September 9: Acting Early Matters! Media Reports Henan FC Coach Ramos Attracts Interest from Chinese Super League Clubs

With less than a month remaining before the Chinese Super League transfer window closes, a piece of news has caused a stir among fans: Ramos, Henan FC's head coach and the 2025 CSL Coach of the Year, has attracted attention from another CSL powerhouse. Insiders said the first club to make a move was not Shandong Taishan, but Zhejiang FC.

Shandong Taishan are also interested, but they are already behind Zhejiang FC.

Before the 2025 season, the name Ramos was unfamiliar to many CSL fans. When he took over Henan FC on April 29, 2025, the team had collected only seven points after eight rounds and ranked fourth from bottom, with major issues inside the dressing room.

Nobody expected that the Portuguese coach would guide the team to avoid relegation with three rounds remaining, reach the FA Cup final for the first time in club history, and create Henan football's best result since the professional era began in just seven months. At the year-end CSL awards ceremony, he defeated several famous coaches including Slutsky, Xu Zhengyuan and Yu Genwei to win the 2025 CSL Coach of the Year award.

Ramos' tactics were described by media figures as having 'extremely strong tactical targeting.' He calls himself an 'advocate of attacking football,' but his approach is practical and not blindly offensive.

At Henan FC, he changed the existing three-center-back system into a four-defender system, greatly activating the team's attacking power.

At the start of the 2026 season, he led the team to two consecutive victories, making it at one point the second team in the league to have its points deficit cleared. More importantly, he produced good results with Henan's 'ordinary' squad resources.

Even when the club faced wage arrears rumors, he said at a press conference that 'we fight for the badge and the fans; bonuses are not the priority.' It is not surprising that such a coach has attracted interest from major clubs.

Media figure Miao Yuan revealed on September 7 that a CSL club had already included Ramos on its shortlist of potential head coaches and could make a direct offer during the offseason.

Meanwhile, Shandong Taishan are currently caught in a cycle of interim head coaches. Since Choi Kang-hee's departure, Taishan's managerial position has remained unsettled.

In the 2025 season, the team adopted a rare dual-management structure: Su Maozhen was the officially registered head coach, while Han Peng, as head of the coaching staff, handled actual match direction. Han Peng did not have the required professional coaching certificate and could not be officially registered, while Su had the certificate but mainly handled external communication.

With unclear responsibilities and authority, players also had doubts. This arrangement lasted until July 28, 2026, when both Su Maozhen and Han Peng departed, with Tang Tian becoming interim head coach.

Three coaching groups took charge successively in one season.

Each coaching change could bring adjustments to tactical direction and player preferences. Players had just adapted to one set of demands before needing to adjust to another. After Tang Tian took over, the team did experience a honeymoon period.

In August, he led the team to four wins in five league matches, including an away victory over Shanghai Port despite having one fewer player and two away wins over Shanghai Shenhua, achieving an 80% win rate. But entering September, problems resurfaced.

Taishan suffered a 0-3 defeat to Shanghai Port in the FA Cup. In a league home match against Shenzhen Peng City, Cryzan scored after 18 seconds but was shown a direct red card for a challenge on an opponent in the 29th minute. Over the following 60 minutes, Taishan were dominated by a team that had already secured survival, with shots at 7-28 and possession at 39%-61%, before the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

After 26 rounds of the 2026 season, Shandong Taishan had only 37 points and ranked seventh, 15 points behind league leaders Chengdu Rongcheng, with their initiative in the race for second place completely lost.

The team's problems are not limited to the coach. The foreign player structure is seriously unbalanced, with three attacking foreign players having overlapping roles, a lack of a dedicated midfield distributor, and Cryzan often fighting alone.

Zeca has suffered frequent injuries and extremely low availability, while Maduga has been mediocre in midfield with no highlights in attack or defense. More critically, during the summer window Taishan were one of only two CSL clubs among 16 that did not sign any players.

Injury management also has weaknesses. Wang Dalei and Cryzan each hired private rehabilitation coaches, reflecting gaps in the club's medical team setup. Across the 2025 and 2026 seasons, Taishan received a total of 12 red cards, ranking first in the CSL for the same period.

Shandong media outlet Xin Huanghe reported on September 7 that Taishan have three core offseason tasks: finalizing a permanent head coach, comprehensively adjusting the foreign player squad, and promoting the B team to the third tier. However, in selecting a coach, Taishan appear to have fallen into their old pattern of being 'a step slow' again.

Previously, Shenhua quickly appointed Serbian coach Milojevic, while Taishan chose to wait due to financial pressure. Now that Zhejiang have contacted Ramos first, Taishan can only rank behind them.

Some fans commented on social media: 'When it comes to choosing foreign coaches, Shandong Taishan every season gives people the feeling of starting early but arriving late.'

Ramos' contract with Henan FC has not yet expired. He renewed in November 2025 until the end of the 2027 season, with a high release clause included in the agreement.

However, Henan FC's own financial difficulties have created uncertainty for this potential 'transfer.'

In August 2026, multiple media outlets reported that Henan FC had wage arrears issues, and the club was forced to begin personnel optimization to free up salary space. The 2026 CSL season uses a 'two promotions, two relegations' system, under which clubs with wage arrears will not be allowed to pass next season's admission process.

Every point earned by Henan FC is another step toward gaining more control over their survival.

Ramos publicly stated in April 2026: 'The rumors about my departure are completely false. I will fight together with Henan football until the end.' But three months later, wage arrears rumors continued to grow, and nobody dared to discuss a contract extension.

A coach who took Henan FC from the relegation battle to the peak of their club history now has to face the harsh reality of 'survival' together with the team.

This contrast, where better results can lead to greater future survival pressure, is precisely the most realistic reflection of the Chinese Super League in the post-financial-boom era.