Football
Michael Church, Asia correspondent 7y

Beijing Guoan appoint Jose Gonzalez to replace Alberto Zaccheroni

Beijing Guoan have appointed Spain's Jose Gonzalez as the club's new coach, taking over as the long-term replacement for Alberto Zaccheroni.

Zaccheroni was fired by the club in May and replaced by interim coach Xie Feng until the end of the season, with Xie leading Beijing to a fifth-place finish in the Chinese Super League.

Gonzalez returns to Beijing after a stint with Spanish side Granada, who he joined after serving as Gregorio Manzano's assistant.

"Jose Gonzalez matches Beijing Guoan's competitive expectations," the club said in a statement released on Tuesday. "His Spanish football experience features a modern tactical approach and his personal ability has gained the respect of players, Chinese coaches and football experts.

"The coaching team he is leading is young, strong, full of fighting spirit and the desire to win. They will quickly settle at the club. For the aforementioned reasons, Beijing Guoan believes the club will gain a brand new status under Jose's coaching, and fight for our unswerving goal."

Gonzalez is believed to have signed a one-year contract with the option of a second year and will be paid less than the €2 million a year picked up by Manzano. He has also been given the task of leading the club back into the Asian Champions League, in which Beijing last participated in 2015, when they reached the knockout rounds.

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson was among those linked with the Beijing vacancy after the Swede left Shanghai SIPG at the end of the season, where he was replaced by Andre Villas Boas, while ex-Brazil manager Dunga was also rumoured to be in the running for the post by Chinese media.

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