After parting with strategist Park Hang-seo, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) is actively looking for new coaches for the national teams. Until now, many sources have confirmed that the name sitting in the hot seat has been identified as Mr. Troussier, former coach of the U19 Vietnam team.
In the past, Coach Troussier was the coach of two Chinese clubs, Shenzhen Ruby and Hangzhou Greentown. Before the news that the French coach will become the captain of the Vietnamese team, Sohu (China) commented: “Coach Troussier will bring many benefits to Vietnamese football when succeeding Mr. Park.
Chinese media said that coach Troussier will bring many benefits to Vietnamese football following taking over the head coach position from Mr. Park.
Mr. Troussier has a time with and understands Vietnamese football not inferior to Coach Park Hang-seo. During his years in Vietnam, he took on the task of searching and training young players. Many talents in the U19 and U21 Vietnam squads have been developed under Mr. Troussier’s hands.
The special thing regarding this coach is that he not only goes to training centers but also pays attention to recruiting in many other places such as primary schools. In 2019, he led Vietnam U19 to draw 0-0 with Japan U19 in the Asian U19 qualifier.
With 6 national teams that have led, it can be said that the experience of this French coach is very rich. He helped South Africa win tickets to the 1998 World Cup. Two years later, he led Japan to the 2000 Asian Cup and continued with the achievement of reaching the 1/8 round of the 2002 World Cup.
A year ago, in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the Chinese team lost 1-3 to Vietnam 1-3. If they encounter each other in the near future, the Chinese team is likely to face difficulties once more.”
Sina newspaper (China) also said that Coach Troussier was a reasonable choice for Vietnamese football: “When he was still working with young teams in Vietnam, Coach Troussier also regularly advised Coach Park Hang-seo. Players Phan Tuan Tai, Khuat Van Khang, Nguyen Van Truong and Nguyen Van Tung are all talents discovered by Mr. Troussier.”
Journalist Minh Hai revealed that coach Philippe Troussier will be in Vietnam in early February to work with VFF before signing the official contract. His next job was to set up a training board for the Vietnamese team.
Previously, Mr. Park’s assistant, Mr. Lee Young-jin, turned down the opportunity to continue working as an assistant for the new coach of Vietnam following Mr. Park’s contract expired. However, Mr. Lee Young-jin has just left open the possibility of becoming an assistant to coach Philippe Troussier. This is considered good news for Vietnamese football fans, because the 59-year-old assistant coach, following more than 5 years of working with Mr. Park, understands Vietnamese football too well.
