Ivankovic takes over for Serbian Aleksandar Jankovic, who was selected to captain China’s team in February of last year but had a dismal Asian Cup campaign.Branko Ivankovic, a Croatian, has been named head coach of the Chinese men’s national football team, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) said on Saturday.
Since 2020, Ivankovic, 69, has served as Oman’s national team’s coach.
Aleksandar Jankovic, a Serbian who was chosen to captain the Chinese team in February of last year but had a dismal Asian Cup campaign, is replaced by Ivankovic.
After two draws and a loss against eventual champion Qatar, who had already won the title earlier this month, China was eliminated.
Although the Chinese government has high hopes for the national team, it is currently mired in 88th place in the standings of the football regulatory body, where it was ten years ago.
The timing of Ivankovic’s hiring is problematic for Chinese football.
Former national men’s football coach Li Tie acknowledged rigging games for lower-tier teams as he rose to the top of the sport in a documentary that aired on state broadcaster CCTV in January.
And in a corruption trial held last month, Chen Xuyuan, the former head of the CFA, entered a guilty plea to accepting millions in dollars.
President Xi Jinping launched a significant anti-corruption campaign ten years ago, which includes the football prosecutions.
