Sun Jihai says foreign coaches ‘only in China for the money’, damaging Chinese football

‘I’d do the same,’ former Manchester City star says, but thinks the situation is hampering China’s Fifa World Cup dreams

English Football Hall of Fame inductee bemoans reliance on foreign attackers and says ‘things need to change’

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Manchester City’s Sun Jihai beats Liverpool’s Fernando Torres to the ball in an English Premier League game in 2008. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:32pm, 13 Jan 2021Updated: 12:32pm, 13 Jan 2021

Former Manchester City footballer Sun Jihai said that foreign coaches in China are only there for the money and that is damaging Chinese football, risking the country’s Fifa World Cup dreams.

Speaking to fellow former China international Liu Yue in an interview for Shanghai TV, Sun said the purpose was clear.

“Foreign coaches come to China for a very simple purpose, purely to make money, otherwise what are they coming for? Do they want to improve the level of Chinese football? I don’t think foreign coaches can bring immediate help to Chinese football.”

However, Sun – who helped China to their only Fifa World Cup appearance in 2002 – was not critical of the coaches for taking the money and said he would do the same: “If I were the coach, I would do the same. People are stupid and have a lot of money, why not?”

Sun Jihai (centre) celebrates with teammates (from left) Li Xiaopeng, Li Weifeng and Shao Jiayi after a penalty shoot-out win in the 2004 Asian Cup semi-finals in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

He was critical of the impact that this has had on the Chinese game, particularly coupled with the reliance on foreign players in attack.

“When our current Super League teams use foreign aid, most of them are given special privileges, so that they only need to attack and not defend. But this is not the case in modern football, and it should not be the case.”