It wasn't Shin Tae-yong, the new head coach was promoted to U20 coach, temporary system for the East Asian Cup

Jun 18, 2025

Shin Tae-yong was not the coach chosen by China, which was in a hurry.

Indonesia's CNN reported on the 14th (Korea time) 'Shin Tae-yong has been targeted by the Chinese national team, and news has been reported that the Chinese Football Association is approaching Shin Tae-yong as the successor of Coach Branko Ivankovic'Shin is considered the right person to restore the honor of Chinese soccer. He gained attention in Indonesia and made historical achievements in several competitions. China's love call is not the first time, either. Before taking over as Indonesia's coach in 2019, he received a love call from China. However, he reported that Shin Tae-yong chose Indonesia at the time, expressing China's coach Shin Tae-yong's interest.

Head coach Shin Tae-yong later said in an interview with domestic media that he has not received any suggestions yet. The Jung-gu Football Association does not seem to have moved for coach Shin Tae-yong. For now, China seems to have set its direction to operate as a temporary coach for the East Asian Football Confederation E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) next month.

Sportschosun DB

Citing a report by the Beijing Youth Daily on the 17th, China's Dongchudi cited the possibility that Dejan Zhurzevic, a Serbian coach who is the coach of the under-20 national team, will play in the East Asian Cup as the role of the national team's 'firefighter coach'. Djurzevic is likely to be the interim coach, but the Chinese Football Association has not made a final decision so far. In addition to Djurjevic, there has also been a possibility that domestic leaders such as Zhengzi and Chen Tao will be included in the temporary coaching staff,' it said.

From China's point of view, there is no need to appoint a director in a hurry. China, which aimed for the 2026 North Korea-China World Cup finals, is aware of the need for a major change as it was eliminated from the third qualifying round as a result of shock. As soon as Ivankovic was replaced, he began work to appoint a new coach, but it is understood that he has not yet formed a final candidate group. Head coach Shin Tae-yong is also presumed to be one of the names that came out in the process of inferring the candidate group.

사진=신화뉴스

The Chinese Football Association is expected to turn to the end to consider the head coach who can lead at least the Asian Cup to be held in January 2027, rather than quickly appointing the head coach for the East Asian Cup, which is less than three weeks away.

Djurzewic is a Serbian-born leader who has led China's national team by age since 2023. He has been in charge of the under-23 national team in 2023, and has been in charge of the under-20 national team since 2024. In the East Asian Cup, young prospects can receive many opportunities, so coach Djurjevic, who knows Chinese prospects well, may be the right person. No final decision has been made yet, but the final announcement will be made soon as the East Asian Cup is just around the corner.

China will bring in a real head coach when the interim coach system of Djurjevic is completed. Director Robert Mancini, who led Saudi Arabia and an Italian master, is also being discussed there.

Reporter Kim Dae-sik rlaeotlr2024@sportschosun.com

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.