[OSEN] Reports indicate that the Chinese Football Association's interest in head coach Shin Tae-yong is unclear.
Sohu.com reported on the 14th (Korea time) that "head coach Ivan Kovic adjusted the conditions for his contract termination with the Chinese Football Association and left China immediately." After taking charge in February 2023, Ivan Kovic ended up stepping down with disappointing results, recording 4 wins, 2 draws, and 8 losses (28.57% win rate) in 14 matches.
In particular, after suffering a 0-7 defeat to Japan in the third round of the World Cup Asian qualifiers and a 0-1 loss to Indonesia, their elimination was effectively confirmed. The final record was 5th place in the group, marking China's failure to advance to the finals for the 6th consecutive time since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.
Amid this situation, Shin Tae-yong's name has come up as a potential candidate for the next head coach in China, creating a stir. Interestingly, Shin was the one who criticized Chinese football as "crappy football" less than a year ago.
During a press conference after leading the Indonesia national team in a match against China in October last year, head coach Shin Tae-yong expressed bluntly, "I didn't know Chinese football could play such crappy football." At the time, this was a response to a question from Chinese media that seemed to belittle Indonesia's performance.
Although this remark stirred significant controversy among local fans and media, reports have surfaced that the Chinese Football Association has chosen to pursue practicalities by including Shin in the candidate list. The source of this report is local Indonesian media.
CNN Indonesia reported on the 15th that "the Chinese Football Association is considering head coach Shin Tae-yong as a candidate for the next head coach following the dismissal of head coach Ivan Kovic."
According to reports, head coach Shin was already inquired about by China in 2019, but at that time, he chose to take the position as the head coach of the Indonesia national team. Since then, he has successfully led a generational change in the Indonesia national team and earned recognition for his leadership through remarkable achievements in various international competitions. Locally, there are voices evaluating him as "the right person to rebuild Chinese football."
However, head coach Shin Tae-yong has not yet received a clear offer from the Chinese Football Association.
A representative of head coach Shin stated, "Contrary to what has been reported by the Indonesian media, head coach Shin has not received any proposal or contact from the Chinese Football Association," adding, "Head coach Shin is currently serving as the vice president of the Korea Football Association and also as the Director General of Seongnam FC on a non-regular basis. Therefore, he is currently engaged in various activities."
He continued, "If there had been an offer from China, that would be a different matter, but there is no concrete basis for consideration."
Sources in Chinese football said, "There’s no need to doubt head coach Shin Tae-yong's abilities. However, the Chinese Football Association is also undergoing various considerations. Since head coach Ivan Kovic has left China, they have begun reflecting on their future steps."
Head coach Shin led the Indonesia national team and successfully implemented a generational change and naturalization strategy, proving competitiveness in the Asian Cup and World Cup qualifiers.
Therefore, head coach Shin's leadership is clearly highly regarded. There are no doubts about his leadership not only in domestic football but across Asia as a whole.
However, the complex environment and structural limitations in China are not easily overcome. Head coach Shin also needs to receive a concrete offer to assess the situation.