Beijing-Shanghai Showdown Debut! Red Star Champion Coach Takes Over Shenhua, Four Tough Tests in a Row

Written by Gan Hui. About ten days after Slutsky unexpectedly resigned, Shenhua quickly confirmed the team's new head coach, officially announcing Serbian coach Vladan Milojević to lead the team.

Yesterday morning at 6:58, Air Serbia flight JU986 arrived in Shanghai from Belgrade. Around 8 o'clock, Milojević and his team of four appeared at the international exit of Terminal 2 at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

Slutsky announced his resignation after the match against Liaoning Tieren on August 2. The next day, Shenhua club officially announced Mao Yijun as the head of the first-team coaching group. At the same time, the club initiated the coach selection process. At an internal meeting, Mao Yijun told everyone, "Before the club finds a suitable coach, our coaching team will go through this difficult time with you all." Mao Yijun's words clearly indicated that the coaching group led by him was undertaking a transitional role.

Next, the FA Cup and the AFC Champions League Two will both commence, putting Shenhua under the pressure of three-front battles. Considering that after the 26th round of the league in early September there will be a month-long break, which is a good opportunity for the new coach to get familiar with the team and adjust the lineup, Shenhua club pushed forward the coach selection process with full effort.

On the morning of August 12, Milojević and his team arrived in Shanghai, only about ten days after Slutsky's resignation. This time, Milojević brought three assistants from Serbia to Shanghai to start a new coaching journey. The three assistants are 53-year-old assistant coach Milošević, 43-year-old technical analyst Bojan Offenbach, and 46-year-old Ivan Vučetić. Among them, Milošević previously served as an assistant coach for Changchun Yatai.

Head coach Milojević was born on March 9, 1970, and is 56 years old this year. He came through the Red Star youth system, but spent most of his playing career in Greece. In 8.5 seasons in the Greek top flight, Milojević made 177 appearances, becoming the first foreign center-back to play for Panathinaikos.

After ending his playing career, Milojević began his coaching career in 2008. His coaching experience is mainly concentrated in Serbia, where he coached FK Čukarički and led the team to win the Serbian Cup and participate in the UEFA Europa League. In addition, he also coached Greek club AEK Athens and Saudi club Al-Ahli, among others.

Milojević's most brilliant coaching resume is his two stints as head coach of Red Star Belgrade, leading the team to win 4 Serbian league titles, 2 Serbian Cup titles, and being named Serbian Coach of the Year multiple times. At the end of 2023, Milojević once again became the head coach of Red Star Belgrade, achieving a record of 79 wins, 12 draws, and 14 losses, making him the coach with the highest winning percentage in the club's history.

After a long flight of more than 10 hours, Milojević did not rest and immediately visited Shenhua's home stadium, Shanghai Stadium, the first commercial complex of a Chinese professional club, "Shenhua Center", and the Jiushi Kangqiao Sports Base. Milojević was full of praise for Shenhua's first-class facilities.

At the base, Milojević's team held the first meeting with the Chinese coaching staff. The Chinese coaches gave a detailed introduction to the current situation of the team. Before the training session that day, the Chinese coaching staff introduced each player to Milojević one by one. In fact, before coming to Shanghai, Milojević had already gained a preliminary understanding of the players through match videos.

It is reported that although Milojević's team has arrived, the training before the match against Henan team will still be conducted by the Chinese coaches. Milojević's team will further familiarize and understand the players by observing the training over these two days.

After the match against Henan, Milojević will officially take charge of training. According to the schedule, Shenhua will then host old rival Beijing Guoan, travel to face league leader Chengdu Rongcheng, and host strong Shandong Taishan. On September 1, Shenhua will go north to Dalian to face Dalian Yingbo in the FA Cup quarter-finals. With the league being difficult to achieve results, the FA Cup has become the most important arena for Shenhua to strive for better results this season. Facing four major matches right after taking office is undoubtedly a significant test for Milojević.

It is worth noting that the "Beijing-Shanghai showdown" is only two days after the previous league round, meaning Milojević has at most two training sessions. The following three matches are also back-to-back with no sufficient training time, so we need to be more patient with Milojević and his team.