January 6 – Less than a month after his sacking by Premier League strugglers West Bromwich Albion, Slaven Bilic must be laughing all the way to the bank after being appointed head coach of Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan on a two-year contract.
Beijing made the announcement on social media after deciding not to renew the contract of Frenchman Bruno Genesio, who guided them to third in the CSL and the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League.
Bilic has vast coaching experience across the world, having managed Lokomotiv Moscow, Besiktas, West Ham United, Al Ittihad and West Brom after a spell with the Croatian national team.
“I was open to going there when I left West Ham (in 2017) and it was one of the destinations which was attractive,” Bilic told TalkSPORT:
“What was important was the size of the club and I’m going to a massive club there. I was ready to go there two years ago, it didn’t happen then but it’s happened now. It was always one of the nations I would consider.
“When the players and managers go to the Far East, the finances are very important but I wanted to go to a big club. They want to challenge for the league, I want to play good football and be competitive with the best.
“They showed a big determination to get me. That was enough to accept the challenge. I’m going to a great city, I’m quite happy and excited to face a new challenge.”
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