On the morning of October 23, coach Mai Duc Chung announced that he would not renew his contract with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF). The second qualifying round of the 2024 Paris Olympics is likely to be the last tournament that this coach will lead the Vietnamese women's team.
Mr. Chung personally mentioned his colleague Akira Ijiri - who has worked for VFF since 2019 as a coach in charge of training young women's football,
Special resume
Coach Akira Ijiri is a contract that comes from the international cooperation efforts of VFF with other FIFA member organizations. Mr. Akira used to work for the Japan Football Association (JFA) in many different positions.
Therefore, when VFF talked about the need to find an expert with experience in training young female players, JFA immediately introduced Akira Ijiri. The contract was quickly signed in May 2019.
Coach Akira Ijiri leads many youth teams of Vietnamese women's football.
Akira Ijiri's football career did not have many highlights. Therefore, when he decided to put aside his "shorts and jersey" career, the strategist born in 1970 also chose his own path. He both learned coaching knowledge and practiced in the women's football environment.
In 1995, Coach Akira Ijiri started his career as a coach of the Kyoto U12 women's team. Five years later, he returned to his former team, Kyoto Bamb 1993, and became the coach of the club's women's team. In the following period, Coach Akira Ijiri took on a series of women's teams such as Uji U15, Joy High School U18, Shimizu S-Pulse SS, and Guangzhou R&F.
In 2010, he officially worked for JFA. Less than a year later, this coach appeared in the Japanese U17 women's team as an assistant. After that, coach Akira Ijiri surprised everyone when he became a U12 A and B instructor for JFA. Later, Mr. Akira officially accepted the invitation from JFA and VFF to come to Vietnam to continue coaching young female players.
Advantages and risks
Coach Mai Duc Chung often observes and works with Mr. Akira Ijiri and Mr. Chung himself has many reasons to put his trust in his young colleague. Indeed, it is very rare for a coach to maintain the training of young players for up to 5 years at the national team level.
In 5 years in Vietnam, Coach Akira Ijiri has worked with many players. He has led the U13 women's team, U15 women's team, U16 women's team, U19 women's team, and U20 women's team to participate in many qualifying rounds, winning tickets to the finals with many convincing victories. Coach Akira Ijiri's biggest advantage is his understanding of Vietnamese football.
Mr. Akira is associated with many generations of young Vietnamese female players.
Many young players - the future of Vietnamese women's football - were his students such as Ngoc Minh Chuyen, Lan Anh, Van Su, Dao Thi Kieu Oanh,...
Mr. Akira will not waste time researching Vietnamese female players. Moreover, Mr. Akira applies the 4-4-2 tactical formation, which is not much different from 4-2-3-1 (a formation that helps many wingers to be in good form).
Coach Akira Ijiri's expertise has been partly proven in youth tournaments. Vietnam U17 women's team and Vietnam U20 women's team are teams with depth. Therefore, it is easier for the coach to make his list.
But there are still certain risks if Coach Akira Ijiri comes to lead the Vietnam women's team. Looking at his resume, Coach Akira Ijiri rarely even leads women's teams, but mainly youth teams of clubs. The youth training environment is completely different from the Vietnam national team. That is the problem that Mr. Akira needs to consider before talking about a new contract.
" I believe in coach Akira Ijiri's expertise, he is definitely a very good professional. However, when working with stars, whether male or female, there still needs to be a gentle touch. Hopefully he will do a good job at the moment," said a coach working in the National Women's Championship.
Mai Phuong
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