China’s football federation has appointed former national team midfielder Shao Jiayi as its new head coach, signaling a shift towards a domestic figure with past World Cup experience after a series of foreign coaching missteps and a recent qualifying failure.
The 45-year-old Shao replaces Dejan Djurdjevic, who had served as interim coach since June.
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced the decision in a statement published on its website this Thursday.
The federation indicated that Shao’s selection, from a pool of “several Chinese and foreign candidates,” was made taking into account “experience and lessons learned from the appointment of other national team coaches.”
The appointment follows the CFA’s dismissal of Croatian coach Branko Ivankovic in June.
Ivankovic was sacked after China’s elimination from the qualifying rounds for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The team’s World Cup hopes ended with a 1-0 defeat to Indonesia.
China has not qualified for a World Cup since its sole appearance in 2002, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan.
Shao Jiayi was a prominent midfielder in that 2002 squad, which remains the country’s only participation in the global tournament.
His performance in the 2002 World Cup led to a move to Germany, where he signed with Bundesliga club 1860 Munich that same season, playing there until 2006.
Shao continued his career in Germany, featuring for Energie Cottbus from 2006 to 2011 and Duisburg in 2011.
He later returned to his childhood club, Beijing Guoan, retiring in 2015 as a revered figure in Chinese football.
After his playing career, Shao worked with China’s youth national teams and served as an assistant national coach.
Before this new role, he had his first head coaching experience with Qingdao West Coast.
He leaves Qingdao West Coast in ninth place in the Chinese Super League, with a season record of nine wins, ten draws, and ten losses.
Ivankovic had been hired in February 2024, bringing experience from leading Iran to the 2006 World Cup and winning titles in China with Shandong Luneng.