To dream of the World Cup, VFF must retain talented people like coach Roland.

The class of coach Roland

To talk about the mark of coach Cristiano Roland, let's see how different the current U.17 Vietnam team is compared to before he arrived.

Unlike U.20 Vietnam, which was "nailed" for coach Hoang Anh Tuan from 2016 to 2023 (except for the short period when coach Philippe Troussier took charge due to Mr. Tuan's resignation), U.17 Vietnam has been trained by many head coaches in the past 9 years.

These are strategists such as Dinh The Nam, Nguyen Quoc Tuan, Hoang Anh Tuan or Tran Minh Chien. With each coach in charge, U.17 Vietnam has a different operating philosophy. The last time they played in the Asian finals (2023), U.17 Vietnam under coach Hoang Anh Tuan lost to U.17 Japan and U.17 Uzbekistan, leading to the bottom of the table and the end of the game.

Coach Cristiano Roland raises the level of U.17 Vietnam

PHOTO: VFF

When Mr. Hoang Anh Tuan resigned, U.17 Vietnam was coached by Tran Minh Chien. This generation of players last year, also known as U.16 Vietnam, lost to U.16 Thailand in the semi-finals of U.16 Southeast Asia, then lost the third-place match to U.16 Indonesia with a score of 0-5.

This fall forced the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) to change. Mr. Tran Minh Chien left his seat, making way for Roland. Roland's resume at that time only included the 2024 National U.17 Championship with U.17 Hanoi . Roland is a good player, but good playing does not mean... good coaching.

However, the gamble of Vietnamese youth football in a difficult situation has brought sweet results. U.17 Vietnam surprisingly defeated U.17 Uzbekistan (3-0) and U.17 Japan (1-0) to win the runner-up position in the 2024 international friendly tournament in China. After that, coach Roland and his team passed the qualifying round with 5 points and 3 unbeaten matches.

Including the 3 draws in the Asian finals, U.17 Vietnam has been unbeaten in 10 matches under Roland's coaching. This is the longest unbeaten streak that Vietnamese youth football has ever witnessed.

Taking over a team that was immature in both technical and tactical aspects, Coach Roland created a revolution in football thinking. He trained his students in terms of positional thinking, team distance, and created clear defensive and offensive strategies and tactics.

U.17 Vietnam has made progress

PHOTO: VFF

Coach Roland encouraged his players to confidently hold the ball, deploy their play, control the game and make the opponent follow their will. In the match against U.17 UAE, U.17 Vietnam held the ball up to 71%, overwhelmingly attacking in the first half. The Brazilian coach also "inspired" his players well when urging them to confidently show off their skills. U.17 Vietnam was so stubborn and annoying that even if U.17 Japan or U.17 Australia tried their best, they could not defeat them.

The unfortunate thing for coach Roland is that the U.17 Vietnam players are not strong enough and physically fit enough to cope with the high-intensity pressing style of play. Coach Roland once wondered about the experience and physical strength of the U.17 Vietnam players, saying that they had too little time on the field to improve. He could only "cut his coat according to his cloth", suggesting the best possible playing style with the players he had.

However, tactics are like a narrow blanket. If you cover your head, you expose your legs, if you prioritize defense, you limit attack... However, coach Roland has left his mark.

Retaining talent

After 9 years, U.17 Vietnam has made a splash again in the Asian tournament. What happened during those 9 years of "submersion"?

U.17 Vietnam has held back U.17 Japan

PHOTO: VFF

The problem lies in the way people are used. U.17 Vietnam lacks a "chief architect" of sufficient caliber. Over the past 9 years, many coaches have been assigned to lead U.17 Vietnam, leading to constant changes in both playing style and development philosophy. The coaching position of the U.17 team has not received due attention, leading to the feeling that this is a place to... train coaches.

"The U.17 and U.20 groups are very important, because this is the gateway for players to step from youth to professional. We need a comprehensive and synchronous plan to develop these groups. There must be a strategy for players to be trained and compete internationally, then closely link with clubs and training centers to find similar ways to train and develop players. That is the way in developed football countries," expert Doan Minh Xuong shared.

Vietnamese youth football has waited a long time to have a coach like Roland. He is a "precious seed" that U.17 and U.19 Vietnam need to progress. VFF needs to retain talented people to stabilize youth football. The World Cup dream will be closer if at the national level, players are trained properly, by coaches with enough class and vision.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/de-mo-world-cup-vff-phai-giu-chan-nguoi-tai-nhu-hlv-roland-185250414161013018.htm