Nguyen Anh Duc before the 'coach mill' Becamex TP.HCM

Coach Nguyen Anh Duc's position is in danger.

In Vietnamese football, few clubs are as famous for their habit of "beheading generals" as quickly as Becamex TP.HCM (formerly Becamex Binh Duong ). Every time the team declines, the head coach's position becomes a cruel "millstone", sweeping away anyone who sits in it. Now, the person facing that storm is Nguyen Anh Duc - a former hero of Vietnamese football.

Becamex's habit of "beheading generals"

The history of the football team in the land of Thu is not without controversial changes of coach. Since 2021 alone, up to 8 head coaches have taken turns sitting in the hot seat, before having to leave early.

Except for Mr. Phan Thanh Hung who took the initiative to leave, the rest of Lu Dinh Tuan, Le Huynh Duc, Nguyen Cong Manh, Hoang Anh Tuan… all had to leave because their performance was not as expected. In the last two seasons, this team even changed coaches twice in one season.

That shows that the patience of the club's leadership is a luxury. With that tradition, it is not surprising that Anh Duc's chair is shaking violently after a bad start in V.League 2025/26.

In the new season, Becamex TP.HCM was eliminated early from the National Cup by a First Division team. In the V.League, they suffered 4 consecutive defeats, making the club's leadership's ambition to enter the top 3 unrealistic. Experts from the beginning had assessed that goal as unrealistic, because the team's strength could hardly be compared with strong candidates such as Hanoi, CAHN or Nam Dinh .

However, even putting ambitions aside, the team's performance was disappointing. Losing to The Cong Viettel or CAHN was understandable, but losing at home to Da Nang - an opponent already in crisis - was a shock that was hard to accept.

Becamex TP.HCM's poor performance puts coach Nguyen Anh Duc under a lot of pressure.

Coach Nguyen Anh Duc himself had to admit that his team had serious problems in defense. The statistics were harsh: after 5 rounds of V.League, Becamex TP.HCM conceded 10 goals, plus 13 goals in the National Cup - a red alert number for any team.

The attack is not doing any better. In the last 5 matches, the strikers have only scored 3 goals - a performance far below expectations. The attacks lack vitality and the lack of coordination makes the club seem to have lost its direction.

When the technical aspect is not stable, the mental factor becomes more important. However, from behind the scenes, there have been complaints about the tense relationship between some players and the coaching staff.

That shows that the problem of Becamex TP.HCM is not only in the legs but also in the head. When a team loses its cohesion, any tactic, no matter how good, will find it difficult to be effective.

For an inexperienced coach like Anh Duc, managing the dressing room is clearly not easy. He used to be a veteran, a top striker of V.League, but when he switched to a coaching role, the harshness of the coaching profession was clearly revealed.

Last chance?

After the defeat against Da Nang, many sources said that the leadership of Becamex TP.HCM is considering a change in the coaching bench. However, there are also opinions that Anh Duc will be given more opportunities in the upcoming match against Thanh Hoa - a team that is also in crisis.

Becamex HCMC is in turmoil.

This could be considered the “final test” for the former striker. If he gets a positive result, he will temporarily keep his job and take advantage of the FIFA Days break to reorganize the squad. On the contrary, if he continues to fail, it is likely that the board will take advantage of this break to change the coach - as they have done in the past.

Nguyen Anh Duc is facing an important turning point in his coaching career. Calm in the face of the risk of losing his position, he believes that it is a harsh part of the profession. But the harsh truth is: at a club famous for its habit of changing coaches like Becamex TP.HCM, a strong wind can knock down the captain at any time.

Can Anh Duc turn things around and prove he has the courage to stay on the hot seat, or will he become the next victim in the “coaching mill” of football in the land of Thu? The answer will probably come very soon, right in the sixth round of V.League 2025/26.

Source: https://znews.vn/nguyen-anh-duc-truoc-coi-xay-hlv-becamex-tphcm-post1588972.html