Foreign assistant coach steps in to save the day: Can Beijing Guoan’s new head coach Ramiro make history in the Chinese Super League?

By Han Bing On October 7th, Beijing Guoan declared that Spanish assistant Ramiro Amare would succeed Setién as interim head coach, igniting media and fan debates. It is uncommon in CSL history for a foreign assistant to assume leadership from the head coach they supported, taking charge in a crisis. Moreover, among the limited foreign assistants promoted, none have genuinely outperformed the head coaches they once assisted. Ramiro now faces four remaining CSL matches this year, four AFC Champions League group stage games, and one FA Cup final. Setién’s winning rate with Guoan was 59.4%, making it challenging to surpass him, but if Ramiro can secure the FA Cup title, he would have made history.

On October 10th, Beijing Guoan held a media open day following the National Day holiday. During his first media appearance, Ramiro stated that he would fully commit to winning the upcoming matches. He also addressed rumors about differences in coaching philosophy and tactical style between himself and Setién.

Ramiro explained that as an assistant coach, his role was to offer alternative ideas to head coach Setién and continuously explore the best ways to support the team: “Now that I am the head coach, I also want to hear different opinions. A head coach should never believe their philosophy is unchangeable but should listen widely. When we lose, we need to brainstorm collectively to find areas for improvement.”

Regarding the new coach, Guoan foreign player Fabio commented that both Setién and Ramiro have consistent tactical demands on players, but previously the players failed to fully implement the coaches’ tactical intentions. About Ramiro’s style, Fabio said the interim coach is passionate, emphasizing faster transitions between attack and defense, and demanding the team to play with more enthusiasm and aggression.

Ramiro’s own statements and Fabio’s description have raised some expectations for Guoan’s future performance. This year, Guoan still has four CSL matches, four AFC Champions League group games, and one FA Cup final, with the latter being the most crucial. Whether Guoan can play football aligned with Ramiro’s tactical ideas depends on whether the team can improve in the remaining four CSL matches.

It is worth noting that a foreign assistant stepping up as an interim “firefighter” coach is unprecedented in Beijing Guoan’s history. Guoan has had assistants promoted to full head coaches before, but under different circumstances. In 2014, Spanish coach Manzano brought assistant José González, but both were dismissed together in November 2015. José did not follow Manzano to Shanghai Shenhua in early 2016 but returned to La Liga to coach Granada as a “firefighter.” When he returned to Guoan in November 2016, he replaced Zaccheroni as the official head coach. José was the first head coach appointed after Zhonghe took over Guoan but was unsuccessful and was dismissed on June 2, 2017, due to poor results.

There are few precedents in the CSL where a foreign assistant replaced a foreign head coach as a caretaker. In May 2011, Ivanković, who led Shandong Taishan to the championship the previous year, was dismissed after only five rounds in the new season. Assistant coach Matic temporarily took over and achieved a 10-match unbeaten streak, improving the team’s ranking from 8th to 3rd. However, a four-match losing streak starting in mid-August cost him the job. Ultimately, Portuguese coach Barbosa from the Shandong youth academy finished the season.

In April 2012, after French coach Tigana was dismissed by Shanghai Shenhua, the club appointed Íbengí as interim head coach on April 26, with star player Anelka also serving as assistant coach. Interestingly, Shenhua only officially announced Íbengí as interim head coach after Anelka acted as caretaker for two matches. Íbengí told the media, “Our coaching staff is a team, and the number one figure is Anelka because of his fame. The four of us joined Shenhua to help Anelka succeed as both coach and player in the CSL. This is our shared goal.” Unfortunately, this arrangement did not last long; after five CSL matches, Íbengí was replaced by Argentine coach Batista. As Íbengí himself admitted, Anelka was the real acting coach during those five games.

Van Gastel coached Guangzhou City, succeeding the Dutch head coach Van Bronckhorst whom he previously assisted. However, he did not take over mid-season in 2020 but officially started before the 2021 season. In his first season, he led Guangzhou City into the championship contention group, finishing 7th. Van Gastel’s winning rate was 24.2%, significantly lower than Van Bronckhorst’s 34.8%.

In October 2021, Spanish head coach Javier Pereira of Henan was poached by La Liga relegation-threatened club Levante. His assistant Antonio took over as caretaker coach. Antonio led Henan to the FA Cup semifinals and finished 10th in the league with 3 wins, 3 draws, and 2 losses in the relegation group, a performance considered acceptable.

Previously, mid-season foreign assistant coach “handoffs” in the CSL have not yielded ideal results. However, in China League One, there is a similar success story, though not involving an assistant coach but a club technical director. In July 2021, Wuhan Three Towns’ technical director Pedro replaced Alberto to “put out the fire,” ultimately winning the China League One championship and earning promotion. In their first CSL season afterward, they remarkably won the championship, creating the “Kaiserslautern myth” in the CSL.

Looking internationally, successful cases of assistants stepping up as head coaches mid-season are rare. Yet, English Premier League giant Chelsea has several impressive examples: In February 1998, Italian player-coach Vialli took over from Dutch coach Gullit and won the European Cup Winners’ Cup that season; In autumn 2007, Israeli football director Grant replaced Portuguese coach Mourinho, leading Chelsea to their first Champions League final, though they lost after Terry’s slip caused a missed penalty; In March 2012, Italian assistant Di Matteo replaced Portuguese young coach Villas-Boas and secured Chelsea’s first-ever Champions League title.

When discussing outstanding caretaker assistants, German football stands out: In November 2019, Bayern assistant Flick replaced Croatian coach Kovač and nine months later led Bayern to a treble. Notably, he is a new model of successful assistant promotion in 21st-century German football. After the 2006 World Cup, the German Football Association boldly promoted Klinsmann’s assistant Löw, who won the World Cup eight years later. During those eight years, Löw’s assistant was Flick, who had previously succeeded as an assistant at Bayern.

Whether Ramiro can drop the “interim” label at Guoan and become the first foreign assistant coach to successfully remain as head coach in a CSL club remains to be seen.