Does Vietnamese youth football need foreign coaches?

On the evening of October 23, U17 Vietnam had a 0-0 draw with U17 Kyrgyzstan in Group I of the 2025 AFC U17 Championship qualifiers. Of course, this result could not satisfy fans. However, in contrast to the somewhat "soulless" image of many youth teams recently, U17 Vietnam still somehow provided situations that were attractive enough and brought excitement to viewers. That change came from the efforts of coach Cristiano Roland, his colleagues and students.

Foreign teacher takes on the mission of 'rescuing' youth football

Several months ago, the 0-5 defeat to Indonesia U16 in the U16 Asian Cup forced coach Tran Minh Chien to leave his position. In fact, this coach did not avoid responsibility. He understood that it was time to stop. Cristiano Roland appeared as an important replacement. The former Hanoi FC center-back started his new job in the 2024 Peace Cup friendly tournament in China.

Coach Cristiano Roland faces many challenges.

The heavy defeat against the home team on the opening day caused the confidence index in the Brazilian strategist to decrease significantly. However, the two consecutive victories against Uzbekistan and Japan opened up many things. The young players were more confident, and coach Cristiano Roland himself also understood the ability of each student, initially building his dynasty with solid bricks.

It is important to understand that Vietnamese fans need many victories at this time, even "eye-catching" victories. U23 Vietnam is deadlocked in the U23 Asian tournament. U20 Vietnam is eliminated, not getting a ticket to the Asian tournament. U16 Vietnam is defeated by "traditional" rival Indonesia. Not to mention, the national team is not playing well, many side stories affect the mentality of the pillars.

The 2025 AFC U17 Championship qualifiers are the last important tournament for Vietnamese youth football this year. Obviously, the mission of coach Roland and his team is to win tickets to the final round. After the draw on the opening day, U17 Vietnam faced criticism but not too harshly. Fans still saw bright spots in the way Le Huy Viet Anh and his teammates played. The victory in Phu Tho at this time was no different from an oasis in the desert to public opinion that was thirsty for victory.

The dilemma of "foreign teachers"

The story needs to start after Coach Park Hang Seo left Vietnamese football and Mr. Troussier took over. Consecutive failures at the 32nd SEA Games, the 2023 Asian Cup, and the 2026 World Cup qualifiers pushed the French coach out of his chair. When the team suffered heavy defeats, the head coach was the one who took the main responsibility. Coach Troussier accepted losing his job and only compensated with a few months of salary.

U17 Vietnam does not have many excellent players.

But it was not until coach Kim Sang-sik led a few matches of the Vietnamese team that the sympathy, sharing and the reversed attitude of the fans towards Mr. Troussier appeared more. Many people realized that to have a strong team, coaches also need good players, furthermore, they need to be suitable with the football philosophy. The serious decline in player quality is the reason for many failures recently.

For older players, they seem to have less motivation on the training ground and during matches. The huge signing-on bonuses make them millionaires overnight. The dedication is still there, but the level of motivation and desire to play football in each player is a question that only they can answer.

Meanwhile, after the generation of Van Khang, Dinh Bac, Thai Son, Vietnamese youth football clearly shows a shortage of personnel. Not many young players have shown that they will be "rare" like the way their seniors have shown. Most recently, looking at many of the ball handling moves of U20 Vietnam, people ask themselves that when his students play like that, how can Mr. Hua Hien Vinh raise the level of the team?

Foreign coaches are the right solution for VFF to save the situation. However, managers and trainers need to always remember that without good players, no matter how talented a coach is, it will be difficult to achieve anything.

Mai Phuong

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/bong-da-tre-viet-nam-can-huan-luyen-vien-ngoai-ar903508.html