Beijing -
The Hispanic-Dutch Jordi Cruyff, son of the legendary player and coach Johan Cruyff, will train Shenzhen FC of the Chinese Super League, the club announced today.
The coach resigned from the Ecuadorian national team on July 23. He took charge in January of this year and did not lead any training; he was criticized because most of the time he was in Spain to fulfill his commitments as a commentator for Cadena SER and columnist for Sport newspaper.
Cruyff, 46, replaces Italian Roberto Donadoni, who was fired last Tuesday after the team lost the first three matches of the season, which began at the end of July under strict COVID-19 prevention measures.
"I am excited to return to Chinese football with an ambitious project," Jordi Cruyff told EFE. "The Chinese Super League is constantly evolving, as I had the opportunity to experience in my previous stint in this championship, and I am very grateful to Shenzhen FC for trusting me and my coaching staff to help them achieve their goal of continuing to grow."
The club emphasized in its statement that Cruyff has "extensive experience" in the world of football and is familiar with the Chinese Super League.
"We believe that he will help us progress to a new level," adds the note. Shenzhen FC also announced that Cruyff will arrive in China next Sunday, but will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine before taking charge of the team.
As a player, Jordi Cruyff was formed in the youth academy of Ajax and FC Barcelona, for whose first team he played between 1993 and 1996. He later played for Manchester United (1996-2000); Celta, Alavés and Espanyol in Spain; the Ukrainian Metalurg Donetsk and the Maltese Valletta.
A Dutch international, in 2010 he ended his active career and became sports director of AEK Larnaca until he arrived at Maccabi Tel Aviv as a coach in 2012.
He also coached the Chinese Chongqing Lifan in 2018, which he managed to place among the top ten in the standings, and in January 2020 he was hired as the new coach of Ecuador, but resigned after 187 days in office. (D)