Expert: Mr. Troussier falls behind, VFF pays a heavy price

"We are increasingly seeing coach Troussier's backwardness despite his reputation in the past. Coach Troussier has not been the head coach of any team for about 10 years. He is disconnected from his work life, so there are signs of backwardness in the way he handles problems," commentator Ngo Quang Tung told VTC News.

Exactly 13 months after appointing coach Philippe Troussier to lead the national team and U23 Vietnam, VFF announced the termination of the contract with the French coach ahead of schedule.

Coach Troussier left the Vietnam team right after the 0-3 loss to Indonesia at My Dinh Stadium last night (March 26). That was the "last straw" that prevented the 1955-born expert from continuing his work, after many promises about raising the level of the Vietnam team towards the World Cup.

Vietnam team 0-3 Indonesia

Why did coach Troussier fail?

"The head coach must be the one who takes the highest responsibility for a team's failure. He decides on every aspect, from personnel, playing ideas, tactics and tactical adjustments. The Vietnam Football Federation or anyone else can only create the foundation and cannot make decisions for him," said commentator Quang Tung.

Coach Troussier is responsible for the performance and results of the Vietnamese team. After a series of 3 consecutive losses to Indonesia, it was inevitable that the French coach had to say goodbye. According to commentator Quang Tung, the key point that caused Mr. Troussier to lose his job was not one or a few specific matches but the whole process.

"Mr. Troussier's adjustments and usage are not suitable. If the problem occurs in one match, it could be luck, but if it becomes a process without improvement, it is a system problem. Mr. Troussier built the system and must take the highest responsibility," said commentator Quang Tung.

The Vietnam team declined under coach Troussier.

Commentator Quang Tung questioned Coach Troussier's approach in the first leg. The Vietnamese team was 2 points ahead of their opponents at the time, and did not have to win away from home. However, raising the squad put the Vietnamese team in a difficult situation.

" Meeting Indonesia in the group stage of the 2023 Asian Cup, the Vietnamese team may be surprised by the opponent's ability. After 2 matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Coach Troussier knows Indonesia's strength very well. I ask why we have to approach playing offensively in the first leg. The situation allows us to have many better options.

It depends on the goal and the way of handling it. The Vietnamese team set the wrong goal and handled it inappropriately, so the risk will be higher. When losing the first match, it will be very difficult to play the second match ," commented commentator Quang Tung.

Mr. Troussier was out of sync with his work life and showed signs of falling behind in his problem-solving skills.

Commentator Ngo Quang Tung

This expert also mentioned the issue related to the performance cycle of the Vietnamese team. When the team was on the decline after its peak, coach Troussier, although having ideas to renew the team, could not effectively implement them to create momentum for growth.

" This is the period when the competitiveness of Vietnamese football is affected. Indonesia is getting stronger, while the Vietnamese team is stagnant, even regressing.

The Vietnamese team's strength has also stagnated. The players' performance and excitement are uneven, not creating the motivation to push the Vietnamese team to play better after a loss.

The team has had many consecutive matches where they did not play well. That is a sign of stagnation and low performance ," commented commentator Quang Tung.

Coach Troussier rarely leaves the technical cabin to direct his players during matches and his tactical adjustments often do not produce obvious results.

Big lesson for VFF

" In fact, we are increasingly seeing coach Troussier's backwardness despite his reputation in the past. Coach Troussier has not been the head coach of any team for about 10 years. He is disconnected from his work life, so there are signs of backwardness in the way he handles problems," commented commentator Quang Tung.

Mr. Troussier is the highest-ranking coach to ever lead the Vietnamese team. He aims for a modern football philosophy and has a positive view on development. However, putting theory into practice is something that the French coach has not been able to do.

Reality shows that Coach Troussier's selection options and adjustment decisions related to the match are ineffective. Commentator Quang Tung and many other experts have pointed this out many times.

" That is an expensive lesson for VFF. A coach's resume is also varied. Choosing a foreign coach is difficult. Mr. Troussier's ability to maintain the training rhythm with Vietnamese football is an advantage, but he is the technical director of an academy and only works with young players. He has not worked with the stars of Vietnamese football," said commentator Quang Tung about the reason why Mr. Troussier did not achieve the expected results.

Coach Troussier's failure is an expensive lesson for VFF.

The head coach position of the Vietnam national team is temporarily vacant after parting ways with coach Troussier. VFF has about 2 months to choose a replacement before the Vietnam national team enters the next match (against Iraq on June 6).

Commentator Quang Tung believes that the plan to appoint an interim head coach is reasonable. VFF needs time to calculate and find the right person to take on the "captain" position of the national team towards long-term goals and about 2 months is not enough for the selection and negotiation process.

" I think the long-term plan right now is difficult. The important thing is the suitability. In the short term, the Vietnamese team should find a temporary coach because our big goal is no longer there. The youth team can be temporarily handed over to coach Hoang Anh Tuan.

However, the Vietnamese team must play at their best in the two matches in June. Finding a permanent coach is not easy, so it is likely that a temporary coach will be used. That position will probably be reserved for a domestic coach," commentator Quang Tung predicted.

A domestic coach can take over as an interim coach, like Mai Duc Chung in 2017. However, according to commentator Quang Tung, VFF should still look to foreign coaches. There are not many domestic experts with the level and experience to take on the responsibility of the national team.

"The professional capacity of domestic coaches has not been confirmed at the international level. They have all undergone training courses, have knowledge and practical experience, have ideas, organize people, and even understand Vietnamese people better than foreign coaches. However, there are specific limitations that can affect their work.

That limitation is the distinction between public and private. Domestic coaches easily let emotional factors influence their decision-making. Besides, I'm not sure they can withstand the impact of public opinion. I want to emphasize another issue: foreign coaches have prestige. Whoever makes good use of that will bring about efficiency," said commentator Quang Tung.

Regarding the plan to find a foreign coach, commentator Quang Tung said that VFF must carefully consider the cultural suitability, approach, and psychology of the new head coach.

" I see that foreign coaches from the West or East Asia all pay a certain amount of attention to the psychology, thoughts, and feelings of their organization. However, the way each person approaches is different. They come from different cultures, so their approach to psychology, team management, and creating a bond between members is different ," commentator Quang Tung shared his opinion.