The meal of 'old general' Mai Duc Chung after saying goodbye to his students

After the 2024 Paris Olympic qualifiers, which was also the last tournament for the Vietnamese women's team, coach Mai Duc Chung returned home and had time to rest with his family.

The "old general" is 74 years old this year, has pursued a coaching career for 40 years, won many victories when the Vietnamese women's team dominated the SEA Games with 6 championships, reached the semi-finals of ASIAD 17 (in 2014) and won a ticket to the 2023 World Cup.

In 2023 alone, Mr. Chung and his students have continuously traveled to participate in major tournaments, including the Olympic qualifiers (in Nepal and Uzbekistan, respectively), the SEA Games (Cambodia), the World Cup (New Zealand) and the ASIAD (China). Between the 5 overseas competitions were 2 long training trips in Japan and Germany.

Bữa cơm của 'vị tướng già' sau ngày nói lời chia tay đội tuyển nữ Việt Nam - Ảnh 1. — Coach Mai Duc Chung gathers around the dinner table with his wife and children

Having trained and competed away from home with his students 7 times in 9 months, Coach Mai Duc Chung had a busy and difficult 2023, with overwhelming work pressure. The 74-year-old strategist only wishes to have free time, to wholeheartedly spend time with his family, to eat meals cooked by his wife and gather with his children and grandchildren.

That time has come for "general" Chung. After the Olympic qualifiers are over, he will have a professional meeting with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF). Here, coach Mai Duc Chung will express his wish to rest to enjoy time with his family.

Coach Mai Duc Chung's contract with VFF will expire after December 31, 2023. In fact, Mr. Chung planned to retire after 2022, but was persuaded to stay and coach the women's team for another year.

Leaving his position as coach of the Vietnamese women's team, coach Mai Duc Chung confided that he wanted to take his wife (Mrs. Pham Thi Ngoc Uyen) on a trip to make up for the days when he had to focus on coaching, on the football field more than at home, unable to have time for his wife and children.

Besides, Mr. Chung also wants to relax with his old friends, go drinking tea, and go fishing. These are the habits that "General" Chung loves very much, but has not been able to do due to his busy schedule in the past many years.

Students respectfully presented their teacher with a shirt with sincere thoughts.

However, coach Mai Duc Chung will not say goodbye to football completely. The 74-year-old strategist affirmed that he will support the successor coach professionally, impart experience if needed, and contribute to the women's football movement in many different ways. Having been involved in football for a long time, from when he was a player to when he took on coaching, coach Mai Duc Chung affirmed that his life without football would probably be very sad.

But that's a story for the future. For now, the "old general" just wants to wholeheartedly enjoy time with his family, eat delicious meals prepared by Mrs. Uyen and rest to recharge after a hard year.

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