U22 Vietnam - U22 Cambodia: Let's watch Mr. Park 'one against two'

It is not unusual for clubs or national teams to have co-head coaches. What is strange is that the Cambodian Football Federation signed contracts with both coaches, but Keisuke Honda is considered the “Online Coach” while the 31-year-old Argentine captain Dalmas is the “Offline Coach”.

Angkor football revived

Coaching duo Felix Dalmas and Keisuke Honda are having initial successes with Cambodian football. Photo: Getty Images

Simply put, Keisuke Honda is an unpaid coach, he is a player at Vitesse Arnhem (Netherlands) and does not have a FIFA professional coaching license. In fact, the Japanese player only plays the role of an advisor to plan the general training. The main person responsible for the U22 Cambodia team is his close friend Felix Dalmas.

The reason Keisuke Honda cannot attend the 30th SEA Games is because the 33-year-old midfielder recently played for Vitesse, an away match against Heerenveen, Van Hau's team, in the 15th round of the Dutch national championship in the early morning of November 30 (Vietnam time) and lost 2-3. Honda moved to Vitesse in early November 2019 after leaving Melbourne Victory. Honda's biggest goal is to maintain his fitness and form in the hope of being named in the 2020 Olympic roster to be held in his home country.

Felix Dalmas played in the Japanese amateur league for 4 years before moving into coaching. Not many people know that Felix Dalmas was asked to co-coach the national team and U22 Cambodia at the suggestion of Honda, who used to play for famous clubs such as CSKA Moscow or AC Milan. The duo contacted each other through video calls. The Argentine strategist revealed that although Honda was busy with work in Europe, such exchanges helped him make timely tactical adjustments.

"We have worked together for 3 years. He (Honda) and I keep in touch almost constantly. Even when Honda is busy with work in Europe, he still contributes ideas and shares work with me in the Cambodian national team and U22 at this SEA Games. Before the match against U22 Timor-Leste, he and I also talked to each other quite a lot," said coach Felix Dalmas.

Unlike Vietnamese football, the U22 Cambodian players only started to approach the ball at the age of 16. Facing regional teams and only drawing and losing also made the Angkor warriors lose confidence. Thus, the football skills and tactical thinking of the "Angkor Warriors" are slower than the players in the region, and their competitive mentality is always afraid of losing.

Therefore, the Cambodian Football Federation chose Keisuke Honda, who has experience in the field, and Felix Dalmas, who has the ability to communicate and command. Keisuke Honda inspired his students, helping them have confidence when playing. Indeed, in a very short time, this duo won 3-1 against the Laos team at the AFF Cup 2018, ending a 17-year streak of not winning in the regional arena.

Must attack…

Let's see Mr. Park "one against two". Photo: Getty Images

At the U22 Southeast Asia tournament held at home, they defeated both Malaysia and Myanmar, in the semi-finals they drew 0-0 with U22 Thailand and only lost on penalties. In the third place match, U22 Vietnam had to struggle to beat them 1-0, although in the 2017 SEA Games we easily won 4-1.

As a team that often plays with a 4-2-3-1 formation, at this SEA Games, the young Cambodian players always rush to attack, they do not need to defend to find a favorable result. In the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the Cambodian team just suffered a heavy 0-14 defeat against Iran, but in that match they did not play tight. "I want the Cambodian team to attack, that is the only way to bring Cambodian football up at the moment," Coach Felix Dalmas shared.

Cambodian football is reviving, the coaching duo Felix Dalmas and Keisuke Honda want their players to rush forward like warriors. As Mr. Park said: "I respect Coach Felix Dalmas and also believe what he said, U22 Cambodia will not huddle together to defend."