Hanoi FC is looking for a head coach again: Is this time different?

Priority given to foreign coaches

The period from 2016 to 2021 is considered the most successful in the history of Hanoi FC. From the position of interim assistant replacing Mr. Pham Minh Duc, Coach Chu Dinh Nghiem brought the capital team 3 V.League championships. This is a number that no other coach leading Hanoi FC can achieve. Even Mr. Nguyen Huu Thang or Phan Thanh Hung.

Hanoi FC is looking for a head coach again: Is this time different? -0 — Hanoi FC is looking for its 12th head coach after only 5 years.

More impressively, Coach Chu Dinh Nghiem and his students also won 2 National Cups. Obviously, this achievement was a dream for the predecessors in the team's coaching staff over the past decade. Not to mention, Mr. Nghiem's Hanoi FC also won 3 National Super Cups and once entered the top 4 strongest teams of the AFC Cup (the predecessor of the current AFC Champions League Two).

Closing that impressive period, Coach Chu Dinh Nghiem went to Hai Phong to seek a new challenge. Meanwhile, from 2021 to now, Hanoi FC has changed 11 head coaches. Most recently, Van Quyet and his teammates have just said goodbye to Mr. Makoto Teguramori, after a disappointing start to the 2025/2026 season. Over the past half decade, Hanoi FC has not failed to win the V.League or the National Cup. Under Mr. Chun Jae Ho, a temporary assistant replacing Coach Park Choong Kyun who suddenly left midway, Hanoi FC won the domestic double in 2022. However, Mr. Gong could not stay in the position as Coach Chu Dinh Nghiem had convinced the Board of Directors to put their trust in him. Since then, the Capital team, despite constantly changing coaches and foreign players, has not had as good results as in the previous period.

2024/2025 is the third consecutive season that Hanoi FC has been empty-handed in the V.League. Before that, the Hang Day team had never experienced such a long title drought. Therefore, as soon as the team experienced a pessimistic streak of matches at the beginning of the season, the Board of Directors and the Coaching Board immediately made strong adjustments. One of which included the head coach position.

Hanoi FC has no intention of letting Technical Director Yusuke Adachi take over this position for the entire season. Since the time of parting ways with Mr. Teguramori, the team's Board of Directors has immediately searched for capable candidates, ready to bring Hanoi FC back to the cycle of success. The criteria set by the team's leadership is that the new coach must be a foreigner, have won many titles in the past and especially must be under 50 years old.

Approach each candidate individually

Why doesn’t Hanoi FC choose a domestic coach in general or Mr. Chu Dinh Nghiem in particular? This is the question that many fans ask every time the capital’s representative changes their “general”. Hanoi FC’s internal staff did not answer this question. But according to insiders, the capital’s team will find it difficult to reunite with Mr. Nghiem. This coach has signed a long-term contract with Hai Phong FC and has no intention of returning to lead the Hang Day Stadium team.

Meanwhile, other capable coaches such as Nguyen Duc Thang, Truong Viet Hoang, Le Huynh Duc, Hoang Anh Tuan, etc. are not suitable for the internal strength of Hanoi FC. In addition, according to experts, the classy and individual players in the capital club's squad only truly respect coaches who have proven themselves in an environment outside the V.League. This is also the reason why the Board of Directors has been looking for foreign coaches for the past 5 years, from Bandovic, Daiki Iwamasa, Park Choong Kyun and most recently Makoto Teguramori. The criteria for selecting foreign coaches continues to be present in the "gold panning" phase that Hanoi FC's upper echelons are pursuing.

Unlike the previous recruitment of a head coach, the Board of Directors of the 6-time V.League champion team wants to find a famous "captain" who has proven himself as a player and a coach. In particular, this "leader" must be under 50 years old. This, on the one hand, increases the prestige and position of the new head coach in the eyes of the players. In addition, a young coach will adapt faster to new tactical trends. That promises to inspire the stars in the capital club's squad. Remember, under the predecessor Teguramori, some players admitted that the training methods and professional plans of the 57-year-old coach were somewhat outdated and lacked creativity.

It is known that 4 candidates are being evaluated by the Hanoi Club's Board of Directors for contracts and contacts. Among them, a famous military leader from both the position of player and head coach. The scouts of the Hang Day Stadium representative are quite satisfied with this face. But they also continue to listen to the sharing from other candidates, before deciding to invite 1 of the 4 names to lead the team.

Money is not the issue
Hanoi FC does not focus on financial issues when negotiating with possible candidates to become the club's head coach. The capital team is willing to pay high salaries if the new head coach can help the players overcome the recent consecutive winless period. In addition, Hanoi's goal in the 2025/2026 season is to at least win 2nd place on the rankings. This team even hopes to win the V.League, despite pressure from competitors such as Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh , Hanoi Police or The Cong Viettel.
It is known that there is a secondary factor that the Hanoi FC Board of Directors is waiting for the candidate to solve. That is the personnel problem from domestic players to foreign players. This is the time when the first phase of the transfer market has just ended. The new coach will have to wait 3-4 months before the second phase opens. During this time, the new coach needs to ensure that he can promote and exploit the available resources to the maximum, even if he is not satisfied with the overall quality of Hanoi FC.
The above issue also became the question that the team's Board of Directors asked the candidates, in the process of selecting talented people to sit in the head coach's chair representing the Capital.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/so-tay-the-thao/ha-noi-fc-lai-tim-kiem-hlv-truong-lan-nay-co-khac--i782537/