Coach Alfred Riedl: 'It is difficult for Vietnamese players to succeed in Europe'

After the success with U23 Vietnam at the U23 Asian Cup and ASIAD 2018, the names of some Vietnamese players like Quang Hai have gone beyond the V-League. And it is no surprise that the midfielder of Hanoi FC is being sought after by a series of clubs in Thailand, Japan, Qatar or even far away Argentina.

Quang Hai himself is very excited about the prospect of playing football abroad to challenge himself and improve his skills, but the leaders of Hanoi FC said no to the latest offer from the team currently playing in J-League 2 (Japan).

The viewpoint of Hanoi FC's leadership, as affirmed by Chairman Nguyen Quoc Hoi, is that Quang Hai is still young, only 21 years old this year, and needs to be trained further to mature and serve the club as well as the national team in the near future.

Referring to Quang Hai's story when this midfielder was invited to play abroad, Mr. Alfred Riedl, former head coach of the Vietnam national team, shared:

“For Quang Hai or other Vietnamese players, if they have enough professional ability, playing football in other countries in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Indonesia or Malaysia… I think there is no problem.

But if the invitation comes from Japan, Korea or an Arab country, it will be more difficult because in addition to technique, it also depends on whether the player's physical condition can meet it or not.

In case the invitation comes from a European football country, it will certainly be a big challenge for Vietnamese players. Remember Le Cong Vinh before. Playing in Europe, Vietnamese players will have to face a series of problems such as weather, unsuitable food, and even health. It is better that the player does not go alone but has two people to support each other in work and life.

After leaving the Indonesian team at the end of 2016, coach Alfred Riedl returned to Austria and has not officially retired from his coaching career even though he is 69 years old this year. Talking to Sports & Culture, coach Alfred Riedl, who received a kidney transplant while working in Vietnam, revealed that his health is still very stable, he has no unusual problems and still plays golf every day.

“Vietnam U23 played very impressively at the recent U23 Asian Cup and ASIAD, being the only Southeast Asian team to reach the semi-finals. I am sure that many U23 players will be selected by head coach Park Hang Seo to join the Vietnam national team for the AFF Cup. The Vietnam national team will be the biggest competitor with Thailand for the 2018 AFF Cup championship.

The defending champion Thailand is still the top candidate, but as I said above, the Vietnamese team will be the biggest opponent of the Thai team in the upcoming tournament," said coach Alfred Riedl.

On October 11, the Vietnamese team will officially gather to prepare for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 and 5 days before that, when the V-League ends, the preliminary list of 30 players for the team will be announced by coach Park Hang Seo.