Chinese Super League: Chris Coleman sacked by Hebei China Fortune after shocking start to season

“Your mum wants you home for your dinner” read the Chinese banner aimed at Hebei China Fortune manager Chris “Cookie” Coleman at Langfang Stadium on Sunday. While that played on a long popular Chinese meme, Coleman won’t have needed his translator to help him read the English: “Hello Mr Coleman, Please go home. You’re fired!” The fans jumped the gun but that is now the case after the former Wales manager was handed his marching orders by the Chinese Super League club on Wednesday, as confirmed by the club on their Weibo. The sacking comes just days after the club apologised to the fans for their performance so far this season as he leaves the club with them only off the bottom of the table on goal difference. And the fans get their way. Chris Coleman sacked as manager of China Hebei Fortune after 1 win in 9 games this season. [H/T @modernleifeng] pic.twitter.com/HTY6k0VXB2 — Mark Dreyer (@DreyerChina) 15 May 2019 So what comes next for the man who took Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016? Looking at the man who he replaced in northeastern China hints that he might actually be better off, career-wise, after being booted from the CSL. Manuel Pellegrini was sacked a year ago with Hebei CFFC ninth on the table. The former Manchester City manager returned to the English Premier League with West Ham United and guided them to 11th position this season. Coleman has club experience with Fulham and Sunderland, who he took down to League One as documented in the Netflix series Sunderland ‘Til I Die. A return to club management back home is often the path taken by those who leave the CSL. Portuguese boss Paulo Sousa left Tianjin Quanjian for Bordeaux where he replaced Gustavo Poyet, who had taken the reins at the Ligue 1 side after leaving Shanghai Shenhua. Former Romania full-back Dan Petrescu has been let go by Chinese clubs twice. First was Jiangsu Suning in 2016, from where he went to Russian side Kuban Krasnodar, and more recently it was by Guizhou Hengfeng, which saw him return to Romania’s perennial Uefa Champions League representatives CFR Cluj. He guided them to the league title again last season. Even greater success has come from the Brazilian bosses who have returned home. Luiz Felipe Scolari left Guangzhou Evergrande to go to Palmeiras. He guided them to the Serie A championship last season. Cuca, who was at Shandong Luneng in 2014-15, has since managed the Brazilian giants Palmeiras, Santos and Sao Paulo. He won Serie A with Palmeiras. Another erstwhile Shandong Luneng manager, Mano Menezes, is at Cruzeiro. Last year they won the 2018 Copa do Brasil and the regional Mineiro championship. Coleman’s career high-point was in international management and that is an option. Marcello Lippi swapped Evergrande for the China national team while Alberto Zacheroni went from club management with Beijing Guoan to lead the UAE. He coached the hosts to the semi-finals of this year’s Asian Cup. Paulo Bento left Chongqing Lifan for the South Korea job with a contract up to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Portuguese took them to the quarter-finals of the Asian Games. Sven Goran Eriksson managed at three Chinese sides – Guangzhou R&F, Shanghai SIPG and Shenzhen – before taking charge of the Philippines. The Swede was recently linked with the Scotland job and taking over the Indian national team. Others have taken slightly more circuitous paths to national jobs. Slavisa Stojanovic left Changchun Yatai to take over Latvian side Riga, Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia and now he is Latvia national boss. Cosmin Contra is Romania manager after stints at Spanish second-tier side Alcorcon and Dinamo Bucharest in his homeland. Maybe Coleman will not get straight back on the horse but even those who take an extended break are still linked with jobs. Andre Villas Boas has not worked in football since leaving Shanghai SIPG at the end of the 2017 season but he continues to be mentioned with roles in Europe, most recently to take over at Scottish champions Celtic. While Coleman plans his next step, and he is sure to be among the names mentioned for the newly vacant Brighton and Hove Albion job, his own departure offers an opportunity for another manager to get back into the game. Former Bayern Munich manager Felix Magath has not worked since leaving Shandong Luneng but recently told German media that he is ready to return to management. There are other big names who have not been tempted back to the dugout since leaving the CSL but perhaps Bernd Schuster or Fabio Capello will swap the pundit sofa for the Hebei hot seat? In the meantime it is down to technical director Xie Feng to help the CSL strugglers back up the table. That fight begins in the next game against Tianjin Teda on Sunday.