As autumn approaches, this season's Chinese Super League has come to a close, with the competitive landscape becoming clearer by the day. Shanghai Seaport is sitting on the title, while Shenzhen and Nantong Zhiyun have been relegated to the first division.
As the league's big picture has been finalized, clubs have begun to lay out their plans for next season. Player transfers and coaching lineup adjustments have become the focus. It is reported that at least three coaches of Chinese Super League teams may face the risk of dismissal after this season. The first to bear the brunt is Nantong Zhiyun's foreign coach Gabriel Garcia. The 44-year-old Spaniard played for La Liga giants Barcelona and won gold medals with the Spanish national team and at the Sydney Olympics.
However, Garcia's brilliant career as a player can't hide his lack of coaching ability. Since taking over Nantong Zhiyun in June, he has only won one game in the league, while the Shenzhen team has achieved the same result even though they have locked up the relegation spot in advance. After a 1-3 defeat away to Qingdao Hainiu, Nantong Zhiyun's relegation situation became more and more serious, and Garcia eventually announced his resignation. Close behind was Shanghai Seaport's head coach Javier. As the league leader, Seaport was certain to win the title this season. However, Javier's performance was questionable, especially since he seemed to be good at leading weak teams. In the first half of the league, he tried his best with his defensive counter-attacking tactics, but after losing the referee's patronage in the second half, Seaport's performance slipped, and they went out of the F.A.C.A. Cup and the AFC Champions League early on. In the recent league matches, Harbour only won 1, drew 1 and lost 3, and the call for Javier's dismissal is getting louder and louder. Last but not least is Wuhan Three Town's head coach Gao Mianmian. Similar to Garcia, Gao took over Wuhan Sanzhen midway through the season. Although the team won the championship last season, they had a poor first half of the season, and the club fired decorated coach Pedro and invited Gao Mianmian to take over. However, Gao had no experience in coaching Chinese Super League teams, having only coached youth teams in the Chinese Super League, and had previously coached a Chinese Championship team. In the league, Wuhan Sanzhen's performance continued to decline, and Gao Mianmian's coaching ability was also questioned.
