New Shandong Luneng head coach Felix Magath. (Photo : Getty Images)
Former Bayern Munich head coach Felix Magath was recently named as the new manager of Chinese Super League club Shandong Luneng FC, according to latest reports.
The announcement was made by Taishan Dui officials on Wednesday, signaling the end of former head coach Mano Menezes' six-month rein in Jinan. Menezes had resigned for personal reasons a day before the announcement.
"As the coach, Magath will lead the side in all sorts of matches from now on," the club announced on its Weibo account, a Chinese social media platform similar to Twitter, as per Xinhuanet.
Magath, who was also a former manager of other Bundesliga sides Hamburg, Werder Bremen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Wolfsburg, and Stuttgart, is reportedly delighted about his appointment as he is now reunited with his former Die Knappen player, Hao Junmin, who is the current team captain of Shandong Luneng.
The report also noted that the 62-year-old German mentor had won three Bundesliga titles in his career as a manager, two with the Bavarians during the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons plus one with the Wolves in 2008-2009.
Meanwhile, as a player, he had also won the German top flight trophy three times with Hamburg and a European Cup with the same club in 1983.
Magath had been unemployed since he was fired by the Football League Championship side Fulham FC in September of 2014 and was said to be "looking forward" to his first stint in China.
"I am looking forward to my new work, the club and its staff and fans," said Magath through his own social media account Four Four Two reported. "I am very interested in the big changes in Chinese Football and I will try to help with my team and all my energy."
Under Menezes, Shandong managed to qualify in the final-eight round of this year's AFC Champions League competitions, beating Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Buriram United in the group stage while turning back Sydney FC in the Round-of-16 competitions.
However, the team, who is a perennial contender in the Chinese first division league, had become a rag doll in this term's domestic battles, settling at the 15th spot of the 16-team tournament and is at risk of demotion to the China League One next season if their performance do not improve.
