Yesterday, as the new season of the Chinese Super League kicked off, the new national football coaching team headed by the famous Croatian coach Branko Ivankovic also began to comprehensively inspect the players through the league.
A reporter from Beijing Youth Daily learned that Ivankovic is expected to return to China around the 5th of this month due to the recent visa renewal procedures for China in Croatia.
The three foreign assistants who assisted him in coaching the national football team have arrived in China this week, and will be accompanied by several local assistants to visit various Chinese Super League divisions to inspect players.
On February 24, the Chinese Football Association confirmed through official channels that the 70-year-old Croatian coach Ivankovic was hired to replace Serbian coach Jankovic as the new national football coach.
The next day, Ivankovic traveled from Beijing to Shanghai and watched the new Super Cup match between Shenhua and Shanghai SIPG, thus officially entering the role of head coach of the national football team.
That night after the game, Ivankovic left Shanghai and returned to Croatia.
This is because he has to pack his bags for a long-term coaching trip in China and at the same time go through the renewal procedures for his visa to China.
According to reports, on February 27, local time, my country’s Ambassador to Croatia Qi Qianjin met with Ivankovic.
Ivankovic said that he was honored to coach the Chinese national team. He had spent an unforgettable time in China and had good feelings for the Chinese people.
He believes that although this position (Chinese team coach) is full of challenges, he will do his best to carry out the work, fully stimulate the potential of the athletes, and lead the team to achieve more victories.
It is understood that since it will take some time to deal with related matters, Ivankovic is expected to return to China around March 5.
However, as the Chinese Football Association confirmed at the media briefing meeting on February 29, before Ivan returned to Croatia, he had officially started specific work on national football coaching.
It is understood that several Croatian assistants confirmed to assist Ivankovic in coaching the national football team have arrived in China this week.
They are assistant coach Mario Tokic, goalkeeper coach Igor Panatic, and fitness coach Marko Stilinovic.
These people are actually Ivan's right-hand assistants when coaching the Oman team.
Another foreign analyst has joined the national football coaching staff and will come to China as soon as possible after completing the visa procedures.
According to the plan, Tokic, Pannatic and Stilinovic will go to some divisions of the Chinese Super League separately this weekend to inspect players.
The Chinese team will regroup in Shenzhen on March 11, and Ivankovic and his foreign assistants will also meet publicly with the media.
After a week of local training, he went to Singapore on the 18th to participate in the third round of the top 36 with the Singaporean team.
After the first-round clash between the two teams was held on the 21st, the entire team returned to China on the 22nd to prepare for the second-round clash between the two sides in Tianjin on the 26th.
Text/reporter Xiao Nan