Check out the coaches in Group G of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers

The only native coach

Of the five teams in Group G of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Asia, UAE, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia is the only one using a local coach.Coach Tan Cheng Hoe, born in 1968, was in charge of Kedah Club, the only team in Malaysian football history to have won the treble twice, in the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

Tan Cheng Hoe used to be the “right-hand man” of coach Rajagobal, who was known as the “Silver-haired Wizard” of Malaysian football. When coach Rajagobal resigned, Tan Cheng Hoe was appointed by the Malaysian Football Federation to lead the team to the AFF Cup 2018.

Winning the runner-up position in the 2018 AFF Cup, including the victory over Thailand, helped coach Tan Cheng Hoe continue to be trusted to lead the national team. His salary of 276,000 USD/year is even higher than Mr. Park, the 2018 AFF Cup Champion.

The Indonesian Football Federation has decided to choose McMenemy, born in 1977, as head coach.

After coach Luis Milla left the team, the Indonesian Football Federation decided to choose McMenemy, born in 1977, as head coach. He is the youngest coach in the 5 teams in Group G, with a rather modest record, only managing the Philippines team and Dong Tam Long An Club (2011) for a short time.

The two reasons chosen are that he has been involved in Indonesian football for many years and is willing to accept a lower salary than his predecessor, about 240,000 USD/year. Of course, the reason why the Indonesian team is rated the lowest in this group is because Coach McMenemy is not highly rated.

But having worked at Dong Tam Long An Club as well as nearly a decade of association with Southeast Asian football is considered an advantage for this Scottish man. The disadvantage for the Indonesian national team is that at present, this country's football does not have many stars.

His biggest star is the 29-year-old Dutch midfielder Stefano Lilipaly, who played for the Dutch U16 and U17 teams and now plays for Telstar in the Dutch National Championship. He is the most notable naturalized player in the football of the archipelago.

Coach Park Hang-seo has been with the S-shaped country for 23 months. Under the Korean coach, Vietnamese football has continuously created a buzz from the youth level (U23) to the national team. Coach Park Hang-seo is receiving a salary of about 264,000 USD per year, just more than Coach McMenemy of the Indonesian national team.

It must be affirmed that Coach Park is a military leader who has won the sympathy of players, fans, experts and the press. He has always received the support of millions of Vietnamese people in all tournaments that he and his students participate in.

Two impressive resumes

Coach Akira Nishino has only been in the Thai national team for the past 2 months. The Japanese strategist agreed to join Thai football just before the draw for the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia. But the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) expects that with their impressive resume: U20 Japan (1991-1992), U23 Japan (1994-1996), Kashiwa Reysol (1998-2001), Gamba Osaka (2002-2011), the Japanese national team (2018), they will soon regain the No. 1 position in Southeast Asia.

Mr. Tan Cheng Hoe has a chance to "rematch" with coach Park Hang-seo. Photo: AFF

Like Mr. Park Hang-seo, the 64-year-old Japanese coach is in charge of both the Thai national team and the Thai U23 team. The salary of 970,000 USD/year of this top coach in Asia is said to be the second highest among the 5 coaches in Group G.

If it only takes 10 days for Coach Akira Nishino to help the Thai team beat Vietnam, then this will be the most valuable contract of FAT President Somyos Pumpanmuang. He personally traveled to Tokyo (Japan) to try to convince Coach Akira Nishino to take over the team.

UAE is considered the strongest team in Group G. The country's Football Federation also spared no expense to bring in Dutch coach Bert Van Marwijk. With an illustrious coaching career: Fortuna Sittard (1998-2000), Feyenoord (2000 - 2004), Dortmund (2004 - 2006), Feyenoord (2007 - 2008), the Netherlands national team (2008 - 2012), Hamburg (2013 - 2014), Saudi Arabia (2015 - 2017), Australia (2018), he is confirmed to be the most experienced, successful and famous coach among the 5 coaches of the 5 teams in Group G.

Before being invited by the UAE Football Association to replace Alberto Zaccheroni, Van Markwijk's salary when taking charge of the Saudi Arabian team was 1.35 million USD. Therefore, the amount the Dutch coach receives in the UAE is believed to be no less than 1.4 million USD/year.