Chinese Super League: Beijing Guoan appoint former Bayer Leverkusen boss Roger Schmidt as coach

Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan have named former Bayer Leverkusen and Salzburg head coach Roger Schmidt as a replacement for the recently sacked Jose Gonzalez. [caption id=“attachment_3541421” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Roger Schmidt. AFP[/caption] Schmidt, who guided Leverkusen to the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League in 2015, was given a two-and-a-half-year contract by the former champions after two months of negotiations. “We are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Roger Schmidt as head coach of Beijing Guoan Football Club,” the club said in a statement. “The club believes Mr Schmidt has an advanced football concept, a rigorous work ethic and is good at encouraging and developing young players, which matches the club’s needs perfectly.” Schmidt starts in his new role on 1 July and he will take over a team that is currently seventh in the domestic league, 16 points adrift of leaders Guangzhou Evergrande and 10 behind third-placed Hebei CFFC, who hold the league’s final berth in next year’s Asian Champions League.