3 managers sent packing as CSL pressure mounts
Print Edition
THREE managers have lost their job after 12 rounds of matches in the Chinese Super League this year.
Jia Xiuquan resigned as head coach of Henan Jianye after the team’s 1-1 draw with Guangzhou R&F on Friday. On the same day, Beijing Guo’an sacked its Portuguese manager Jose Gonzalez following its 0-1 defeat to Chongqing Lifan. Earlier on Thursday, Jiangsu Suning’s South Korean manager Choi Yong-soo quit after the team’s elimination from the AFC Champions League.
Jia, who coached Henan for three years, was among the only three Chinese coaches in CSL. After his resignation, Liaoning Hengfeng’s Ma Lin and Changchun Yatai’s Chen Jingang are the only two left.
“Henan Jianye is not performing well after 12 rounds, with relegation a possibility,” said the club’s statement. “Head coach Jia Xiuquan has taken responsibility and resigned. Investors and club officials tried to dissuade him, but Jia was insistent so we’ve accepted his resignation.”
Henan, with 8 points, shares second-last place in the CSL table with Jiangsu.
Jiangsu came into this year’s league with big ambitions after being runner-up in three competitions last year — the CSL, CFA Cup and Super Cup. However, its poor run in this year’s CSL started with a 0-4 opening-round defeat to Shanghai Greenland Shenhua. Choi’s team has since been in the bottom half of the table. Though it advanced to the knockout stages of the ACL, its defeat to Shanghai SIPG was the last straw for club officials and fans.
Colombia striker Roger Martinez’s injury in the early part of the season has been blamed for the team’s poor performance. A three-match ban for Brazil midfielder Alex Teixeira didn’t help.
Jiangsu is not the only team depending heavily on its foreign players. Brazilian Hulk is the top scorer for SIPG, with 14 goals in total in both the CSL and ACL, where his team is on a good run. SIPG has reached the last-8 of the premier Asian tournament for the second straight year, while it trails leader Guangzhou Evergrande in the CSL by 2 points.
Andre Villas-Boas’s task for the year was clear — to win at least one championship for the club and SIPG is undoubtedly on the right path.
AVB’s counterpart Gus Poyet, however, is under much more pressure. Shenhua has failed to win in its last five matches following Friday’s 1-2 loss at Tianjin Teda. The team is now 12th on 12 points.
Some in the local media questioned Shenhua striker Carlos Tevez’s performance in Friday’s match. The Argentine missed a one-on-one chance in the 1st minute after receiving a pass from captain Giovanni Moreno. He was seen walking most of the time instead of running for opportunities. Asked if Tevez was not doing enough running on the pitch, Poyet told a post-match press conference that he did not want to comment on performances of individual players.
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