VietNamNet Bridge – Coach Falko Goetz will not return to Vietnam on January 4, 2012, as scheduled. He will send his assistant to Vietnam to deal with the contract with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF).




Returning home for the Christmas and the New Year holiday, coach Goetz planned to return to Vietnam on January 4, 2012. However, after VFF decided to dismiss the coach, Goetz would not come back to Vietnam as plan. His assistant will represent him to deal with remaining issues. He said that to end the contract, VFF only needs to pay compensation that is equivalent to three months of salary, or $66,000.

Earlier, on December 28, VFF held a meeting with the National Coaching Council and both sides agreed that the German coach had not fulfilled his duties and was no longer suitable for the post.

"Goetz had no clear tactics, was unable to adjust to new conditions and failed to leave his mark on the team during his time in Vietnam. For those reasons, we agreed with the VFF's proposal to dismiss Goetz,” said council chairman Nguyen Sy Hien.

Goetz was appointed head coach of the national and under-23 teams in June after an extensive selection process conducted by the VFF.

The 49-year-old had an impressive CV and beat 40 other candidates to the position which brought him US$22,000 per month, excluding other expenses such as accommodation and travel fees.

Under Goetz, Vietnam jumped 55 places in the FIFA world rankings to reach 99th earlier this month. It is seven years since the country was last in the top 100, and Viet Nam have also risen to 34th in Asia and top of the Southeast Asia rankings, overthrowing Thailand.

In his first official match in charge, Vietnam beat Macau 13-1 on aggregate in a first round World Cup qualifier. In the second round, Vietnam won one and lost one against Asian powerhouses Qatar, but were eliminated on aggregate.

Goetz also scored points with Vietnamese officials and fans after losing only 0-1 to World Cup quarter-finalists Japan in a friendly in Kobe in October.

But Vietnam lost the VFF Cup following a regrettable 1-1 draw with Malaysia, and the 26th SEA Games in Indonesia turned into a nightmare for the team, who was expected to win gold but failed to make the top three.

The VFF subsequently released a statement saying that Goetz would remain in his position until the end of 2012, despite pressure from the public who were clamoring for change.

However, at a meeting on December 22, it was decided that Goetz was responsible for the SEA Games failure.

Goetz was capped by Berliner FC Dynamo, Hertha BSC, Galatasaray, Bayer Leverkusen and the national team during his playing career. After retirement, he worked as a coach at Hertha BSC, 1860 Munich and Holstein Kiel before moving to Viet Nam. He is the eighth foreign coach to work in the country.

At a press briefing yesterday, Dec 28, the council also approved the VFF's decision to appoint a local coach to replace the German.

Coach Goetz’s moments in Vietnam:

The German coach made good impression during the preparation period for the 26th Southeast
Asian Games. But after Vietnam’s failure in the semi-final game against Indonesia,
VFF defined the coach as the one who takes responsibility.





Goetz was chosen by VFF after a careful selection procedure. On June 5, he attended
the first football match at the V-League 2011 between Hoa Phat Hanoi and Song
 Lam Nghe An at Hanoi’s Hang Day Stadium.





One day later, he was officially introduced as the new coach of the national squad
at a solemn ceremony in Hanoi.





Under the instruction of Goetz, Vietnam defeated Macau in the two matches of the first qualifier
round of the World Cup 2014. However, Macau is said to be a weak team.






In the second qualifier round of the World Cup 2014, Vietnam was finally defeated 2-4 by Qatar.
However, Goetz’s talent was recognized when his team defeated Qatar 2-1 in the second-leg match in Hanoi.






The trust on Goetz was strengthened when Vietnam was only defeated only 0-1 in
the friendly game against Japan in Kobe.





Goetz began seeking talents for the U-23 team when he attended the final match
of the National Cup between Navibank Saigon and Song Lam Nghe An.





However, at Eximbank Cup 2011, the first of the two tournaments which are seen as the
preparation for SEA Games, U23 did not play well.






At VFF Cup 2011 in Hanoi, U23 defeated Myanmar, got a draw with Uzbekistan and Malaysia.






However, at SEA Games, U23 exposed many problems. Goetz was seriously criticized
for Vietnam’s failure of 1-4 in the match against Myanmar.












After SEA Games, Goetz was initially supported by VFF but on December 22, VFF made a
volte-face as VFF Chair Nguyen Trong Hy stated that Goetz must to bear reasonability for
Vietnam’s failure at Sea Games. VFF proposed to dismiss the German coach and the
proposal was approved by the National Coaching Council on December 28.


S. Tung