French manager becomes new head coach of Vietnam football team

Tran Anh Tu, vice chairman of Vietnam Football Federation, said Thursday: “We have reached agreements. Coach Troussier will come to Vietnam to officially sign the contract and have an introduction at the end of February.”

Troussier’s contract with Vietnam Football Federation will start from March 1, 2023 to July 31, 2026.

His salary is undisclosed but will be more than $50,000 a month, which was the salary of the previous head coach Park Hang-seo.

Besides the tasks to defend the men’s football gold medal in SEA Games 32 this year and win the AFF Cup in 2024, Troussier is expected to help Vietnam succeed at the 2026 World Cup qualifiers when FIFA increased the number of participating teams to 48.

Dubbed the “White Witch Doctor” for his successful stint in Africa, Troussier has managed Ivory Coast, Nigeria, South Africa, and Burkina Faso.

His international career peaked during his spell in Japan (1998 – 2002) when he won the AFC Asian Cup 2000.

Two years later, he led Japan to the final 16 of the FIFA World Cup 2002, the country’s best-ever run in the competition at the time. In 2020, the Asian Football Confederation named him one of the greatest coaches in Asian Cup history.

The 67-year-old French coach acted as a strategic adviser and then technical director at the Promotion Fund of Vietnamese Football Talent (PVF) Academy in 2018.

One year later, he was appointed head coach of U19, who he helped qualified for the U19 AFC Championship 2020, which was later canceled due to Covid-19. He left after his contract with VFF expired in June 2021.