Jordi takes charge and budget surges significantly; Yunnan Yukun aims to "reach new heights" in the upcoming season

Written by Zuo Rui Like other CSL clubs during the winter pause, Yunnan Yukun is far from calm. With Norwegian coach Andersen leaving, Spaniard Jordi has just reached Yuxi. This newly promoted team, ranked eighth this season, will experience what kind of change under Jordi’s guidance?

At the end of the 2025 season, Yukun chose not to renew with Andersen, who had successfully kept the team safe and delivered solid results, opting instead for Jordi, a coach with deeper CSL experience and a more distinct tactical style as the leader for next season. This shows the plateau team’s ambition goes beyond mere survival or mid-table finishes; they have more aggressive goals.

In a previous exclusive interview with this newspaper, two Romanian foreign players of Yukun, including newly signed national team member Burcă and the first to renew contract, Ioniță, expressed that their long journey to Yuxi was motivated not just by higher salaries or survival tasks, but by the “ambitious goals” of this CSL newcomer. Although neither players nor club revealed specific targets publicly, Jordi’s discreet arrival and the substantial budget increase signal Yukun’s readiness to elevate their performance next season.

After a 1-1 away draw with Henan in the final CSL match, Yunnan media learned from Yukun club officials that the club’s total investment in 2025 reached 150 million yuan, with plans to increase it to 260 million yuan for the 2026 season.

A coaching change often means a shift in playing style and a new group to execute tactical plans—this winter window, the over 100 million yuan additional funding allocated by Yukun warrants attention.

Upon arriving in Kunming on December 4, Jordi and his team immediately traveled to Yuxi. Accompanying him were his regular assistant coach Adolf and a translator who had worked with him before. After meeting with Yukun’s investors and management, they held in-depth discussions about restructuring the coaching staff, winter training plans, and potential player signings.

It is reported that Jordi, having reached consensus with the club, will soon conclude this trip and return to Spain. Yukun’s first team, currently on holiday, will regroup on December 20 for recovery training led by Chinese coaches, while Jordi’s foreign coaching staff will officially take charge after the New Year. Following his usual work habits, he may also remotely oversee winter training via video conference before officially starting.

Sixty-two-year-old Jordi was among the first players trained at La Masia. Before coaching in China, he led Barcelona’s U19 team to win the 2013/14 UEFA Youth League. After arriving in China League One in 2016, he left a strong personal mark with Qingdao Huanghai, though he was dismissed midway through the 2019 season. In 2021, he guided Zhejiang back to the CSL and then secured consecutive third-place finishes in the league, qualifying for the AFC Champions League. He concluded his four-year stint with Zhejiang after the 2024 season.

During his time in Hangzhou, Jordi’s coaching philosophy aligned with the team’s traditional emphasis on technical cooperation. He transplanted the well-known 4-3-3 system and ground passing style from Qingdao Huanghai to Zhejiang. This suggests that next season’s Yukun will be distinctly different from this year; Jordi forbids goalkeepers from kicking long balls directly to forwards or using long crosses. Instead, he demands possession retention and building attacks patiently from the back to the opponent’s penalty area.

Compared to his pragmatic predecessor Andersen, Jordi is more of an idealist. He pursues possession-based football and favors offensive play, even if his tactics might be figured out by opponents or lead to conceding more goals. He firmly sticks to his football philosophy. To ensure players adhere to his ideas, his pre-match preparations and post-match analyses often last over an hour, covering everything from individual positions to team interactions—meticulous down to every detail.

When interviewed by this newspaper in September during China’s search for a new national team coach, Jordi stated his coaching criteria clearly: he looks for projects with “ambitious goals and grand visions that align with my understanding of football.” Balancing reality and ideals, Jordi never compromises; for example, he simplifies complex tactics to better suit Chinese players’ characteristics.

For Jordi, Yukun—just establishing itself in the CSL and still shaping its tactical identity—might be the right candidate for implementing his ground-passing, positional attack style. However, based on his previous coaching experiences in China, reshaping Yukun according to his vision won’t yield immediate results; it will require at least a full season of refinement to take shape.