As the Chinese Super League (CSL) prepares for the new season starting on July 25, shocking news came on Monday that the head coach of Henan Jianye had resigned.
Wang Baoshan, a veteran coach in Chinese football for more than two decades, resigned “due to personal reasons” as the head coach of Henan Jianye, the club announced on Monday.
“The club agreed to Wang Baoshan’s resignation as head coach due to personal reasons,” the club said in a statement. “The club thanks Wang for his efforts and contributions to the team and wishes him all the best in the future.”
The statement also noted that Henan will form a new coaching team for the new season, which will start again after a five-month delay due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
Jianye finished eighth in the 16-team Chinese Super League, the third-best result in a decade for the often relegation-battling side.
Traditionally, a managerial change at a less prominent CSL club rarely sees wide discussion online, but the news was trending on China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo – it was among the top-five topics at one point – on Monday afternoon.
Some Jianye fans are blaming the club’s mismanagement for Wang’s departure, saying it is disastrous to have to hire a new coach when the league is just about to return.
“The league is about to start this month but now you say our seasoned coach is gone,” a fan with the username Cold•Man24 said on Weibo.
Wang even appeared on state broadcaster CCTV’s flagship football program Soccer Night on Saturday, where he was introducing the club’s preparation for the new season.
The 16-team CSL is set to return with teams to be divided into two groups with eight teams each. Round robin games will be played in Suzhou, East China’s Jiangsu Province and Dalian, Northeast China’s Liaoning Province.
Former Henan Jianye coach Wang Baoshan
