Hanoi FC's difficult situation when forced to use foreign coach

Since 2021, Hanoi Club has only prioritized using foreign coaches and has fallen into a cycle of instability on the coaching bench, with fluctuating results.

During the 2010-2021 period, Hanoi FC was the number 1 force in V.League. Under coach Phan Thanh Hung (2010-2016) and then Chu Dinh Nghiem (2016-2021), the capital team dominated with 11 domestic championship titles, built a unique playing style and maintained a powerful position.

Domestic coaches are not qualified enough to lead

The dressing room was always stable, the players had been with the team for a long time and had a close connection with the coaching staff. But since 2021, a big turning point has appeared. For the first time, Hanoi FC appointed a foreign coach, opening a series of continuous changes, starting with Park Choong-kyun, Chun Jae-ho, Bozidar Bandovic, Daiki Iwamasa, Makoto Teguramori and now interim coach Yusuke Adachi.

In between periods of instability, the team had to repeatedly "put out the fire" with familiar domestic coaches such as Le Duc Tuan, Dinh The Nam or Hoang Van Phuc. As a result, the capital team gradually lost its unique position, its performance was unstable, and it often missed out on major titles.

Coach Makoto Teguramori impressed in the 2024/25 season but could not stay after the first 4 rounds of V.League 2025/26.

Hanoi FC is the team with the most stars in V.League. Managing a dressing room with many big egos, maintaining professionalism while balancing interests, has never been a simple task. After Phan Thanh Hung and Chu Dinh Nghiem, there is hardly any domestic coach with enough prestige and personality to take on the role.

In reality, the culture of a professional football team is much more complex than the formation of the team. Because players can be divided into groups according to seniority, training center, or locality.

Although domestic coaches understand the context, not everyone has the courage to reconcile egos and maintain discipline. Being wary of experienced stars with strong personalities often makes domestic coaches considered “seat holders” instead of strategists.

That is the reason why Hanoi Club is forced to seek foreign coaches, who are expected to bring objectivity and frankness.

Foreign coaches need time to adapt.

However, the reality shows that no foreign coach at Hanoi FC has achieved long-term success. Park Choong-kyun left after only a few months due to personal problems. Chun Jae-ho, from the interim position, led the team to the double of V.League and National Cup 2022, but only stayed for one season because he did not have a Pro Coaching license to lead in the AFC Champions League.

Bozidar Bandovic arrived in early 2023 but was soon fired after failing to succeed in the continental arena. In turn, Mr. Daiki Iwamasa (Japan) in the 2023-2024 period also did not stay long because of a more attractive invitation in his home country.

Most recently, also a coach from Japan, Makoto Teguramori, helped the team finish second in the 2024/25 V.League, but had to part ways after a disappointing start in the 2025/26 season, not winning after many rounds and stopping early in the National Cup.

It is not easy to manage the locker room with many players of Hanoi Club.

The problem is that each foreign coach has his own tactical philosophy. Although the club does thorough research before appointing a new coach, the coaches themselves still need months, even a season, to understand the abilities of each player, especially the dressing room culture.

Meanwhile, V.League is a harsh environment, requiring immediate results. The pressure makes it difficult for foreign coaches to have time to experiment and adjust.

Another factor that also affects is the choice of foreign players. In V.League, foreign players almost decide the difference in strength. When foreign coaches choose players who lack cohesion with the domestic squad, the entire tactical system can collapse. In fact, in recent seasons, Hanoi FC has been continuously disappointed with foreign players, making the foreign coach's strategy even more deadlocked.

Persist in finding solutions

Hanoi FC is in a dilemma. The local coach is not qualified enough to control the dressing room, while the foreign coach needs time to adapt without being allowed to make mistakes. Each failure of the club in V.League and continental arena shows that this problem is increasingly urgent.

Since 2021, Hanoi FC has bet on a foreign coach policy, but after 5 changes, success has yet to come. The question is: will the club patiently build a long-term project with a foreign coach, or will it continue to fall into the cycle of dismissal - appointment when the results are not as expected?

In the context of increasingly competitive V.League, Hanoi FC needs a more sustainable solution than just changing the coach. Because if they cannot find a way, they will forever be stuck in a difficult situation: forced to use foreign coaches but unable to fully exploit the value that those coaches bring.

His 2019 autobiography “Basta: My Life, My Truth” recounts Marco van Basten’s career from a first-person perspective. The Dutch legend ended his career at the age of 28 due to an ankle injury.

Source: https://znews.vn/the-kho-cua-clb-ha-noi-khi-bat-buoc-phai-dung-hlv-ngoai-post1590050.html