Coach Philippe Troussier: "I don't keep what Mr. Park did"

How do you evaluate the recent training session?

- We have just completed the first training session of the national team today. At the same time, we also finished the second phase of the Vietnam U23 team.

Before that, the national team had prepared for a long time for the AFF Cup and reached the final. That is why I decided to prioritize the time for the players with the club. We will meet again in the future.

For now, the team will not have any activities during the FIFA Days in March, as the team will not have its first official match until November. Of course, during the FIFA Days in June, September and October, the national team will also have its own plans.

Coach Philippe Troussier had positive assessments of the Vietnamese team (Photo: Manh Quan).

In March, I prioritized the U23 team towards the 32nd SEA Games. From tomorrow, U23 Vietnam will enter a new phase with 4 additions from U20 Vietnam. The team will prepare for the best results at the Doha Cup friendly tournament at the end of this month.

The Vietnam national team training session is only 5 days, can you tell us what the goal is?

- The SEA Games is a priority for now, but I still spend precious time with the national team. These are all excellent members who have worked with coach Park Hang Seo for a long time and deserve to be given the opportunity.

The goal of the national team's training with 5 training sessions in the past 3 days is to get acquainted with the head coach. I also had an initial discussion with the players about the goals and philosophy. I think that is important for us to continue working together in the upcoming training sessions.

The second goal is that I also create conditions for the U23 players to have the opportunity to practice with their seniors in the Vietnam national team. I have mixed the players from the two teams in all training sessions.

The U23 players are familiar with my way of working. They will demonstrate to their seniors. Conversely, the presence of seniors in the national team also motivates the U23 players to try harder.

I am very pleased with the training spirit and attitude of both teams. Although the training sessions were very intense, everyone tried their best to meet the requirements. I believe that the U23 juniors have also learned a lot of experience from their seniors in the recent training sessions.

Will it have any impact if the Vietnam team does not play any matches this March, sir?

- No. I don't see any disadvantages. As I said, the time until the Vietnam team enters an official tournament is still very far, about 8 months away. We still have FIFA Days matches in June, September and October to carry out our plan.

Furthermore, before that, the Vietnamese team had nearly 3 months of focusing on the AFF Cup. Therefore, I think the players need to rest after playing for a long time with high intensity. They also need to refresh themselves, focus to get a position at the club, thereby having more opportunities to play in the V-League.

What will you do with the Vietnam team during the upcoming break?

- Of course, if I were only the national team coach, I would have more time to get to know the players. But I would like to emphasize that we should not rush at this time. The important thing is that they return to their clubs and play more.

The players also shared with me that for many months they have only played 4 matches in the V-League. Meanwhile, in 4 months in Europe, the players there have to play 40 matches.

What changes have you made compared to coach Park Hang Seo?

- I think each coach has a different style and experience. I do not intend to keep what Mr. Park has done. However, I would like to emphasize that I do not work to compare with anyone, or to prove that I am better than anyone.

Coach Philippe Troussier spent all of March focusing on U23 Vietnam (Photo: Manh Quan).

Are you satisfied with the Vietnam U23 team?

- Personally, I am not surprised by the performance of the U23 team in the past time, because they have worked with me before. In the past few days, practicing with the national team also created more pressure for the young players when having to practice with their seniors.

The biggest weakness of the current U23 team is that there are no target players to handle well. Meanwhile, the players in the lower line all have good individual handling quality. Hopefully, in the near future, when there are additional personnel from the U20 generation, the U23 Vietnam team will have more individuals with individual handling ability to meet expectations.

He evaluated additional players from the U20 Vietnam players.

- Most of the U20 players I worked with a few years ago. The recent U20 Asian Cup was also an opportunity for me to verify their abilities. And especially, I appreciate that many of them have very good football quality, especially in attack.

The 4 players to be added are Nguyen Quoc Viet, Nguyen Duc Viet, Khuat Van Khang and Nguyen Van Truong.

What is the upcoming goal of Doha Cup 2023, sir?

- This is a high-quality tournament. The team will meet U23 Iraq and U23 UAE. However, it will be a bit difficult because in the past 6 months, the players have not been able to compete in professional domestic tournaments.

We will use reasonable tactics, aiming at ball control, playing short balls. At the same time, all players will have to try 100%. The matches will take place quite late. That is also a difficulty, but the important thing of this tournament is that the players have the opportunity to rub shoulders and accumulate experience for themselves.

How will Vietnamese football prepare for the World Cup goal, sir?

- Of course, we need to understand the reality that only the 48 strongest teams in the world and the 8 strongest teams in Asia can participate in the World Cup, while Vietnam's ranking is in the top 100. It is not yet possible to confirm whether this generation of players can become famous as expected or not, but I am confident that with what I have in hand, I can aim for the goals we set.

I have my responsibilities. But I think there are two things that need to be adjusted. One is to increase competition, so that players can play 40-50 matches/year, and the Vietnamese professional football season can compete continuously for 10 months.

Next, the Vietnamese team will have the opportunity to play friendly matches with teams in the top 60 in the world.

Thank you for the conversation!

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-philippe-troussier-toi-khong-giu-nguyen-nhung-gi-ong-park-da-lam-20230311164453042.htm