Yutaka Ikeuchi (left) and General Secretary of VFF Nguyễn Văn Phú. — Photo courtesy of VFF

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF) has appointed Japanese footballing former star Yutaka Ikeuchi as the technical advisor for the Vietnamese U17 national team, which will participate in the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2025.

Born in 1961 in Aichi, Japan, Ikeuchi began his football career after graduating high school in 1980, playing for Toyota Industries Football Club. He played for Fujita (now Shonan Bellmare) from 1980 to 1996 and represented the Japanese national team from 1981 to 1985. Prior to that, he was part of Japan's national high school team and the U20 national team.

After retiring as a player, Ikeuchi transitioned to coaching and has made significant contributions to Japanese football. He has held various positions, including head coach of the Fujita women's football club, youth teams at Nagoya Grampus Eight and director of Monolith Football Club.

From 2003 to 2023, he served as an instructor for the Japan Football Association (JFA), training many young players. He was the director of the JFA Men's Football Academy and head coach for the U15, U16, and U17 national teams. Recently, he worked as the head coach of the JFA Fukushima U15 Academy and director of Wyvern Football Club.

Ikeuchi holds an 'S' coaching licence from the JFA and has held numerous important positions within the organisation, including coach for the Tokai region and director of youth training and also has an 'A' licence for U15 coaches.

With this appointment, the VFF hopes that Ikeuchi will collaborate with the U17 coaching staff to develop advanced training methods and achieve successful results at the 2025 AFC event. This tournament offers the U17 Vietnamese team a chance to qualify for the FIFA U17 World Cup 2025, especially after FIFA expanded the number of participating teams from 24 to 48, with Asia receiving eight spots.

The AFC U17 Asian Cup 2025 is scheduled to take place on April 3 - 20 in Saudi Arabia. Việt Nam face a tough challenge with their group, which includes reigning champions Japan, Australia (a three-time semifinalist), and the UAE, a strong team ranked fourth.

To prepare for the championship, the Vietnamese team plan to start training in early March. VNS