FC Seoul look set to become the latest side seeking a new manager for the 2011 K-League season as Nelo Vingada has failed to agree terms on a contract extension and is expected to leave the club.
The Portuguese manager, who guided the club to the 2010 K-League title following their championship playoff victory over Jeju United earlier this month, will return to his native Portugal tomorrow for the winter break after negotiations with club officials failed to produce a satisfactory resolution to the bargaining impasse.
Vingada signed a one year deal with a one year option when he joined FC Seoul at the end of 2009, with the deal reputed to have netted him a salary of $500,000 with a $100,000 bonus for winning the league championship. Recent media reports have suggested Vingada requested a doubling of his basic salary to a figure of $1m a year, a demand that both FC Seoul and potential suitors Beijing Guoan were unwilling to meet.
Vingada’s achievements in his single year as FC Seoul boss have not gone unnoticed and rumoured interest from clubs in the UAE and Saudi Arabia suggests that the former Persepolis, Saudi Arabia and Jordan national team manager will continue his managerial career back in the Middle East.
Korean Olympic team coach Hong Myung-bo has already been linked with a possible switch to the FC Seoul hotseat whilst ex-Pohang Steelers manager Sergio Farias, currently in charge of UAE club Al Wasl, has recently indicated a desire to manage in the K-League again. Also likely to be in the running for the position is former Suwon Samsung Bluewings manager Cha Bum-keun who is currently without a club having stepped down from the Bluewings in June.
I’m from Portugal; As far as I knew Vingada, he wouldn’t be one to go after the dollars. But it looks like I may be surprised.