From U17 Vietnam to a model of youth football training

A week has passed since U17 Vietnam said goodbye to the 2025 AFC U17 Championship, and fans are still regretful. Coach Cristiano Roland and his team were very close to the quarterfinals as well as a ticket to the U17 World Cup, but could not seize the historic moment.

Coach Pham Minh Duc also had a similar feeling. “It’s really a bit of a pity, if the players had done better in the match against UAE, keeping the lead until the last minute, we would have created a miracle,” he told Tien Phong newspaper reporters, praising the efforts of coach Roland and his team, “Although the final result was not as expected, the U17 Vietnam team left a good impression, playing enthusiastically and passionately to create commendable performances.”

According to coach Pham Minh Duc, there were a few names that left their mark at the tournament in Saudi Arabia such as striker Duy Khang, Gia Bao, captain Viet Anh and goalkeeper Xuan Tin, but the factors that made the strength of U17 Vietnam were the quality of the squad, the collective cohesion and the spirit of determination. They showed what the young generation can do, and at the same time provided an optimistic sign for the future of Vietnamese football. Continue to persevere with youth training, the sweet fruit will come.

Coach Cristiano Roland said that in order for Vietnamese football to develop, it is necessary to continue to invest heavily in youth training like Hanoi Club has done.

In an interview after returning from the 2025 U17 Asian Cup, coach Roland emphasized more than once that "Vietnamese youth football really, really needs investment", besides mentioning Hanoi Club as a model in youth training.

In the recent tournament, the U17 Vietnam squad had 8 players from the Hanoi youth team, more than any other team. Thien Phu, Hong Phong, Viet Long and the 15-year-old talent Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc played very maturely and fearlessly. They certainly gained good experience to prepare for the long future ahead.

As the coach of Hanoi Youth, Mr. Pham Minh Duc believes that this is just the beginning. “I think that the players from the Hanoi training center have played their roles well, have confidence in themselves and follow the tactical discipline of the coaching staff. However, they still have a lot to improve, and must continue to make more efforts to mature,” he said.

Although only 15 years old, Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc showed remarkable maturity when he started all 3 matches of U17 Vietnam at the 2025 AFC U17 Championship.

Coach Pham Minh Duc also believes in the development of this generation of players because of the good foundation that Hanoi Club brings.

“Speaking of youth training, we must first mention the work of Mr. Hien (Chairman of SHB Bank Do Quang Hien), the current Board of Directors of Hanoi Club as well as T&T Group.

These are people full of passion with a systematic, sustainable football strategy and a commitment to investing in the long-term future," Coach Pham Minh Duc shared. "Next, thanks to the serious and persistent attention and investment, Hanoi's youth training system has formed effective satellites, providing quality input."

The satellite centers that Coach Pham Minh Duc mentioned are the Hanoi Sports Training and Competition Center, the T&T VSH Football Center in Cua Lo (Nghe An) and most recently the Bac Giang Youth Training Center. Talents including Quang Hai, Duy Manh, Thanh Chung, Viet Anh, Tuan Hai or Nguyen Van Cong, Ngan Van Dai were discovered and nurtured at these centers, before becoming famous.

Hanoi FC players play an important role in the 2024 ASEAN Cup championship of the Vietnam National Team.

It is of course a long way to hone the talents into high-quality players. The training process of Hanoi FC currently starts from U9, U11, U13 to U15, U17, U19 and U21. The great thing is that at all levels, the club always has dedicated, experienced and highly qualified coaches.

Many people will be surprised to know that coaches who have fought and are fighting in V.League such as Vu Hong Viet, Truong Viet Hoang, Nguyen Duc Thang, Thach Bao Khanh or Nguyen Van Bien all spent years leading Hanoi youth teams. Or coach Roland, who just fought with U17 Vietnam at the 2025 U17 Asian Cup, is also leading U17 Hanoi.

In a recent sharing, Coach Roland praised Chairman Do Vinh Quang of Hanoi Club for always creating the best conditions because he "considers youth training as the cradle, the root for developing professional football". Therefore, taking care of young players is focused on every aspect, from competition, nutrition to study. Importantly, Hanoi Club also has a clear philosophy, throughout all levels.

Hong Phong and Viet Long are other players from the Hanoi training center who made an impression at the 2025 U17 Asian tournament.

Coach Pham Minh Duc added: “Here, young players are trained systematically and step by step according to their age. Regardless of the age, we adhere to the common philosophy of playing short passes, quick coordination, focusing on technique and ball control, and building a style of play from the back. This creates consistency with the first team style, creating the identity of the club.”

Another factor that makes up the identity of Hanoi FC is succession. The team always has continuity between generations. After Thanh Luong, Van Quyet, there are Hung Dung, Quang Hai, Duy Manh, Thanh Chung, followed by Tuan Hai, Dao Van Nam and Dinh Hai, Van Truong, Van Ha. At all times, the purple team always has an abundance of successors.

In order for the young generation to be mentally ready and to improve their skills, it is important to play regularly. Never losing faith in young people, Hanoi FC gives them many opportunities to compete. In addition to youth tournaments, players from Hanoi's training center also compete in the Second Division, First Division and V.League. For example, Tuan Hai's generation has 6 years of experience in different tournaments before returning to wear the Hanoi FC first team jersey.

Hanoi FC has become a model with its commitment to long-term investment in the future, building foundations and constantly believing in young players.

“I am currently training players aged 18 to 20, developing a training program, finding out what they lack and what they need to improve to meet the high standards of the first team,” said coach Pham Minh Duc. “These players will play in the Second Division. According to the roadmap, in a few years, good players can join the first team.”

Being promoted to the first team is the dream of every young player. At Hanoi FC, promising players from 17 years old and up have the opportunity to live and train with their seniors. Being directly guided and looking at the example of their seniors, they have more motivation and determination to break through and grow up.

Thanks to the right vision and training methods, Hanoi youth teams, from U9 to U17, U19 and U21, have continuously achieved success, in addition to Hanoi FC's record of 6 V.League championships. The "purple" factor has also been widely present in the National teams, contributing significantly to the achievements that make the whole country proud.

According to statistics from coach Pham Minh Duc, there are currently more than 60 players from Hanoi's youth training center playing in First Division and V.League clubs. It is not an exaggeration to say that the overall development of the country's football owes much to Hanoi Club - the incubator of Vietnamese football talent.

Thanh Hai

Source: https://tienphong.vn/tu-u17-viet-nam-den-hinh-mau-dao-tao-bong-da-tre-post1734683.tpo