Calisto is not on the list of candidates to lead the Vietnamese team.

Currently, there are 6 foreign coaches who have submitted their applications to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) to run for the seat left by coach Huu Thang.

Coach Calisto has not done any football-related work for the past three years.

Vietnam was eliminated from the group stage of the 29th SEA Games, forcing coach Huu Thang to resign. VFF is therefore forced to find a replacement to lead the Vietnamese team to the 2018 Asian Cup qualifiers. The option of using a foreign coach is being considered because domestic coaches are not enthusiastic, after witnessing the failures of Phan Thanh Hung, Hoang Van Phuc and most recently Huu Thang.

Coach Henrique Calisto, who helped Vietnam win the AFF Cup in 2008, has been mentioned a lot recently. However, the Portuguese strategist did not apply. The VFF tried to contact him but the Portuguese coach was not really interested because he currently just wants to spend time with his family.“Currently, we have six profiles sent by foreign coaches. Henrique Calisto is not among them,” a VFF leader shared withVnExpress.

After leaving Vietnamese football in 2011, Calisto tried his hand at Muangthong United, Pacos Ferreira and Libolo but was unsuccessful. Since his failure with Pacos Ferreira in 2014, he has completely retired and has not done any work related to football.

“I understand why many people mention Calisto. But in my opinion, he is not necessarily suitable at this time. Calisto has a destiny, winning the AFF Cup 2008 championship, but considering the level of success during his time leading the Vietnamese team, it is not too special,” veteran coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh commented. “I think if choosing a foreign coach, Toshiya Miura is more reasonable. The squad he has is not as good as Calisto’s, but he has achieved results in every tournament. The problem with the Japanese strategist is just being pragmatic, not liking to play around. But in football, the final result is what matters.”

Miura once helped the Vietnam Olympic team enter the ASIAD qualifying round for the first time with the top spot in the group, brought the Vietnam team to the semi-finals of the AFF Cup 2014 and the Vietnam U23 team won the bronze medal at the 28th SEA Games. However, he was under great pressure from public opinion and had his contract terminated early because he did not show a beautiful playing style and did not use the generation of Cong Phuong, Xuan Truong, Tuan Anh... of Mr. Duc.

Coach Miura always fulfilled his targets but still had to leave before his contract expired. Photo: Duc Dong.

On October 10, Vietnam will host Cambodia in the second leg of the Asian Cup qualifiers, and it is likely that the team will be led by a temporary coach like in the first leg on September 5. VFF said that choosing a coach is important and cannot be rushed.

“In addition to the candidates who sent their applications, we also aim to proactively contact a number of candidates. VFF will negotiate in parallel with many candidates to choose the most suitable person,” said VFF General Secretary Le Hoai Anh.

Mr. Hoai Anh said that at this time, there are no domestic candidates, but that does not mean that VFF is definitely only considering foreign coaches. At this time, Coach Hoang Anh Tuan is a promising domestic candidate. He helped Vietnam participate in the U20 FIFA World Cup for the first time and is currently leading the U18 Vietnam team to three wins against Brunei, the Philippines and Indonesia at the U18 Southeast Asian tournament.

“Football is all about efficiency. Look at the match between Vietnam and Indonesia yesterday in the U18 tournament. We only had 31% possession but won convincingly 3-0, to continue to dominate the top position in the table,” coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh added.

This afternoon, VFF will work with the National Coaching Council to come up with criteria for selecting the Vietnam national team coach.

According to VNE