The "iron hand" of coach Philippe Troussier

In the teams he has led, he has ruthlessly eliminated those whose egos go against the common good. And with the Vietnam national team, he is also carrying out a cold but necessary screening.

Ready to say goodbye to the hero

For coach Philippe Troussier, no player is untouchable. Photo: VFF

In 1997, when many of the current players of the Vietnamese team were still very young or not even born, coach Philippe Troussier led the Nigerian national team towards the 1998 World Cup finals.

At that time, Jay Jay Okocha was the most famous player of this African national team. Okocha's power and voice in the dressing room was even considered equal to many members of the coaching staff at that time. However, Mr. Philippe Troussier did not give in because of that.

The French coach even pushed this superstar to the bench. The reason he shared frankly was: "I want to create opportunities for young players who are more eager and disciplined to compete."

Nigeria, under the iron fist of Troussier, reached the 1998 World Cup in France. But perhaps, the conflict partly came from Okocha, which forced this personality coach to leave the team before the World Cup started.

But Troussier's reputation and talent were big enough to make many teams "roll out the red carpet" to invite him. Finally, at the 1998 World Cup, Troussier was still present as the head coach of the South African team.

Speaking of “star management” and star selection, Troussier once openly criticized Hidetoshi Nakata, a Japanese player who was one of the pioneers in playing abroad. This player asked to leave the Japanese national team early to return to help AS Roma compete for the Serie A title in 2001.

Nakata's action closed the door for himself on the Japanese national team, when Troussier was still the coach of the Japanese team. On the contrary, Troussier praised two less famous veterans, Masashi Nakayama and Kazu Miura.

Emphasize effort and desire to contribute

He believes that the desire to contribute and the effort to compete are the noble values for players. Anyone who wants to contribute to the team, the club or the national team must reduce their ego to serve the overall achievement of the whole team.

The Vietnamese team under coach Troussier is no exception. Before the French strategist took charge, many players had risen to become stars and heroes thanks to their contributions to the country's football.

But for Coach Troussier, those are stories of the past. Now is the time for him and Vietnamese football to look to the future, with dreams and ambitions of World Cup stature.

Troussier also quickly expressed a strong message to the players. That is, either follow his tactics and philosophy. Or say goodbye to the team.

In addition, in sharing with the press about the recruitment list, Coach Troussier also frankly talked about the cases of Quang Hai and Cong Phuong - players who have not been able to play at the highest level for several months abroad: "If based on the criteria, Quang Hai is not worthy of being on the Vietnam national team. Cong Phuong is the same.

Even some players who have played a lot at the club but have not performed well do not deserve to be called up.

If the list had to be reduced to 20-23 players like when entering official tournaments, they would have no chance at this point.

But in this training session, I want to experiment and get to know the players. In return, the players must also understand my playing style. I want to create maximum opportunities for all the players."

Extracurricular activities without phones

Mr. Troussier's straightforward and honest statement made Cong Phuong and Quang Hai - the former favorite players of Coach Park Hang-seo - have to try harder, in the context that their positions are no longer as secure as before.

Mr. Jeronimo Mauro - PVF-CAND coach and former colleague of Mr. Troussier shared that Coach Troussier always emphasizes strictness and perfection in professional training. Everything must be standard and follow a clear plan. "The scoring situations of U23 Vietnam at SEA Games 2023 are typical, the result of such serious training plans," said Mr. Jeronimo Mauro.

“There are no stars in the Vietnam national team. We have to play for the team’s flag and colors. For me, the name or the number on the back is not important. Because the star on the chest of the Vietnam national team is the only great value,” midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai soon absorbed the philosophy and viewpoint of coach Troussier.

In fact, in the first days of training under the French coach, Quang Hai was active and tried hard to meet the requirements from Mr. Troussier and his assistants.

Putting aside the image of a warrior who made Vietnamese football successful in the 2018 - 2022 period, or the label of playing in France for Pau FC last season, Quang Hai, like any other normal player, has to try hard in every training session with the hope of winning a position in the national team.

That is why, in the press conference before the match with Hong Kong (China), Coach Troussier could not hide his satisfaction when Quang Hai met the requirements. The 68-year-old coach also appeared happy when the two latest players to join the team, Van Toan and Cong Phuong, quickly integrated into the team.

“They can join the team late. But throughout the previous period, questions about the training method under coach Troussier were asked by Van Toan and Cong Phuong to the players in the team. They really want to speed up the integration process, under the guidance of the new coach,” center-back Que Ngoc Hai shared about the awareness of the players.

There is another interesting thing about Coach Troussier. That is, besides discipline on the training ground, he also emphasizes seriousness in group activities.

During an extracurricular activity under the advice of UEFA lecturers, a rare image of the Vietnamese team appeared.

The players listened seriously to the instructor’s discussion. There was no whispering or talking about personal matters. Especially, all the phones on the Vietnamese players’ desks had “disappeared” at that moment.

It turns out that Coach Troussier requires his players to maintain the highest level of discipline, even in extracurricular activities. Respecting the presenter and absorbing football management knowledge is also a way to demonstrate the professionalism of the Vietnamese players.

The seniors of the team were also advised to become role models, examples of awareness, desire and seriousness in common activities. From there, the young players of U23 Vietnam can follow the example and respect their older brothers more.

In sharing with the media, U23 Vietnam players such as Hoang Van Toan, Khuat Van Khang... could not hide their admiration for the class and professionalism of the seniors in the Vietnam team.

That is also the way for Coach Troussier to create unity in living and training awareness and create a unified team, between the interweaving and continuity of generations.

During the training camp to prepare for two friendly matches according to the FIFA schedule, coach Philippe Troussier called up 34 players. Hong Duy and Nguyen Manh were injured and returned to their clubs. Four names including Schmidt Adriano, Nguyen Thanh Chung, Nguyen Trong Long and Le Pham Thanh Long also had to say goodbye to the team for various reasons. In the match against Hong Kong on the evening of June 15, key striker Tien Linh did not participate. The Vietnamese team will also have a match against Syria on June 20 at Thien Truong Stadium, Nam Dinh .

Source