Bau Duc: 'Coach Troussier is denying the history of Vietnamese football'

Boss Doan Nguyen Duc said that coach Philippe Troussier was too conservative and jealous when he did not inherit the previous generation of players, leading to failure at the 2023 Asian Cup.

Bau Duc (right) chats with former coach Park Hang-seo at the headquarters of HAGL Club on March 1, 2019. Photo: Duc Dong — Bau Duc (right) chats with former coach Park Hang-seo at the headquarters of HAGL Club on March 1, 2019. Photo: *Duc Dong*

- How did you feel when watching Vietnam lose to Indonesia last night, leading to an early elimination from the group stage of the 2023 Asian Cup?

- Like all Vietnamese fans, I am very sad and somewhat indignant. Because the team played so weakly. For more than four years, we have always "pressed down" Indonesia to play, always from drawing to winning against them in all competitions. Yesterday, we were the favorites but played poorly. I think we should not blame the mistakes of center-back Nguyen Thanh Binh, because the team lost in every aspect, lost the whole system. Our lines showed a lack of cohesion, no specific strategies, the players could not put pressure on the opponent. Many players chosen by coach Philippe Troussier showed inexperience, playing the whole match did not solve anything. On the contrary, in the technical area, there are also experienced players such as Do Hung Dung, Nguyen Van Toan, Vu Van Thanh or Do Duy Manh who were not used, or were only allowed to enter the field in the last minutes, not enough time to change the situation.

- So in your opinion, what is the reason for the failure: Coach Troussier's use of people?

- I don't take credit, but in 2017, when I was vice president of the Vietnam Football Federation, the criteria for choosing a coach for the national team was set to be Asian, because they were suitable for our culture and football environment. Therefore, we looked to Japan and then Korea with coach Park Hang-seo.

It was Mr. Park who created history for Vietnamese football that no one had ever done before. To have that history, with the Southeast Asian championship, two SEA Games gold medals, reaching the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup, entering the third qualifying round of the World Cup, runner-up of the U23 Asia... was thanks to a generation of players like Duy Manh, Hung Dung, Hoang Duc, Que Ngoc Hai, Tuan Anh, Cong Phuong, Van Toan, Hong Duy, Quang Hai, Xuan Truong Tien Linh... I can't list them all, but they are the ones who created history. So why are they being ignored now?

When Park is no longer the coach, someone else must inherit that achievement. On the other hand, Mr. Troussier is jealous, envious, conservative, and denies all history, so how can he succeed? I feel sorry for a talented player like Hoang Duc. He could not participate in this tournament due to injury, but before that, he was not used in the training sessions. Or Hung Dung, Van Toan, Van Thanh, who are experienced, were only on the bench yesterday. And many other famous players, who are at the peak of their careers, are not valued under Coach Troussier. That said, Troussier is destroying Vietnamese football. Seeing the players who have made Vietnamese football famous, who are our pride, now being pushed aside, I feel so sorry.

- But Coach Troussier stated his reason was to rejuvenate the squad to help Vietnam fulfill its World Cup dream. What do you think about this strategy?

- To be honest, playing like this is just a dream, there is no World Cup dream here. Park Hang-seo talks less and does more, while Troussier talks more but does less. We are being lulled to sleep by him. If we want to inherit, we must respect the old, the harmonious combination between two generations will bring results. Here, I see that he uses too many young players, even many of whom I don't know the names. But let me ask you, this is the national team, not the youth team, where is the U team to use young players? To have a strong national team, we must use the elite players of that football.

The other day I watched Thailand play and was happy, but look at which players they used? Did they use young players? They used only experienced players because they respect the tournament and respect the fans. On the contrary, let's not say that Coach Troussier doesn't have time, that's wrong. He has been the head coach of Vietnam for a year but he only won the bronze medal at the SEA Games while before that, Mr. Park won two consecutive gold medals. The same thing happened at this Asian Cup, they were eliminated early in the group stage.

Many people support him because they think his style of controlling football is beautiful or something. But I don't. Because controlling football must have results. Park knows how to measure his rice according to his cloth, prepare tactics and players suitable for each team, not every team controls the ball like Mr. Troussier. I'm not far from saying that when Park took over the team, Vietnam tied with Japan 1-1, but now Troussier lost 2-4 but is being praised to the skies. I really don't understand, it's so wrong.

- Do you think Vietnamese football is in a transitional phase while Indonesia has made remarkable progress, which led to yesterday's loss ?

- It is true that Indonesia is progressing, but if they are progressing, we must also progress, otherwise we will regress. That also depends on the way the managers do things. We are giving an individual the right to do things, to make decisions without any dissenting voices. Remember, Troussier is also a salaried employee, and his manager is the VFF. Therefore, if we continue to give it to him, we will lose the football foundation that we have worked hard to build over the past decades.

It is time for us to speak our minds, that Coach Troussier is not suitable for Vietnamese football. If he is still conservative, does not inherit and respect history, then we should not dream of the World Cup, and even in Southeast Asia, we cannot maintain our position. It is time to wake up from this dream.

Duc Dong

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