Football chief says trust not lost in coach Troussier despite Asian Cup failure

“If we want to reach the continental level, we have to be patient,” he told the media on Friday. “I have been involved with football for 40 years and I realize that it is never easy to achieve glory.”

VFF have not revealed the details of their contract with Troussier, but Khoi said there are explicit terms and responsibilities for the coach. VFF trusts Troussier and would give more time, but do have expectations, he said.

“We are patient but only when the head coach completes the main goal will we continue the contract.”

Khoi, who was head of the Vietnamese team at the Asian Cup, said while the team admittedly failed to achieve their goal of getting past the group stage after three straight losses, there were positives from the games against Japan and Iraq. Vietnam lost another game to Southeast Asian rival Indonesia.

He said this failure was a great lesson for the players and coaching staff.

“Troussier was under great pressure after not having the best squad due to injuries. He used young players to fill that gap and was pleased to see that they did not give up after a defeat.”

After emerging on the international football scene in 1991, Vietnam had to wait until the 2008 AFF Cup to win their first international title and another 10 years for the second.

After a successful run with coach Park Hang-seo, VFF signed a four-year contract, their longest so far, with Troussier and the main goal is to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.