Chinese Super League powerhouse Henan Songshan Dragons announced yesterday evening that the team reached an agreement with head coach Javier Pereira to terminate his contract, with youth team head coach Antonio Gomez taking over the baton for the remainder of the season. Javier, who was originally quarantined in Shanghai for entry prevention, eventually negotiated the termination of his contract with Henan due to a coaching offer from La Liga side Levante.
:: Rapid response
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Only two days ago, Spanish newspaper Marca revealed that Javier Pereira was in talks with Henan about terminating his contract, and that despite his isolation in Shanghai, Levante's invitation had given Javier the idea of returning to his home country to coach.
Levante's performance is sluggish this season, only 4 draws and 4 losses in the first 8 rounds, 3 consecutive rounds of defeats, the team has dropped to 18th place, only 3 points more than the bottom of the table Getafe. After the 8th round, Levante fired Paco Lopez, and Javier became the choice of the new head coach. In fact, Javier is very familiar with Levante, having helped them reach the UEFA Cup for the first time in the 2012/2013 season as Juan Martinez's assistant coach, reaching the round of 16.
Last September, Javier took over Henan and led the team to a 9th place finish. This season, Henan nearly broke into the championship group, although ultimately failed, but the team's performance is noteworthy, relegation situation is very good. Previously, Javier had ended his vacation and returned to Shanghai to undergo isolation. However, during the quarantine period, Levante extended the olive branch, and Javier decided to return to coaching.
As a "firefighter", Javier signed a contract with Levante until the end of the 2021/2022 season, with a one-year extension if they manage to survive relegation. It is worth mentioning that, coupled with the Shenzhen team manager Cruyff in May this year by Barcelona, this is the second time this season, the Chinese Super League encountered the Western League team poaching.
● Separation during the quarantine period
Javier: regrets not being able to say goodbye in person
The management of Henan team expressed their satisfaction with the coaching of Javier. In the departure announcement, Henan said that the team made the decision to terminate the contract after fully considering Mr. Javier's personal wishes and expressed their blessings to Javier.
Meanwhile, Javier, who is in quarantine, also expressed his gratitude to Henan and the team through social media and made it clear that leaving Henan was his own personal behavior and not a conflict with the team. Javier wrote: "I made a personal decision to leave the head coaching position of Henan Songshan Longmen, and despite their insistence on extending my contract, they respected my final decision."
Due to the decision to leave during the quarantine period, Javier will return to Spain directly after the end of the quarantine period, without having to go to Zhengzhou to say goodbye to the team. In this regard, Javier expressed great regret. "I want to thank the players, staff and fans, I regret that I can not say goodbye to everyone at home, I hope you can understand the reasons behind my decision," Javier said, "Henan team has become an important part of my career, I sincerely hope that this is only a temporary parting, we will meet again on the road ahead."
Following Javier's departure, Henan then appointed U21 boss Antonio Gomez to take over. Gomez will lead the team in the AFC Cup and the second phase of the Chinese Super League over the next three months.
