The harsh V-League 'mill' is helping domestic coaches improve?

Round 8 has not yet started, but V-League has witnessed 4 coaches leaving their positions, even compared to the end of last season, there were 8 clubs 'firing generals'.

After winning 2 V-League championships, coach Vu Hong Viet was "reassigned to work" by Nam Dinh Club.

Photo: Minh Tran

V-League changes coaches like changing clothes

V-League 2025 - 2026 has not gone through 2/3 of the first round but 4 coaches have had to leave their positions including coach Teguramori Makoto ( Hanoi Club), Phan Nhu Thuat (SLNA), Nguyen Anh Duc (Becamex TP.HCM) and most recently coach Nguyen Hong Viet was "internally transferred" by Nam Dinh Club.

That is a very significant number if we know that at the beginning of this season, there were 4 teams that fired their generals, meaning that up to 8/14 clubs have had to change their captains up to this point.

Obviously, along with the increase in investment from football team owners, the V-League "coach mill" is also increasing its capacity, with a terrible density of 2 rounds for 1 coach in V-League 2025 - 2026 (if counting before the season, it is almost 1 round for 1 coach).

Coach Harry Kewell (left) shakes hands with head coach of Ninh Binh FC Albadalejo

Photo: Minh Tu

This puts a lot of pressure on every coach this season, regardless of whether they are domestic or foreign coaches, even if they are leading weak teams like SLNA or current champion Nam Dinh Club, there have been cases where they have had to leave their positions.

In fact, the fact that clubs are warming up the coaching seats will create a greater motivation for domestic coaches to quickly develop their skills, in a situation where 5/14 teams are hiring foreign coaches.

At the same time, VPF and the V-League Organizing Committee followed the AFC's request to improve the coaching standards for V-League teams - requiring club head coaches to have the highest Pro coaching certificate issued by the AFC - and also encouraged domestic coaches to cultivate, improve and update new knowledge of world football.

Opportunities for young leaders?

Coach Nguyen Cong Manh is helping Ha Tinh Club play stably this season.

Photo: Minh Tu

Gone are the days of decades-old oral football experience that has not changed. Looking at the technical cabins of V-League clubs now, it is easy to see screens serving tactical analysis, and ice surgery sessions have become the normal standard, alongside physical assistants and surgeons.

Facing foreign coaches from all over the world from Eastern Europe (Velizar Popov, Tomislav Steinbruckner), Germany (Mano Polking), Japan (Teguramori Makoto, Adachi, Daichi), or the legendary Harry Kewell will only help domestic coaches learn more.

These trends will create more opportunities for young coaches who, a few years ago, were still playing modern football and actively pursuing their qualifications in a systematic and serious manner following a clearly defined coaching training path.

Coach Le Duc Tuan (right) helped Da Nang FC miraculously stay in the league last season.

Photo: Da Nang Club

In the V-League at this time, we can see a wave of those "young generals" represented by Coach Le Duc Tuan (Da Nang Club, born in 1982), Nguyen Cong Manh (Ha Tinh Club, 1982), Thach Bao Khanh (PVF-CAND, 1979) or Phan Nhu Thuat (SLNA) who has just become an assistant at U.23 Vietnam.

But Vietnamese football is even more attractive when there is still room for talented 7X coaches like Le Huynh Duc (HCM City Football Club, 1972), Chu Dinh Nghiem (Hai Phong Club, 1972), Van Sy Son (SLNA, 1972)... influenced by the football philosophy of coach Henrique Calisto combined with coaching experience in the V-League.

They will not eliminate the development path of the young juniors, even the opposite, create pressure to challenge and filter to help the young coaches hone to become more mature and sharp. Who knows, maybe one day, they can crystallize to lead the Vietnam national team which for more than ten years has always been exclusively by foreign coaches.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/coi-xay-v-league-khac-nghiet-cang-giup-hlv-noi-len-tay-185251024214005526.htm