Bento, the longest-serving head coach, begins the process of appointing a media director whether the worst Chinese head coach will be real

Jul 16, 2025

Sportschosun DB

Will the Chinese Football Association really approach coach Paulo Bento.

China won 1-0 in the third match of the 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) against Hong Kong at Mir Stadium in Yongin at 4 p.m. on the 15th. China, which won the match against Hong Kong, finished the tournament in third place.

Recently, Chinese soccer has been on a serious decline. World Cup hopes were dashed as they were eliminated from the third qualifying round in the Asian region for the 2026 World Cup in North Korea and the U.S. He even made a decision to expel coach Branko Ivankovic and then declared a generational change, preparing for the East Asian Cup. However, he also realized a wide gap against South Korea and Japan in the East Asian Cup, and won against Hong Kong, but did not threaten Hong Kong much.

Considering that Southeast Asian countries are steadily strengthening their power through recent naturalization policies, Chinese soccer could be in more crisis. What Chinese soccer can expect right now is the appointment of a coach.

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Chinese media outlet Wang Yi said, `The most urgent problem the national team needs to solve at the moment is to find a new coach. Dejan Djurjevic took the helm urgently this time and played in the East Asian Cup, and his leadership is well known to all fans. However, it is very unlikely that Djurzevic will be appointed as a full-time coach. The Chinese Football Association will begin to select coaches around the world in the future, and the maximum budget for the appointment of coaches is reported to be 1.2 million euros (about 1.9 billion won). This amount is enough to attract the attention of many master craftsmen,' he said.

It is not yet known which coaches the Chinese Football Association has contacted, but it has been reported which coaches have been selected as candidates. Surprisingly, Bento, the longest-serving head coach in Korea's history, is included in the candidate group.

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Last month, China's Sohu Dotcom said 'The process of appointing the next coach of the Chinese national soccer team has taken an important step forward. According to a number of media outlets, including the Beijing Youth Daily, Fabio Cannavaro officially submitted his application to the Chinese Football Association and entered the competition for the national team coach position. The targets for this appointment have been narrowed down to three foreign coaches, and in addition to Cannavarro, Portuguese master Paulo Bento and Spanish Felix Sanchez have been nominated. The association is still weighing on the appointment of foreign leaders, and the final director is expected to be announced as early as September,' it reported.

Bento left with applause after South Korea's miraculous advance to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He later became the UAE's head coach, but was fired in March. I'm currently taking a break.

Before Bento led South Korea, he once led a Chinese club, Chongqing Lippan, and he is very well received within China because he has a high understanding of Asian soccer. At the time, Sohu said 'Bentu made significant achievements through his iron wall defense and counterattack during his time in the Korean national team. He gave a positive evaluation, saying, 'It fits well with the reality of Chinese soccer with a tactic of tightening the defense line and utilizing fast players in front of him.

If Bento really takes the helm of China, a new story with South Korea will be written.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.