Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan have announced the appointment of former Croatia international footballer Slaven Bilic as the team’s new head coach. In appointing Bilic, they also confirmed the departure of former head coach Bruno Genesio. The Frenchman guided the Beijing side to third place in the CSL and the AFC Champions League quarter-finals last season. Bilic, 52, was in charge of English Premier League side West Bromwich Albion until he was sacked on December 16 after 18 months in charge at The Hawthorns. Beijing Guoan announced his arrival on their official Weibo on Wednesday, with confirmation that his contract runs until the end of 2022. We are honored to announce a 2-year contract with our new first team coach Mr. Slaven Bilić and coach team, welcome to Beijing. pic.twitter.com/ICjpusMXsK — Beijing Sinobo Guoan (@FCBeijingGuoan) January 6, 2021 “Mr Bilic’s tactics in coaching are rich and varied, the on-the-spot command is full of passion, and the team he leads is highly aggressive,” the club statement said. “This coaching style, coupled with Bilic’s love for rock music, is [why he is] also called the ‘rock coach’ by the fans.” The club’s announcement also listed Bilic’s playing achievements, beginning at Hajduk Split in his native Croatia before moving to German side Karlsruhe, and then West Ham United and Everton in the English Premier League. Schmidt sacking shows short-termism of Chinese football Bilic was one of the stars of the Croatia team that reached the Fifa World Cup semi-finals in France in 1998. His coaching experience began following his retirement, starting with the Croatian under-21s. He progressed to the full national team and led them to the European Championships in 2008 and 2012. Bilic has since coached Hajduk Split, Lokomotiv Moscow, Besiktas and Al-Ittihad, as well as former club West Ham. Shanghai SIPG striker Arnautovic ‘underestimated’ Chinese Super League The new Chinese Super League is not expected to start before March and is likely to be played in a bubble as it was last season. Shanghai and Guangzhou have been reported as possible locations.