Club. With immediate effect, the team will be taken over by Xi Zhikang as head coach.
After the 28th round of the Chinese Super League, Shanghai Port Football Club has accumulated 49 points with a record of 15 wins, 4 draws and 9 losses, temporarily ranking sixth in the league. However, the team has been in a slump recently, suffering three consecutive defeats to Zhejiang, Tianjin Jinmen Tigers and Henan Songshan Longmen.
Looking back to 2021, when Leko took over Shanghai Port and led the team to win the "Double Runner-Up" honor in the Chinese Super League and FA Cup at the end of the season, that glorious chapter is now history.
Going into this season, Leko had the strongest squad in the Chinese Super League in his hands, with the team's overall value and transfer investment the highest in the league. However, the results failed to dazzle as expected and seemed to signal the end of Lecco's coaching career at Shanghai Port.
