VietNamNet Bridge – After replacing coach Mai Duc Chung at the U22 team, coach Lu Dinh Tuan immediately decided to reject two overseas Vietnamese players – Mac Hong Quan and Nguyen Thanh Giang – from the team.

Coach Mai Duc Chung unexpectedly leaves U22 team



Coach Lu Dinh Tuan (right) of the U22 squad.


The initial list of the U22 team, suggested by Mai Duc Chung, has the names of 24 players, including two overseas Vietnamese players – Mac Hong Quan and Nguyen Thanh Giang. However, Tuan has announced to remove these players from the list.

The decision was approved by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF). “We welcome coach Mai Duc Trung’s recommendation but after we worked with Mr. Lu Dinh Tuan, we believe that we should not summon Mac Hong Quan and Nguyen Thanh Giang. These overseas Vietnamese players are only recommended orally. Their skills have not been tested yet. We do not have sufficient time for testing. We will consider using Quan and Giang in the future,” said VFF’s Vice Chair Nguyen Lan Trung.

Tuan said that it is a difficulty for him to not choose players by himself, because of the 22 players selected by Mai Duc Chung, Tuan only knows several of them, who are playing at the V-League. However, the coach can assess them in the next several friendly games.

The U22 team will start its training session on June 5 in Hanoi before playing in the qualifying round of the 2013 AFC Asian Cup, which is scheduled to be held in Myanmar from June 23-July 3.

The U22 team will be in group G, along with the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Taiwan (China) and the Philippines.

Coach Phan Thanh Hung has also taken over as the coach of the national squad.



Coach Phan Thanh Hung of the national team.


VFF’s Vice Chair Nguyen Lan Trung said that Hung was assigned to lead the team temporarily, so the VFF will not sign a long-term contract with him. The VFF will keep seeking a long-run coach for the national squad. Thus, Hung will not be paid as high as VND200 million ($10,000) of salary/month.

Hung now keeps an eye on around 40 players. He will choose 22 for the two friendly games against China on June 8 and Hong Kong on June 10.

Hung has selected three assistants: Nguyen Van Sy, Hoang Anh Tuan and Nguyen Van Phung.

S. Tung