French football coach departs Vietnam after premature contract termination
Thursday, April 04, 2024, 14:40 GMT+7
French coach Philippe Troussier, who guided the Vietnamese men’s national football team for a year until his contract was abruptly terminated last week, departed Vietnam on Wednesday evening.
At the airport, he voiced regret for not being able to bring more joy to Vietnamese supporters and shared that he would miss Vietnam.
He expressed his fondness for Vietnam, mentioning simple pleasures like motorbike rides and savoring coffee.
He also shared that fate might reunite him and Vietnamese footballers in future opportunities, such as the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Troussier has no immediate plans to return to work. Instead, he will focus on healing from a knee injury.
Earlier, Troussier and the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) mutually agreed to terminate his coaching contract for the Vietnamese U23 and national teams effective March 26.
Since then, he has continued living in the designated quarters for experts at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center in Hanoi.
Initially contracted for three years, from March 1, 2023, to July 31, 2026, Troussier was to receive a monthly salary exceeding US$50,000 after taxes, along with other benefits.
His ultimate objective was to steer Vietnam toward qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals for the first time.
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| French football coach Philippe Troussier with fans at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, April 3, 2024. Photo: Vietnam Football Federation |
In 2024, Troussier was tasked with propelling the team through the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup for Asia and securing a medal in the 2024 ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup.
However, two consecutive losses to Indonesia dashed the World Cup hopes.
In the first year of his tenure, Troussier’s efforts to guide the U23 team to the final of men's football the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia also fell short.
Vietnam suffered a 2-3 defeat to Indonesia in the semifinals and settled for the bronze medal.
Throughout his year with the Vietnamese national team, Troussier oversaw 14 matches, with 10 losses and four wins.
During that period, the team plummeted from 94th to 105th in the FIFA world rankings, marking its lowest ranking in years.
The VFF is slated to officially announce Hoang Anh Tuan as the coach for the U23 team on Thursday while they continue their search for Troussier’s successor at the national team.
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