‘Vietnam aims for World Cup qualification in the next 8 years’

Former Japan national team manager Phillipe Troussier has stated in an interview at Vietnam has the quality to play in World Cup in the future, after being appointed as Technical Director of PVF Football Academy.

Mr. Phillipe Troussier, an experienced World Cup coach who was in charge of South Africa in World Cup 1998 and led Japan to the last 16 of the 2002 World Cup is passionate with his own plans to bring Vietnamese players to World Cup for the first time.

In an exclusive interview with SPOTV News from Korea, Mr. Phillipe Troussier shared his thoughts on Vietnam’s football youth development.

– Greetings Mr. Phillipe Troussier, why did you choose PVF in Vietnam?
– I decided to accept this new challenge after receiving the proposal. I had a meeting with PVF officials in March and then came to Vietnam to visit the academy and was amazed by the quality of the infrastructure of PVF.
I shared the same view with the board of PVF and agree that helping Vietnam to reach Olympic Paris 2024 and World Cup 2026 are promising projects.

Mr. Phillipe Troussier, Technical Director of PVF

My football philosophy and experiences are the reasons why I want to join this project. I have brought here my experienced team to support me and the quality of PVF is a huge advantage. This is also a big challenge for me as the Vietnamese have a high expectation for the football development.

– Is PVF Football Academy similar to Claire Fontaine Football Academy in France, sir?
– It is true that the two football academies have many things in common. The only different is that Claire Fontaine Football Academy operates only in Paris and we are looking for football talents across Vietnam.

– What is the exact role of PVF Football Academy, sir?
– PVF is a professional Football Academy training young footballer from age 9-17 to become top-tier players. We will help improve their technique step-by-step and students are classified into different groups with regard to their age groups from 9-11, 14-15, 18-19 and 21 years old.

They are going to be the best players for Vietnam to join Olympic Paris 2024 and World Cup 2026. I work with 13 experts from France on the technical aspects and other departments include medical team and 20 Vietnamese coaches. The students here attend Academic classes in the morning and train football in the afternoon from 2 p.m to 6 p.m.

– How do the teams in PVF operate?
– We have two teams this season. The first team is named ‘PVF’ and the other one is a rotation team. There are many other back-up teams as the program will last until the player is 17 years old. However, the development will not stop at the age of 17 so it takes two more years to put these teams together.
– In addtion, the tough competition is needed for every young player. They will gain experience as they have to fight for the main spot at the age of 18 to 21. Our vision is that education needs to be paired with competition.

Mr. Phillipe Troussier has 32 years of coaching experience, 2 times participating in World Cup.

PVF is currently playing in the second division national league with U17 squad. This is a tough challenge for the young players but important for their development.

– How can the Academy make profit, sir?
– It is true that you can make money by providing ecudation and training to young players to become professional football players but that is not our top priority. Our goal is to bring the players to top leagues in the region like in South Korea, Japan and France. We will be pleased to see our players having successful career in those top tier leagues knowing that we help to make their dreams come true.
– Our young players all dream to play professional football and that is what keep them motivated. The Academy also need to have clear objectives apart from daily football training.

– Would you like to be the Coach of Vietnam to join Olympic Paris 2024 and World Cup 2026 if everything is on the right track?
– Probably yes! Everything can happen in football. Yesterday is history, today is a gift and tomorrow is a mystery. Our destination in the future is unpredictable.
– Thank you, sir.

• Zing.vn (Photos: AFP)