Chinese quick fixes leave clubs quaking
Owners urged to think long-term as revolving managers wreak havoc
European clubs Inter Milan, Aston Villa and Sochaux have had a high turnover of managers since Chinese takeovers, sparking fears that their trigger-happy owners have little patience and no strategy.
“Many buyouts are irrational and defy the laws of the market,” said soccer analyst Zhou Jiming. “The majority of investors lack patience.”
That certainly appears to be the case with Aston Villa, of which current manager Steve Bruce is the English club’s third boss since a takeover by Chinese businessman Tony Xia last June.
Xia spent $40 million to hire Roberto Di Matteo as manager, hoping the man who led Chelsea to the 2012 Champions League title would lift Villa’s flagging fortunes.
But Di Matteo was fired 11 games later and replaced by Bruce, formerly boss of Villa’s bitter local rival Birmingham City.
Meanwhile, Italy’s Inter Milan, which is owned by Chinese electronics retailer Suning, in November named Stefano Pioli as its third coach in four months in a desperate bid to restore its reputation.
Its struggles prompted Chievo president Luca Campedelli to question Suning’s commitment to soccer, saying “it is not enough just to pay wages”.
Even as China’s willingness to splash cash on foreign talent has drawn top coaches like Manuel Pellegrini (Hebei Fortune), Andre Villas-Boas (Shanghai SIPG) and Sven-Goran Eriksson (Shenzhen FC) to the country, many have not made it past a few months.
Eriksson was ousted from Shanghai SIPG despite leading it to a third-place finish in last season’s Chinese Super League. Fabio Cannavaro was dismissed six months into his from Guangzhou Evergrande, while Jean Tigana fared even worse at Shanghai Shenhua, axed after only five games in 2012.
Leicester lesson
Chinese investors would do well to look at Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the Thai president of reigning English Premier League champion Leicester City, for pointers, said analyst Zhou.
“He has done a lot of substantive work, and the success has been there. Chinese investors lack this kind of involvement,” he said.
Shopping magnate Srivaddhanaprabha bought Leicester in 2010, overseeing the greatest rags-to-riches story in soccer when the 5,000-1 upstart won the league last year.
“The smart people understand it’s not about acquisition, it’s what you do with it,” said Peter Kenyon, a former chief executive of Manchester United and Chelsea who now advises on soccer business deals.
“I think we are going to see good purchasers and bad purchasers, but the ones that I’ve been involved with are longterm, they’ve got a strategy.”
Some Chinese owners have been patient: West Bromwich Albion, bought in September by entrepreneur Lai Guochuan, retained its manager, as did Auxerre, currently struggling in France’ s second tier, following a takeover by China’ s ORG Packaging in October.
“The smart ones want to have a say, but understand it’s not about them picking the team,” said Kenyon, who has worked on some Chinese acquisitions, including Wanda Group’s purchase of a 20 percent stake in Atletico Madrid in 2015.
That level of seriousness has been the case with China’s IDG Capital Partners, which acquired 20 percent of French top-flight club Lyon as part of a “long-term” investment, according to the firm.
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas said IDG carried out “a real investigation” before arriving at a decision and has put “no pressure” on the club to recruit Chinese players.
“We have never imagined controlling Lyon. We are not good, not competent to manage a football club,” said Li Jianguang, who led the operation at IDG.
Chinese clubs, encouraged by the government’s vision of turning China into a soccer superpower by 2050, have broken the Asian transfer record five times in less than a year, with Shanghai SIPG paying around $65 million to Chelsea for midfielder Oscar.
The push to purchase European clubs is part of a larger drive to secure China’s place in the global soccer arena, a quest with heavy political overtones.
“Sport gives you huge international visibility, so if it’s successful it reflects well on them, and well on the country,” Kenyon said.
“If it’s not successful it reflects really badly.”
The smart ones want to have a say, but understand it’s not about them picking the team.” Peter Kenyon, former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive