The national football team's rebuilding plan: appointing a coach before October and prioritizing strong opponents for warm-up matches.

Reporter Chen Yong reported. On July 25, the Chinese Football Association issued a notice for soliciting bids to host the international football invitation tournament for the Chinese national team in the second half of 2025. The timeline for the national football event collection is from October 6 to 14 and November 10 to 18, aligning with FIFA's international match days in October and November. Consequently, the national team has decided not to hold training during the September international match window, but more importantly, the national team will complete the coach selection before October and initiate the rebuilding process.

After Ivan Kovic's resignation, Djordjevic led the team in the East Asian Cup earlier this month, but Djordjevic's future direction is to become the head coach of the U-2007 national team, and the national team will select a completely new head coach. The decision not to hold training in September is mainly due to the U-22 national team participating in the U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers, which actually gives an extra month for the coach selection process.

So far, the candidates revealed are mainly from former national team head coach Ivan Kovic, who recommended former Croatian national team coach Stimac to the Chinese Football Association. Stimac, who was the captain of the Croatian national team, became the head coach in July 2012 and later coached the Indian national team. Known for his defensive strengths and emphasis on confrontation, he has limitations in shaping offensive play. From the perspective of the national team’s current situation, his characteristics relatively align with their needs. However, public opinion domestically is generally lukewarm; after experiencing Eastern European coaches like Jankovic and Ivan Kovic, fans typically oppose Eastern European coaches, preferring those who have long coached in Western Europe.

The awkwardness of selecting a head coach lies in the fact that the funding for this selection is not particularly abundant. Currently, it is estimated to be in the range of 1 to 2 million euros. While this budget is not low globally, it is difficult to afford the salaries of renowned coaches, and fans have high expectations for the selection criteria, creating a contradiction.

A compromise could be to choose cost-effective coaches in Europe, especially in Spain and Germany, or opt for younger coaches. Regardless, the Chinese Football Association needs to conduct comprehensive research on potential candidates, including but not limited to tactical style, adaptability, locker room management, ability to handle pressure, as well as team leadership and communication skills.

A crucial point is that the current management model of the national team has changed significantly from the past. The Chinese Football Association plays more of a "political commissar" role to stimulate players' fighting spirit and cohesion, which has yielded good results in previous top 18 tournaments. Regarding tactics and personnel, the association chooses to fully respect the head coach, and even if there are doubts, it maintains a proactive communication attitude rather than a forceful intervention. This management model needs to be agreed upon between the Chinese Football Association and the new head coach to avoid discrepancies. Of course, if the new head coach demonstrates strong control and influence, the association will naturally welcome it.

In comparison to selecting a coach, preparation is also crucial. Looking back at the national team's last competition cycle, we can identify a very evident issue: the quality of warm-up matches was severely lacking during the preparations for the Asian Cup, the 36-team qualifiers, and the top 18 tournament, especially in the eight warm-up matches in March, June, September, and October of 2023, which performed poorly. By the time of the warm-up match in Dalian in October, there was no host for the national team's game, forcing the Chinese Football Association to take over the organization. Additionally, the opponents at that time were of average strength, making it difficult to motivate the national team, leading to a prolonged state of mediocrity, which carried over into the Asian Cup and ultimately resulted in Jankovic's dismissal.

Recently, during the centenary elite football exchange event held by our newspaper, when interviewing Li Zhangzhu, he discussed the national team's preparation issues: "The Chinese national team's warm-up matches often select Southeast Asian teams and weaker opponents, inviting them to play domestically. Even if such matches are won, what is the significance? In contrast, South Korea chooses strong teams from Brazil or Europe, and losing can actually provide valuable experience for improvement."

Regarding the national team’s preparation, the head coach's opinion is very important, but it is necessary for the Chinese Football Association to communicate fully with the national team coach to avoid facing weaker teams and instead select teams of similar or greater strength. The problem arising from this is that the performance in such matches is generally not very good, and at this point, the Chinese Football Association needs to remain steadfast in its beliefs and not be swayed by public opinion. If they choose weaker teams out of fear of criticism, they will face even harsher scrutiny if they perform poorly in major competitions.

A key point is that in the preparation process for the next cycle, the Chinese Football Association and the national team need to ensure that every match is treated with the same high importance, full support, and mobilization as in the top 18 tournament, putting forth 100% effort and treating every warm-up match as a critical battle. Only in this way can the national team fully adapt in terms of mentality, rhythm, and confrontation when the real competition arrives, as low-quality warm-up matches cannot possibly prepare them for excellent performance in official competitions.