Minh Phuong: 'I will coach Long An according to coach Calisto's philosophy'

The new coach of Long An team admits that his weakness is coaching experience, but in return, he will apply to the team what he learned from his old teacher Calsito.

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On the afternoon of February 24, Long An Club held a ceremony to introduce new coach Nguyen Minh Phuong. The former Vietnam national team player will lead the team under a two-year contract. As a player, Minh Phuong played for and won two V-League championships with Long An Club, then called Dong Tam Long An, from 2003 to 2010.

Before accepting to lead his old team, Minh Phuong was the Technical Director of his home province's Binh Phuoc football team, which is competing in the First Division.

"I am very happy to return to my old team in a new role," Minh Phuong shared after signing the contract. "What I lack is experience leading a team to compete in a top football environment. But I believe that I will work and study at the same time and the team will overcome this difficult period."

Long An Club's leadership set a target for Minh Phuong to stay in the league at all costs this season. Photo: Anh Khoa.

After the scandal at Thong Nhat Stadium in the sixth round of the V-League when the entire Long An Club stood still while Ho Chi Minh City Club scored three goals, the team suffered many losses when Chairman Vo Thanh Nhiem and Head Coach Ngo Quang Sang were banned from working for three years. Goalkeeper Minh Nhut and Captain Quang Thanh were suspended for two years. The Western team also accepted the resignation of Technical Director Huynh Ngoc San.

When Nguyen Mon became the new chairman, Long An also temporarily appointed assistant Phan Van Giau to take charge of the team, before Minh Phuong returned. "The leadership assigned me the goal of staying in the league at all costs, and I accepted that challenge. We must unite and hold hands to face the difficulties ahead," Minh Phuong said.

"This is just the beginning of the season and we still have a lot of time to improve the situation. We will forget what just happened, we must know where we fell to stand up there. Coach Calisto has a great influence on me, and I will build a football philosophy like him to reap success," the former captain of Vietnam shared.

Minh Phuong's first challenge with his old team is the match against HAGL at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow, February 25. "This is an important match, we are determined to win to forget the sadness of the past, although we know it is not easy," said the new coach of Long An.

According to VNE