Sông Lam Nghệ An has appointed Phạm Anh Tuấn as the new head coach. — Photo thethao247.vn

Football

NGHỆ AN Sông Lam Nghệ An (SLNA) has announced the appointment of Phạm Anh Tuấn as the new head coach, replacing Phan Như Thuật for the remainder of the V.League 1 2023/24 season.

"Coach Tuấn will officially take over from Thuật starting from round 18 of the Vietnamese national premiere league," SLNA announced on Saturday.

Following his departure as head coach, Thuật will continue in the role of assistant head coach alongside colleagues Phạm Văn Quyến, Phạm Đức Anh, and Đinh Văn Dũng.

Tuấn, born in 1970 in Vinh City, Nghệ An Province, is a former SLNA player and has previous experience coaching Hải Phòng Club in the V.League 1. While primarily involved in youth training with SLNA, Tuấn is expected to contribute to improving the performance of the home team at the Vinh Stadium in the upcoming matches to avoid the risk of relegation.

Tuấn's debut match as head coach will take place on May 13 when SLNA faces HCM City Club.

Currently, SLNA sit second to bottom with just 15 points after 17 matches, holding a slim five-point advantage over Khánh Hòa.

For Khánh Hòa, they are also expected to appoint coach Hoàng Anh Tuấn to the vacant head coach position. This news comes after the Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF) granted Tuấn's wish to step down from leading the Vietnamese youth teams.

During his playing career at Khánh Hòa from 1982 to 2003, Tuấn was an outstanding midfielder for the team. He later served as their coach from 2007 to 2012.

Regarded as one of the top domestic coaches today, Tuấn's departure will prompt the VFF to promptly find a replacement to lead the U17 team in their participation at the U17 Southeast Asia tournament in Indonesia next June, as well as the U20 team.

During his tenure with the VFF, Tuấn left a lasting impact with notable achievements, including guiding the U20 team to the 2017 U20 World Cup Finals, leading the U23 team to victory in the U23 Southeast Asia Championship 2023, and reaching the quarter-finals of the 204 Asian U23 event. — VNS