Former Hebei China Fortune head coach Radomir Antic had recently praised ex-Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini's arrival to the Chinese Super League to coach the Samba Kings, saying that it is not a "step backwards" to join the China top flight.

"I think that I had a good experience at Hebei Fortune. Chinese soccer is not at a bad level. However, it isn't the differences that make (the coaches) money but those (coaches) who do a better job. I don't believe that for Pellegrini or any other high-level coach that coming here would be a step backwards," said the 67-year-old Antic, as per Xinhuanet.

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The 62-year-old Chilean manager was hired by Hebei China Fortune last Saturday as its new head coach, replacing Li Tie following the team's big drop in form in the current CSL season. Antic was Hebei's boss before Li took over in August of last year.

Hebei is currently settled at the fifth spot of the Chinese first division table with 35 points, 15 points below league leaders Guangzhou Evergrande and five points behind the third and final AFC Champions League qualifying berth currently held by Shanghai Shenhua, after being winless in nine of their last 10 matches, including a five-game losing streak.

Antic continued that the former Real Madrid boss is joining a "relatively new club. And the Chinese are unafraid of copying what they think looks good. In the case of this club, they imitate what Guangzhou did before. They have foreigners with a very high level but, the leaders will not lose their cool when it comes to deciding changes if they see that the team's needs are different. That happened to me and my successor (Chinese manager Li) and it could happen to Manuel."

Meanwhile, Li told media during his parting press conference that he is "satisfied" about his stint with the Samba Kings and he believed that he "gave everything" he had for the club to succeed, via ESPN.

Li led Hebei to its first-ever promotion to the China top flight this season and had been competing with Evergrande and Jiangsu Suning during the first weeks of competitions before their current slide.

TagsChina Football, Chinese Super League, Chinese Super League news, Radomir Antic, Manuel Pellegrini, Hebei China Fortune FC