VietNamNet Bridge – Hai Phong football club has decided to terminate its contract with English coach Dylan Kerr, the last foreign coach in Vietnam’s top football league, the V-League.
Dylan Kerr, former coach of Hai Phong FC.
“After the team won the National Cup, I hoped that my contract would be extended. However, the club management board recently informed me about the end of the contract. Tomorrow I am returning to England. I love Vietnam and hope to have the opportunity to come back here to work,” said coach Dylan Kerr.
In the V-League 2014 season, only Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Hai Phong FCs used foreign coaches.
However, after the season ended, the two teams said goodbye to their foreign coaches, Mr. Choi Yoon Gyum (South Korean) and Mr. Dylan Kerr.
The teams that have qualified for the V-League 2015 are led by Vietnamese coaches.
In Vietnam’s football history, the first club using a foreign coach was the HCM City Police FC and the first foreign coach was a French man, Mr. Acorsi, who led the team in 1998. The French coach was fired after only one season.
Similarly, Chinese coach Qi Sung Lap had to say goodbye to Vinh Long FC after the first season – 1999-2000 – because of the team’s poor performance.
Hiring foreign coaches became fashionable when the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) turned the V-League into a professional tournament in 2001.
Thai coach Arjhan Songngamsap was the first successful foreign coach in Vietnam when he helped Hoang Anh Gia Lai FC top V-League twice in 2003 and 2004, along with two Super Cup titles.
Portuguese coach Henrique Calisto is another successful foreign coach. He took Dong Tam Long An to the V-League and then won two consecutive championships in 2005 and 2006.
Such success encouraged local teams to rush to hire foreign coaches. However, since then, no foreign coach has achieved the same level of success of the Thai and Portuguese coaches.
Son Tung