SEEDORF SACKED BY SHENZHEN

Clarence Seedorf has been sacked by Shenzhen FC after his failure to guide the football club to promotion and replaced him with Lazio boss Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Seedorf was just appointed by the Chinese club in the summer but could only achieve a ninth-place finish in China’s second tier. This is Seedorf’s second dismissal in his managerial career, having also been dismissed by Milan at the end of the 2013/2014 campaign.

Taking over from the Milan legend and former Netherlands midfielder is Sven-Goran Eriksson, who was just recently dismissed by Chinese top flight outfit Shanghai SIPG. Eriksson guided Lazio to the Scudetto in 2000 and has also managed Fiorentina and Roma in the Serie A during his managerial career.

The club released a statement thanking Seedorf and his coaching team for their devotion.

“Mr Eriksson is a world-renowned experienced manager. He has been coaching in China since June 2013, and is familiar with Chinese football. We hope his arrival will help Shenzhen attract the world’s attention and build the club into a name card for the city,” the statement read.

The two sides are said to have signed a conditional deal – if Eriksson leads Shenzhen into the top-tier Chinese Super League at the end of the 2017 season, the contract will be automatically extended for two years. If not, the Swede will be allowed to leave.

Shenzhen finished ninth in the 16-team League One in 2016. The club is known for having quality young players and it achieved its greatest success in 2004 by winning the CSL title. Since then it has struggled to match that level of success and was relegated at the end of the 2011 season. Seedorf will be searching for another coaching job as he looks to make improvements to his managerial career.