Coach Shao Jiayi attends a news conference for Qingdao West Coast on November 2, 2025 in Yuxi, Southwest China's Yunnan Province. Photo: IC

Former China international Shao Jiayi has been officially named the head coach of the Chinese men's national football team, ending the vacancy of the position since June, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced on Wednesday.

"Following an open selection process, the CFA has decided to appoint Shao Jiayi as the head coach of the Chinese men's national football team," the CFA said in a statement on Wednesday.

The CFA said the decision was made on account of the experience and lessons learned from previous national team coach selections, and in consideration of the current situation and the long-term development of the national team.

Born in 1980 in Beijing, Shao made his professional breakthrough with the Chinese Super League  giants Beijing Guoan before moving to Germany in 2002 to join 1860 Munich, a move that made him one of the first Chinese players to gain sustained playing time in a European top-flight environment. He retired from playing in 2015.

After his retirement, he took up roles such as the youth team coach for Guoan, head of the youth training department of the CFA as well as the assistant coach for the national team.

More recently, he has moved into coaching, and although his managerial record is still developing, his current stint at Qingdao West Coast in the Chinese Super League shows early promise, as he has helped the team's successful fight against relegation since taking over in mid-2024 season. 

As the newly-appointed head coach, the 45-year-old Shao inherits a national team at a crossroads. 

After the team was eliminated from the World Cup qualifiers, the team has been without a head coach after Croatian Branko Ivankovic was dismissed in June and the team has not played any international match since.

The Chinese men's national football team has long sought sustained success at continental level and beyond, yet it has not established itself consistently among Asia's elite. Their only World Cup appearance was in 2002, when Shao was among the Chinese squad.

The CFA emphasized that this appointment is not merely about short‐term results, but about integrating youth, implementing a coherent playing philosophy, raising standards of fitness and technique, and improving communication both on and off the pitch.

Sun Yuxuan, a Beijing-based football commentator, is cautious on the prospect of Shao's tenure as the head coach of the national team.

"Shao has demonstrated his coaching capabilities with Qingdao West Coast, but his tenure as a first-team head coach has been relatively short," Sun told the Global Times. 

"It's not very sure how he will manage under extreme pressure, which is quite common for a head coach of the Chinese national football team."

Shen Qingxin, a Chengdu-based sports commentator, said that though Shao's record in the Chinese Super League is credible, the choice for the national team squad is totally different from a club.

"At Qingdao, he could rely on the foreign wingers but the national team players do not offer him many options on the table," Shen said. 

"But he might choose some younger players for the national team, as he has done in Qingdao, in the upcoming days as the national team do not face any intense missions before the 2027 Asian Cup."