Chinese football can't do anything right.
The China men's national football team, led by interim coach Dejan Djurdjevic, won 1-0 against Hong Kong in the third match of the 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) held at Yongin Mir Stadium on the afternoon of the 15th. After losing to South Korea (0-3) and Japan (0-2), China earned its first victory and finished the tournament in third place.
The dismal results once again fell on the coach's shoulders. The Chinese Football Association fired Djurdjevic immediately after the tournament ended. China decided to search for a new coach by October and is accepting applications.
According to Mother Sing, a journalist familiar with Chinese football, the Chinese Football Association initially targeted Carlos Queiroz as the new coach and contacted him. The negotiations gained momentum when Queiroz agreed to a salary of 2 million euros (approximately 32.5 billion won).
However, an agent intervened and inflated Queiroz's price to 65 million yuan (approximately 12.55 billion won), ultimately derailing the negotiations. The agent was attempting to pocket some of Queiroz's salary in the middle of the deal. Queiroz took office with the Oman national team in July.
The Chinese Football Association, looking for other candidates, has reportedly narrowed down the final coach candidates to five, all of whom are foreign coaches.
Igor Stimac (58), who is known as Luka Modric's mentor, is one of them. 'Sohu.com' reported, "Stimac has a significant interest in the China national team coaching position. However, he has a few demands. He is demanding full authority over player selection. From the perspective of the Football Association, these demands are considered excessive."
Chinese football has an enduring bad habit. It is commonplace to grant coaches full authority over player selection. However, it is not the norm on the continent. According to Chinese media, the China national team coach is said to have no authority over player selection and staff appointments. No matter how famous a coach is, they become nothing more than a figurehead without full authority.
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