What is the impression of the 1.84 m tall Vietnamese-American central defender about U.17 Vietnam?

The Vietnam U.17 team has gathered since September 16, in order to prepare for the 2025 U17 Asian qualifiers. The list of 28 players gathered this time has a rather strange name: Maxwell James Peereboom. It is known that Maxwell was born in 2008 in Ho Chi Minh City, has an Australian father, a Vietnamese mother and currently lives in Australia. This 16-year-old player started his football career at youth teams in Queensland (Australia), before joining the Gold Coast Knights youth team (one of the top clubs in the National Premier Leagues Queensland - the highest tournament in Queensland and part of the Australian national championship).

Maxwell is 1.84 m tall, plays as a central defender, is considered to have good ball control and is quite creative in his playing style. Because he is a young player, information about Maxwell is still limited. That is also the reason why coach Cristiano Roland wants to directly test by calling this 16-year-old player to practice, thereby assessing his ability before making a decision on the strength of the Vietnam U.17 team to participate in the 2025 U.17 Asian qualifiers.

Australian-Vietnamese center-back Maxwell is 1.84 m tall.

Recently, Maxwell shared for the first time about the Vietnam U.17 team. Talking about the opportunity to wear the Vietnam U.17 shirt, the 1.84 m tall center back said: "A family friend connected me with coach Cristiano Roland. Coach Roland sent an email to my club. When I heard the news, I was very happy and excited. The Gold Coast Knights club also created conditions and enthusiastically supported me to return to Vietnam to try out."

Up to now, Maxwell has had nearly 10 days of training with the members of the U.17 Vietnam team. The 16-year-old midfielder is impressed with the tactics and playing mindset of coach Roland. "Vietnamese and Australian football have differences in playing style, thinking... Coach Roland brings a playing style suitable for U.17 Vietnam. He guides us in how to handle the ball and control the game. That is the difference compared to when I played in Australia. Specifically, I see that in Vietnam, the players play fast. This forces me to adapt to a higher speed, especially to make decisions quickly. In Australia, I play more leisurely. The experiences in Vietnam will definitely help me improve when I return to Australia," the Vietnamese-Australian midfielder commented.

Match schedule of U.17 Vietnam in the 2025 U.17 Asian qualifiers

When asked about his plans for Vietnamese football, Maxwell confided: "My plan is to try to get better every day to accompany the U.17 Vietnam team on the long journey. Regarding trying to get into the U.23 team or the national team, that would definitely be a good thing if I have the opportunity in the future. At the moment, I am focusing all my efforts on the U.17 Vietnam team."

Maxwell sent his thanks to head coach Roland as well as his teammates in U.17 Vietnam, and expressed his desire to participate in the 2025 U.17 Asian qualifiers: "I want to thank coach Cristiano Roland, he has conveyed a lot of ideas about playing football and tactics. I really like his ball control philosophy. I also want to thank the Vietnamese players. They are all good people, I want to learn from them all."

"In the upcoming qualifying round, the team wants to win and aims to demonstrate a controlled playing style. I think U.17 Vietnam can do well when officially entering the tournament. As for me, I hope to be selected by the head coach to participate in the qualifying round," Maxwell expressed.

According to the plan, U.17 Vietnam will practice in Hanoi until September 29, then go to Japan for training and competition from September 30 to October 9. On October 10, coach Roland and his team will return home to complete the final preparations before participating in the 2025 U.17 Asian qualifiers.

U.17 Vietnam will play the role of host of Group I, taking place at Viet Tri Stadium, Phu Tho from October 23 to October 27. Coach Roland and his team will welcome U.17 Kyrgyzstan (October 23), U.17 Myanmar (October 25) and U.17 Yemen (October 27).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/trung-ve-viet-kieu-cao-184-m-an-tuong-gi-ve-u17-viet-nam-185240924140609373.htm