Finding Calisto's replacement: The criteria are clear...
On the afternoon of March 7, the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) had a meeting with the National Coaching Council on the issue of selecting coaches for the national team and the U23 team. Based on the advice of the National Coaching Council, the basic criteria set out are: the selected coach must be knowledgeable about Asian and Southeast Asian football; must be someone who has led national teams, clubs and has achievements in his coaching career; and must accept challenges and pressure.
On the afternoon of March 7, the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) had a meeting with the National Coaching Council on the issue of selecting coaches for the national team and the U23 team. Based on the advice of the National Coaching Council, the basic criteria set out are: the selected coach must be knowledgeable about Asian and Southeast Asian football; must be someone who has led national teams, clubs and has achievements in his coaching career; and must accept challenges and pressure.
With those criteria, VFF proposed the possibility of using domestic coaches to lead the national team and U23. Because they believe that, in recent times, domestic coaches have made remarkable progress. Some coaches have successfully led national teams during "stand-in" periods.
VFF has recommended 3 domestic coaches: Mai Duc Chung, Phan Thanh Hung and Le Huynh Duc. VFF also proposed a plan to select a foreign coach and stated specific requirements to undertake 3 major tasks for Vietnamese football in 2011. That is to lead the national team to the 2014 World Cup qualifiers with the ambition of making a mark. Next, the U23 team must advance deep into the 2012 Olympic qualifiers. More importantly, the U23 Vietnam team must be present in the final match of the 26th SEA Games held in Indonesia at the end of this year.
Opinions are leaning towards the idea that each team should have a coach, a foreign coach for the national team and a domestic coach for the U23. Experts believe that using a domestic coach for the U23 is an advantage because young players are not mentally stable, so they need a coach who understands both the culture and psychology of the players. Using a domestic coach will build a foundation and open up the future for the next generation of coaches. The question is whether the clubs where the coaches are working will sacrifice their interests for the national teams. Are domestic coaches confident enough to sit in the "hot seat"?
Currently, VFF has received more than 40 applications and will continue to receive more in the coming days. That shows the attractiveness of this "hot seat". According to the roadmap, VFF will transfer the application to the National Coaching Council for research and comments. The selection decision will be based on the consensus of the VFF Standing Committee and the National Coaching Council.
D.C.
