Takeshi Okada, head coach of Japan directs his team during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Round of Sixteen match between Paraguay and Japan at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on June 29, 2010 in Pretoria, South Africa.

Former Japan coach Takeshi Okada is poised to become the surprise new manager of Chinese Super League club Hangzhou Greentown, Japanese media reported yesterday.

The 55-year-old, who guided Japan to the last 16 of last year's World Cup in South Africa, is currently in the eastern Chinese city to oversee the club's facilities.

"Hangzhou have a firm vision for the future," Okada told Japan's Nikkan Sports newspaper. "They want to win the Asian Champions League and become the top team in Asia."

"Actual contract negotiations I have left to my agent, but I wanted to see the place with my own eyes and meet with the owners and ask about their plans.

"Nothing has been decided but it's a possibility," added Okada, who also led Japan to its first World Cup finals at the 1998 France tournament.

"It would be a challenge that excites me. China will become a key country in many ways and Asia needs to be more fluid (in terms of employment)."

Hangzhou finished eighth in China's top flight this year after being promoted in 2006 and bringing Okada in would be a major coup.

The club only avoided relegation again in 2009 after two clubs above it were punished for their part in a match-fixing scandal.