Meeting with the media, the Japanese tactician said that the opening stage of this year’s football season showed big steps forward regarding both match quality and the number of young players competing.

Q: You are busy these days, moving to different localities to watch 2015 V-League matches, aren’t you?

A: That’s right. No sooner had I returned to Vietnam from my holiday in Japan than V-League clashes pushed me to work. Despite having to move constantly in the past few days, I felt very happy and each journey also improved my knowledge of V-League, clubs and players as well as the Vietnamese culture and people.

Moreover, the 2015 V-League is proving to be interesting. All the matches I watched had a good level of expertise and strong determination from players on the field. I seem to have been given more energy thanks to the exciting matches in the past rounds of play.

Q: How does the 2015 V-League differ from the previous one, especially regarding issues with the level of expertise?

A: It is clear that this season has fewer foreign players. According to regulations, each team is allowed to put a maximum of two foreigners onto the field instead of three as in the previous years, which means that an additional 14 Vietnamese players have been given the opportunity to perform in each round of the 2015 V-League.

As a national team coach, I will have more players to consider and select from for the national squad and U-23 team. I myself always want to conquer and achieve the best results, so with a large supply of players constantly competing in the V-League, I will be able to choose the best ones for both teams in preparation for international competitions in 2015.

Q: Besides the changes brought about by limiting the number of foreign players, what else from the 2015 V-League impresses you?

A: Of course yes. I saw the teams’ registration lists for this season and realised that the average age of each team was younger compared to the 2014 season. This means that the clubs have included more young players in their main lineups.

Some of these youngsters may not be used regularly in the V-League, but that they have the chance to train and experience the atmosphere of the national championship will be very useful to them in the next football seasons.

Q: How do you evaluate the playing styles of 2015 V-League clubs?

A: V-League clubs have relatively diverse playing styles. Some like to attack such as Hanoi T&T and Becamex Binh Duong, while others favour a solid defense including LG Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa or Dong Tam Long An. It’s up to each manager.

Q: Regarding the supporters at stadiums, what do you think about the 2015 V-League atmosphere?

A: I have come to recognise that there are considerable changes on stands this season, including the larger number of supporters at stadiums and the more systematic supporting styles they have. The V-League needs to maintain the animated atmosphere on stands with much more exciting matches and recreation activities on the sidelines of the games. With the current proceedings, I believe that the V-League will continue developing strongly in the future.