Former Việt Nam national team head coach Phan Thanh Hùng died on Tuesday night after a battle with laryngeal cancer. — Photo kenh14.vn

Football

HÀ NỘI — Former Việt Nam national team head coach Phan Thanh Hùng died on Tuesday night after a battle with laryngeal cancer. He was 66.

His death marked the end of the career of one of the most accomplished Vietnamese coaches, who led the national team as well as Hà Nội FC, Quảng Ninh FC and Đà Nẵng FC.

Hùng was widely regarded by football experts and players as one of the finest coaches Việt Nam has ever produced.

Before moving into coaching, Hùng was known as an exceptionally versatile player. Born in 1960, he could play as a striker, midfielder or defender. His playing career included a national championship, a goal for Việt Nam in the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and an appearance at the 1987 SEA Games.

His coaching career, however, proved even more successful and left a deeper mark on Vietnamese football.

Building Hà Nội FC and Quảng Ninh FC

Hùng began his coaching career with Đà Nẵng, where he won three national youth titles.

His first major success at senior level came in 2008, when he served as assistant to Henrique Calisto as Việt Nam won the AFF Cup for the first time.

From 2010 to 2015, Hùng guided Hà Nội FC to two V.League titles and one National Super Cup. He remains the coach with the longest tenure at the capital club and played a major role in laying the foundations for its subsequent success.

At Hà Nội FC, Hùng developed a possession-based style influenced by Calisto's football philosophy. The approach helped the club establish a distinctive identity and became an important part of its success in later years.

In 2012, Hùng was appointed head coach of the national team during a difficult period for Vietnamese football. His tenure ended after Việt Nam were eliminated in the group stage of the AFF Cup, now known as the ASEAN Championship.

In 2016, Hùng moved to Quảng Ninh, where he led the provincial side to their first major trophies, winning the National Cup and National Super Cup.

In 2019, he also guided the club to its first appearance in the AFC Cup, now the AFC Champions League Two.

Until the club was dissolved in 2021, Quảng Ninh won no further major titles.

Together with Hà Nội FC, Quảng Ninh became one of the few V.League sides at the time able to combine possession football with effective results.

Hùng later worked at Bình Dương and Đà Nẵng, although he was unable to replicate the success achieved at Hà Nội and Quảng Ninh.

Coach Phan Thanh Hùng and Hà Nội FC. — Photo lifestyle.zingnews.vn

A coach who developed players

Hùng's influence went beyond the trophies he won.

He was also recognised for his ability to identify and develop young talent. He promoted Nguyễn Quang Hải to Hà Nội FC's senior team in 2014 and Đỗ Duy Mạnh a year later. At Quảng Ninh in 2020, he also gave Nguyễn Hai Long the opportunity to establish himself.

All three went on to become important figures in Vietnamese football. Hải and Mạnh became key members of a generation that produced some of the country's most significant international achievements.

Former Đà Nẵng midfielder Phạm Nguyên Sa once described Hùng as the coach who helped him unlock his potential.

“Coach was dedicated, passionate and friendly, always willing to learn and always had his own philosophy,” Nguyên Sa wrote in 2023.

Cristiano Roland, a former Hà Nội FC player under Hùng and later coach of Việt Nam's U17 team at the FIFA U17 World Cup, also remembered him as a special coach.

“The most special coach in my playing career was Hùng,” Roland said, highlighting his former coach's ability to win the trust of players.

Calisto, under whom Hùng worked as an assistant in the national team, also praised him in 2012.

“Hùng is a coach who works hard to learn, has personality and is creative. He reads the game quickly and has strong ability,” Calisto said.

For many players, Hùng was more than a coach. His ability to understand players, earn their trust and encourage them to think about the game became one of his defining qualities.

A former player, national team coach and mentor to generations of footballers, Hùng leaves behind a career that helped shape modern Vietnamese football.

His legacy lies not only in the trophies he won, but also in the footballing identity he built and the players he helped develop. — VNS