Croatian Branko Ivanković has been appointed head coach of China's men's national soccer team, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced on Saturday.
Ivanković, 69, has been the coach of the Omani national team since 2020.
He replaces Serbian Aleksandar Janković, who was appointed as the leader of the Chinese team in February last year.
Croatian Branko Ivanković has been appointed head coach of China's men's national soccer team, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced on Saturday.
Ivanković, 69, has been the coach of the Omani national team since 2020.
He will replace Serbian Aleksandar Janković, who was named China's national team leader in February last year but had a disappointing performance at the Asian Cup.
China was defeated by defending champion Qatar, who retained the title earlier this month, with two draws and one loss.
The Chinese government has big ambitions for the national team, but they currently sit at 88th place in soccer governing body FIFA's rankings, the same position they were ten years ago.
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Ivanković's appointment comes at a difficult time for Chinese football.
In a documentary aired on state broadcaster CCTV in January, former men's national football coach Li Tie admitted to fixing matches for lower-tier clubs during his rise to the top echelons of soccer.
Also, former CFA chief Chen Xueyuan pleaded guilty to accepting millions of dollars in bribes in a corruption trial last month.
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The soccer prosecutions are part of a larger anti-corruption campaign launched by President Xi Jinping a decade ago.
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