Football

Italian Roberto Donadoni expects to be new head coach of Việt Nam. AFP/VNA Photo

HÀ NỘI — The hot seat of Việt Nam's national head coach has lured attention from half a dozen of high-profile candidates within one week after it has been left unoccupied.

French Philippe Troussier was not successful in Việt Nam and had to leave within one year after a humiliating 3-0 loss to arch-rival Indonesia in the 2026 World Cup qualification.

The Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF) has opened the door for application and at least six tacticians sent their interests.

The latest and most famous one is Roberto Donadoni from Italy.

Donadoni, 60, was a famous midfielder. He played 390 matches for AC Milan, scoring 23 goals and 59 assists and won six Serie A titles, four Italian Super Cups, three UEFA Champions League trophies and three UEFA Super Cups.

He was key member of the national team from 1986 to 1996 with 63 caps and five goals.

After retirement, he worked at European giants such as Napoli, Cagliari, Parma and Bologna in the Italian Serie A and Chinese league's Shenzhen FC.

He also took charge of the Italian team in 2006-08 and led the team the Euro 2008's quarter-finals.

The second one is Akira Nishino, former head coach of Japan.

Japanese Akira Nishino (centre) has sent his CV to the Việt Nam Football Federation. Photos Sporting News

In his early career, Nishino, now 68, made strong impressions when guiding the Japanese Olympic team beating Brazil 1-0 in the 1996 Olympics.

In 2018, he was appointed head coach of the national team to compete in the World Cup in Russia. Having only two months preparing for the tournament, he helped Japan advance to the second stage.

He later coached Thailand in 2019-21.

At the club level, he won the J.League 2005 and AFC Champions League 2008 with Gamba Osaka. He was twice voted as the best coach of the domestic league and best Asian coach in 2008.

South Korean Kim Do-hoon has sent his application. He is former assistant coach of the U20 South Korea; and head coach of Ulsan Hyundai and Incheon United at the K-League.

The 54-year-old won the AFC Champions League 2020 with Ulsan Hyundai. He took the club to Việt Nam in 2017 and 2019 to have a friendly match with the U23 squad.

Kim came in Singapore to manage Lion City Sailors and helped the club win the national title in 2021.

His fellow Kim Sang-sik, 47, is also interested in training Vietnamese players.

South Korean Kim Sang-sik is one of six candidates interested in being coach of Việt Nam.

He became famous on home ground after winning the K.League title with Jeonbuk Hyundai in 2021 and FA Cup in 2022.

He was Korean best coach in 2021 and FA Cup 2022's best coach.

Earlier, he also took five K.League titles as a player and played 59 matches for the national team. After retiring at age 37, he worked as assistant for seven years at Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. He became head coach in 2020 before resigning in 2023.

Former Thailand head coach Mano Polking who worked at the HCM City FC in 2020 also has plan to return to Việt Nam.

After leading the Thais to two AFF Cup victories in 2020 and 2022, the 48-year-old has been available for new job.

The last one is Spanish Luisma Hernandez. He used to work in Spain before moving to Asia to take charge of Al-Yarmouk (Kuwait), Daegu FC (South Korea) and Metallurg Bekabad (Uzbekistan).

VFF is still welcoming more applications. After short listed, candidates would have to present their detailed plan with the Vietnamese team in the following years. Candidates must be culturally appropriate, have deep knowledge about Southeast Asian football and progressive spirit. The two sides also need to find a common voice on salary which would be same as of their predecessors.

VFF Vice President Trần Anh Tú said VFF understood that finding a good coach for the national team was always a tough job. The governing body would be in no hurry to make a final decision. If a suitable candidate could not be found, VFF will find an interim coach to lead the Vietnamese team in two FIFA Days matches in June. VNS