HÀ NỘI — HCM City FC have welcomed new head coach Alain Fiard’s strong support as they prepare for their V.League comeback.

Fiard was a coach and former player of the French Ligue 1, one of the world’s leading football leagues.

Before coming to Việt Nam, Fiard worked as assistant coach at Auxerre FC. He was deputy head coach for Auxerre since 2011.

During his time as a player, he competed for Bastia, Auxerre and Lille. He retired in 1993 and moved on to coaching.

The 58-year-old, who has a Cambodian-Vietnamese grandmother, will be assisted by last season’s acting manager Lư Đình Tuấn.

Fiard said he knew almost nothing about Vietnamese football. He visited the country once as a tourist and watched two V.League games and saw clips of HCM City FC.

He said his new players were not in great form, but they were agile and skilled. "They are following the 4-4-2 formation, but I myself prefer 4-2-3-1. It will not be easy to change the team immediately, so I will gradually build up the team based on players’ pros and cons".

Following the end of the 2015-16 season, HCM City had only 10 players, with many having found new homes.

According to reports, Fiard, whose contract is valid for one year, will have to shop a lot. There are three months to go for the start of the season.

He guided HCM City to stand at the middle of the ranking table in their come back to the V.League.

He said he was suitable for the task. Having coached earlier in a competitive league, the intense pressure did not get to him. — VNS