Regarding the selection of a national team coach: It takes courage!
(Baonghean)In the final days of 2012 and the beginning of 2013, the most talked-about topic in Vietnamese football was the selection of a coach for the national team, especially after the surprising statement by a leader of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) two days ago...
It's called "special" because that statement reveals a contradiction within the VFF itself. Initially, VFF General Secretary Ngo Le Bang and the VFF National Teams Department – the two points of contact for candidates for the national team coach position – stated that the earliest they could announce the coach for the two 2015 Asian Cup qualifying matches (against UAE on February 6th; away against Hong Kong-China on March 22nd) would be the end of this week. However, on January 2nd, the Deputy Director General of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training and Vice President of the VFF, Pham Van Tuan, confirmed to the press that the VFF had selected a domestic coach. According to him, the chosen domestic coach, in addition to having good professional qualifications, must be able to assemble the players, keep up with advanced coaching information from around the world, have foreign language skills, possess a strong personality... and, importantly, be willing to take on full responsibility and commit to a long-term contract.
Coach Hoang Anh Tuan.
With those criteria, among the candidates, Coach Hoang Anh Tuan is considered the most suitable at this time. Besides having experience working with the national team, being a domestic coach, holding an AFC A coaching license, and possessing good foreign language skills, Mr. Tuan has not yet officially signed a contract with Hai Phong Club, so he has no obligations to the club and cannot fully dedicate himself to coaching the national team. Furthermore, appointing Coach Hoang Anh Tuan to the position ensures continuity in the VFF's major decisions. Mr. Tuan was an assistant to Coach Phan Thanh Hung at the 2012 AFF Cup, so there is no reason why this coach from Khanh Hoa would not carry out a strong squad overhaul. Moreover, when he coached Khanh Hoa, Mr. Tuan proved to be a coach with a strong personality, daring to confront thorny issues related to team discipline. Therefore, instead of using a "soft approach" like coach Phan Thanh Hung, Mr. Tuan is seen as taking a firm, sometimes militaristic, stance to defend his viewpoint to the end. This is considered a reasonable solution to rebuild the national team.
However, what's more noteworthy here is that if Coach Hoang Anh Tuan takes over the national team, it will initially only be on an interim basis. "Interim"—in Vietnamese football, these two words are all too familiar, reflecting a lack of courage and trust in the person in charge. The interim period is considered a measure of a coach's ability. Ironically, in a football system still plagued by systemic instability, where player performance depends heavily on psychological state, it's difficult to use the national team's performance during an interim period to affirm the value, including the value, of the head coach. In reality, even though the Vietnamese national team failed at the 2012 AFF Cup, few people considered Phan Thanh Hung and his team incompetent. If Phan Thanh Hung hadn't received widespread support, and the team hadn't developed during his interim period, would the VFF have decided to sign a contract with him?
It seems the VFF (Vietnam Football Federation) is continuing its old method of appointing coaches. This means they will use a domestic coach on an interim basis for the two 2013 Asian Cup qualifying matches in February, then continue to gauge public opinion and assess the interim coach's capabilities. But the more important question is: if the interim coach is successful, signs a permanent contract, and dares to give up his club duties to dedicate himself entirely to coaching the national team, will he be protected and receive benefits commensurate with his sacrifices and the pressure he faces? A sad reality in Vietnamese football today is that many quality coaches, despite their courage, lack the resilience to overcome the formidable obstacle: the benefits of being a head coach are still not comparable to those of a club coach. This is also why coaches Le Huynh Duc and Nguyen Huu Thang have frankly refused the position. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan is also considering it...
Therefore, if the VFF and the General Department of Sports truly trust domestic coaches and want a competent, dedicated domestic coach, they must meet the basic expectations of the chosen individual. These include a reasonable salary, a fair working arrangement, and a respected contract duration. In the current state of Vietnamese football, a qualified domestic coach willing to take on the role of head coach (even as an interim one) is already a great act of courage. Furthermore, abandoning everything to become a full-time coach, especially for highly skilled coaches who are financially secure at their clubs and are being courted by numerous clubs, is truly beyond courageous. Therefore, despite the numerous reports in the media over the past two days suggesting that "Coach Hoang Anh Tuan is about to (or is highly likely to) lead the Vietnamese national team," his refusal would not be surprising. Ultimately, the most important thing remains genuine courage from the VFF and the General Department of Sports in their approach to selecting and employing a head coach – ensuring that domestic coaches receive equal rights and benefits as foreign coaches.
Minh Quan
