The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) on May 16 appointed Hoang Van Phuc
to officially take charge of the national team and the under-23 side.
Phuc, who has signed a two-year deal, has impressed the VFF
with his past work with the national youth teams and his performance as
interim manager since the sacking of Phan Thanh Hung last December.
Under his stewardship, the team has played well and won in friendly
matches and fallen to narrow defeats against Uzbekistan and Hong
Kong in qualifiers for the 2015 Asian Cup.
“Phuc is the most
suitable choice at present. The VFF promises to give him the best
conditions to succeed in his job,” said the organisation’s deputy
chairman Nguyen Lan Trung.
The new manager will lead the U23s to the 27th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Myanmar later this year.
In 2014, Phuc and the national squad will strive to win the ASEAN
football championships (AFF), with some of the group round fixtures
taking place in Vietnam.
Phuc has been told that he is
expected to guide the U23s to the SEA Games final and the first team to
at least the semi-finals of the AFF Cup.
“I am very pleased
that the VFF have shown belief in me to take charge of the two teams,”
said Phuc. “I want to create a beautiful and effective playing style for
both sides. First, I will try to take the U23s to the final. Those who
play well there will be selected for the national team competing at the
AFF next year.
The task is not easy – it never is in football – but we
will thrive on the challenge. Currently our players are not very
successful, so we need to change things and improve discipline and
tactics.”
In addition to his managerial responsibilities, Phuc
will advise the VFF in the selection and training of talented young
players.
Phuc’s first games in official charge will be the
friendly matches between the U23s and Japanese side Kashima Antlers on
June 4 in Hanoi and Myanmar’s U23 in HCM City five days later.
Players will be summoned on May 28 in preparation for the matches.
In September they will travel to Hungary for a training camp and
matches against local teams before returning home to compete at the HCM
City International Football Cup.
The first team is scheduled to
play Uzbekistan, Hong Kong and the United Arabia Emirates (UAE)
during the second-leg matches of the Asian Cup qualifiers.
Born
in 1964, Phuc started playing football at the age of 12. He joined the
military team The Cong and stayed until 1983. He then played for
Military Zone 3 and the Vietnam Railway before retiring in 1996 and
turning his attention to management.
He first managed ACB Bank
team in 2006 before moving to the VFF to work with the youth teams. He
led the U16s to an ASEAN title in 2008 and the U19s to the finals in
2012. He also won a silver medal when the U22 squad finished runners-up
in the 2012 Binh Duong Television International Football Cup. He later
returned to club management with Hanoi FC, winning the first division
title, before his country came calling once more.-VNA