Blazevic tipped for Olympic team job
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Former Shanghai Shenhua manager Miroslav Blazevic is in line to take over as the head coach of the troubled Chinese Olympic team.
The 73-year-old Croatian arrived in Beijing yesterday to hold talks with the China Football Association.
Blazevic guided the Croatian national team to third place at the 1998 World Cup in France. He took charge of Shenhua last December which finished third in the 2009-2010 Chinese Super League.
"It's a big responsibility for me," Blazevic said on arrival.
The Chinese Olympic team under coach Liu Chunming went out in the group stage at last month's Asian Games in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, disappointing the home crowd.
Blazevic's main task will be to ensure the side qualifies for the 2012 London Olympic Games. The qualifiers start from June next year.
Asked if six months wasn't too short a time to prepare the squad for the qualifiers, the Croat said, "There is enough time. I will make the right choices (in selecting players) and I'm sure we will be ready by then, both physically and tactically."
Blazevic is expected to bring two foreign assistant coaches with him, with the third Chinese assistant to be selected after consultations with the CFA.
Local media reports have claimed that Blazevic and his foreign assistants will earn around US$800,000 annually. That figure is considerably less than the 1 million euros he and his team earned at Shanghai Shenhua.
The Croatian didn't seem to mind that. "I enjoy living in China. I want to stay as long as possible," Blazevic said.
The Croat meanwhile denied the possibility of replacing Gao Hongbo as China's national coach.
"China (national team) has a very good young coach right now. I will focus on my own job."
Shenhua is also on the look out for a new coach. It was drawn into Group H for the AFC Champions League, together with Australia's Sydney FC and South Korea's Suwon Bluewings.
