Story highlights
China Football Association advertises national team manager role on website
Frenchman Alain Perrin sacked after unsatisfactory run of form
Are you looking for a job? Do you have football coaching experience? How about the ambition to be national team manager for the most populous nation on earth?
Then a position has come up that could be of interest to you.
The Chinese Football Association has taken the unorthodox approach of welcoming applications to manage the country’s national football team through a job advert on its website.
Just hours after Friday’s sacking of previous coach Alain Perrin, a post appeared on the CFA site detailing the newly vacant position with instructions (in Mandarin) on how to apply.
Interested applicants must have a good knowledge of Asian football, relevant coaching qualifications and good communication skills, according to a rough translation of the the desired candidate specifications.
Contact details are also provided with which to submit an application form along with all relevant supporting materials to be considered for the role.
Inevitably, quick-witted social media users, with little clear indication of football experience, wasted no time in confirming their interest.
“Will apply for this next week,” wrote @simondavidclode on Twitter. Meanwhile, @therobmeehan, said “if you can translate Chinese, you should apply for the manager of China’s national team. Open applications”
Poor recent results, including two scoreless draws with unheralded Hong Kong in World Cup qualifying matches, were enough to seal Frenchman Perrin’s fate.
China sits third in its second-round qualifying group behind Qatar and Hong Kong and faces a uphill task to make the next stage of Asian qualifying for the 2018 tournament in Russia.
Despite a population of 1.3 billion and the popularity of football within its borders, China has repeatedly struggled to make an impact in international tournaments.
It has only once reached the World Cup finals in its history, in Japan and South Korea in 2002, although it has twice finished runner-up in the Asian Cup.
Although it has become uncommon for football associations or clubs at the very highest level to advertise coaching or managerial roles so publicly, there are some famous examples of the practice in the recent past
In 2006, a fan’s application to become manager of Middlesbrough FC in England, which cited his vast experience of the Football Manager computer game, was memorably rejected by the club.
“You were of course the outstanding candidate but after careful consideration we decided against your appointment,” wrote Middlesbrough chairman, Steve Gibson, in his tongue in cheek response.
“Quite frankly we were of the opinion that your tenure with us would have been short-lived, as your undoubted talent would result in one of the big European Clubs seeking your services.”
The deadline for applications to be the new manager of China is January 29.
