Guangzhou R&F has just announced via Sina Weibo that Sven-Goran Eriksson will take over as manager effective immediately and his contract will run through December 2014 and is worth around $3.05 million a year.
With Eriksson having resigned his position as technical director of Al-Nasr on Sunday, the rumors started building. Yesterday, we reported that Sven was rumored to be named manager of the Cantonese side, but the club was denying these reports at the time.
He will be taking over a club that is struggling so far this year, currently sitting in 13th place, after finishing only three points shy of an Asian Champions League position last season. There was open dissension in the locker room under former manager Sergio Farias that spilled onto social media sites or into the press more than once.
Sven & Lippi – a rivalry reborn
Sven already knows one of R&F’s players well, Nigerian striker and the team’s leading scorer so far this season, Yakubu, played under the Swede at Leicester City in 2011 and their relationship is said to be a positive one.
The Swede’s arrival will certainly serve as a draw at R&F, a club in need of attention. However, it won’t pull them out of the shadows of their neighbor, Guangzhou’s other side, Guangzhou Evergrande, currently sitting in first place and managed by Italian Marcello Lippi, also a Serie A winner. The two clubs (and managers) will go head-to-head on August 25th, in a match that is sure to draw a lot of media attention.
by bcheng
Category: Chinese Super League, Guangzhou R&F, In Brief, Top Stories
Sorry, but just can’t see this ending well. Sven’s been bouncing around the world for a few years now without really doing anything of note. I think he’ll stay 6 months to a year, but hope I’m proven wrong. The media hype for when HD and FL play each other should be interesting…
And so the worst kept secret in Chinese football is finally out as almost a month after initial reports Eriksson finally signs.This is his eight job since leaving England in 2006 and none of them have lasted more than a year which doesn’t bode well. He doesn’t have much room for maneuver in the transfer window either unless one of the foreign players has their contract ended early. At least all the media attention should get more people coming to Yuexiushan though