Behind the story of Harry Kewell coming to Hanoi FC

Harry Kewell may not have had a stellar coaching career. But with a series of outstanding achievements while playing for Liverpool and Leeds United, he is still a big deal for Hanoi FC in the 2025/26 season.

Online meetings

Through some deals from Australia to V.League, Harry Kewell and Hanoi FC were coincidentally connected. In fact, not long before, Kewell was the target of some clubs and national teams. The former Liverpool player was on the shortlist of candidates for the position of head coach of the Singapore national team, alongside the 2006 World Golden Ball - Fabio Cannavaro. Kewell is also the target of

Kanchanaburi Power in Thai League 1. Even a Vietnamese team was interested in the Australian legend, before Hanoi stepped in and pursued to the end to convince Kewell to come to Hang Day Stadium.

Immediately after saying goodbye to coach Makoto Teguramori due to the poor start from the National Cup to the V.League, Hanoi FC immediately handled two tasks at the same time. First, the team changed some positions in the upper management and temporarily appointed Technical Director Yusuke Adachi to the "hot seat". Second, some key leaders of Hanoi FC held online meetings with Harry Kewell and related parties.

Because Kewell lives mainly in England with his family, the discussions via the internet between him and Hanoi FC often take place late at night. There were even times when the two sides talked until midnight, revolving around the strategy to revive and bring the team back to the track of glory. As a former famous player playing in the Premier League as well as being present in the UEFA Champions League and World Cup, Kewell quickly gained initial sympathy from the Hanoi representative. He became even more convincing when he gradually provided detailed reports and analysis from documents to videos about the capital team, through the matches taking place this season.

The professionalism in his style gives Kewell an extra point. In addition, the straightforwardness and decisiveness of the former Australian striker has made him gain the trust of the upper echelons of the capital team. There is a more important detail, Kewell did not receive a sky-high salary when he came to Hanoi. The two sides found each other at an average figure, like most foreign coaches have received in the V.League. Although in terms of name, Harry Kewell is much more famous in his playing career. Or as a coach, he more or less helped Yokohama F. Marinos reach the AFC Champions League final.

Harry Kewell arrives at Hanoi FC.

Ambition and Expectation

Harry Kewell sees his move to Hanoi FC as a stepping stone in his coaching career, rather than a step back after years of coaching in England, Scotland, and Japan. The capital team has gone through 3 consecutive years without winning the V.League. This is unprecedented in the club's 20-year history. This season, Hanoi FC is also facing many candidates in the championship race. Therefore, the poor start has caused Van Quyet and his teammates to lose ground in the race to reach the throne.

This is both a challenge and an opportunity for Harry Kewell to prove himself. If he helps Hanoi turn the tide to win the V.League championship for the 6th time, Kewell's CV revolving around coaching will turn to a new, more brilliant page. Remember, in the current prejudice of football fans, the 47-year-old legend is still just a famous player, rather than a great coach.

On the other hand, for Hanoi FC, the appointment of coach Harry Kewell is seen as a strong message for long-term development orientation. This is the beginning of a new era for the team. “Harry Kewell, a big name who was once famous in the Premier League and competed in the World Cup, will come to Hanoi. This is also a testament to the attraction and aspiration of Hanoi FC. This is the premise for Hanoi FC to build a modern identity and reach out to the continent,” the capital representative shared.

Hanoi FC also wants to end the series of coach departures. It should be emphasized that the appointment of Harry Kewell is the 12th time since 2021 that this team has chosen a "captain". Kewell is also the 10th coach that the Hang Day team is looking forward to. Previously, coaches Hoang Van Phuc, Park Choong Kyun, Chun Jae Ho, Bozidar Bandovic, Le Duc Tuan, Dinh The Nam, Daiki Iwamasa, Makoto Teguramori and Yusuke Adachi.

Among them, Chun Jae Ho is the most successful coach, when he helped the capital club win both the National Cup and V.League. However, according to experts, Chun Jae Ho's ability is not really strong enough to steer Hanoi FC far. Paradoxically, coaches who are considered to be of high caliber such as Bozidar Bandovic, Makoto Teguramori or especially Daiki Iwamasa have not been as successful as Mr. Chun Jae Ho. There was a time when they created a professional and enthusiastic atmosphere at Hanoi FC. However, the overall performance on the field did not bring satisfaction to the Board of Directors and fans of the team.

Harry Kewell: “Can't wait to get started”

Right at the moment Hanoi FC announced the identity of the head coach, Hary Kewell also immediately moved from England to Vietnam. On the afternoon of October 5, the new "captain" of Hanoi FC will be present at Noi Bai airport, to enter the team training phase. The advantage for Kewell is that the V.League is temporarily off for 10 days according to the FIFA Days schedule. This is the best opportunity for him to get acquainted with the atmosphere in Hanoi as well as the team.

“Can’t wait to get started,” Coach Kewell shared on the team’s fanpage. This is also the first time in 18 years that Kewell has come to Vietnam. In 2007, in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup held at My Dinh Stadium, Kewell and Australia lost to Japan in a penalty shootout. And now it’s time for him to return to the My Dinh Sports Complex to accompany Hanoi FC.

During his international career, the Australian football legend played 56 times for the national team, scored 17 goals and participated in 2 World Cups, in 2006 and 2010. At club level, Harry Kewell became famous in the Premier League with Leeds United and Liverpool, winning the UEFA Champions League 2004/2005 and FA Cup 2005/2006.

After retiring at the age of 36, Harry Kewell began his coaching career in 2017. He has led clubs in England such as Crawley Town, Notts County, Oldham Athletic and Barnet. In 2022, he joined the coaching staff of Celtic (Scotland) as an assistant to coach Ange Postecoglou, before taking the position of head coach of Yokohama F. Marinos in early 2024. Under his leadership, the Japanese team won the runner-up position in the 2023/2024 AFC Champions League.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/the-thao/dang-sau-chuyen-harry-kewell-den-ha-noi-fc-i783669/