Unexpected candidate
The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has begun the search for a successor to coach Philippe Troussier as the "captain" of the Vietnam national team. Although there are still 2 months until the next training session (to play the last 2 matches of the 2026 World Cup qualifying round 2), finding a head coach for the national team (and possibly U.23 Vietnam) soon is the right thing to do.
Because the new strategist will not only take on coaching and technical guidance, but also have to coordinate with VFF to make long-term plans for the Vietnamese team, in the context that the door to the third qualifying round is very narrow, and Vietnamese football is in a chaotic transitional period.
Strategists who want to sit in the "hot" seat are gradually emerging. The first coach to publicly express his desire to lead the Vietnamese team is Alexandre Polking, former strategist of the Thai team. Mr. Polking worked for 6 years in the Thai League when leading Bangkok United Club, then came to Vietnam to take charge of Ho Chi Minh City Club in the 2021 season, before returning to Thailand to help the team win the AFF Cup 2020 and 2022.
Coach Polking understands Southeast Asian football very well.
Besides coach Polking, Korean press confirmed that experienced coaches such as Kim Sang-sik (who led Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to the K-League championship) or Kim Do-hoon (who won the AFC Champions League with Ulsan Hyundai) also joined the team.
Among them, Mr. Kim Do-hoon is a very promising candidate as he has accompanied Ulsan Hyundai to Vietnam for training and friendly matches. At the age of 54, the Korean strategist is at the peak of his coaching career. Not too old to be able to accept new things, but not too young, possessing just enough experience to manage players and adapt to the fluctuations of Vietnamese football.
Recently, Coach Lee Young-jin was also recommended by Mr. Bae Ji-won (former fitness coach under Coach Park Hang-seo) to the coaching position. As Coach Park Hang-seo's right-hand man during the 5 successful years of the Vietnamese team, Mr. Lee clearly understands the characteristics of Vietnamese players and the management method to regulate the locker room.
Which candidates will replace coach Philippe Troussier at U.23 and Vietnam national team?
If negotiating to appoint Mr. Lee, VFF will have a very safe solution, almost no time is wasted to adapt and get acquainted with the players. However, the minus point of Mr. Lee Young-jin is that he has not been in the head coach position for 8 years, but only plays the role of "deputy". Mr. Lee is a good assistant, but that does not mean he will become a good head coach, because the two positions inherently require different qualities.
Mr. Lee Young-jin (left) is a potential candidate.
Must have a good team for head coach
At this time, VFF is only promoting exchanges with candidates, but has not opened direct negotiations. Because the VFF's professional departments and the National Coaching Council are only in the stage of studying the documents. However, VFF will not ignore any candidate, but will consider each coach comprehensively before choosing.
Every step must be taken very carefully and cautiously to avoid repeating the mistakes made with Coach Troussier. However, coaches from close cultural backgrounds who understand Vietnamese football as well as Southeast Asian football will have the biggest advantage.
Mr. Mai Duc Chung, a member of the National Coaching Council, expressed that the new head coach of the Vietnam national team needs to clearly understand the current situation and nature of Vietnamese culture, to be ready to adapt, find a reasonable way to manage people, but still have to have his own opinions and personality in shaping the playing style of the national team.
Expert Doan Minh Xuong believes that in order to find a good coach, Vietnamese football must first know where it is: "Will the Vietnamese team aim for short-term goals such as winning the AFF Cup, being the top team in Southeast Asia, or long-term goals such as participating in the 2030 World Cup? Is our strength enough to dream of the World Cup? That must be realistic.
Only by correctly assessing the strength of the Vietnamese team can VFF find a coach that fits its goals. I think that a famous person is not as good as a suitable person. In addition, VFF needs to equip the new head coach with a team of good assistants. The assistants can be directly selected by the coach, but VFF needs to manage and skillfully combine domestic and foreign assistants to ensure professional continuity as well as to make it easier to give advice to the head coach."
Source link
Comment (0)