Vietnam men's national football team put high hope on new coach

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has recently appointed Japanese expert Toshiya Miura as the coach of the Vietnam men’s national football team on a two-year contract.
The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has recently appointed Japaneseexpert Toshiya Miura as the coach of the Vietnam men’s national footballteam on a two-year contract.

According to the Nhan Dan (People)online newspaper, despite numerous expressions of surprise and evendoubt about this decision, hopes are still pinned on the new coach fromthe land of the rising sun to bring a fresher wind to the national teamsin the foreseeable future.

Unknown as he may be toVietnamese football lovers, Toshiya Miura is rather well-known in Japan,especially for his ability to achieve success with limited resources.

Thisis Miura’s outstanding strength and also the reason why the JapanFootball Association (JFA) decided to introduce him to the VFF as partof the support and co-operation programme between the two sides and notmerely as another trainer.

To date, Miura has led two Japaneseclubs, Omiya Ardija and Consadole Sapporo, to promotion from J-League 2to J-League 1, Japan’s top football league.

He demonstrated hiscoaching ability while training those two teams, developing in bothcases a solid playing style. Moreover, he is also experienced in workingwith young players, and once trained ‘raw jades’ into real talents.

EijiKawashima – the goalkeeper of the current Japan national team – istypical evidence of Miura’s ability. His special talent was discoveredby Miura at the age of 18, and Kawashima was constantly entrusted as theteam’s main goalkeeper during his time of playing for Omiya Ardija,which granted him opportunities to demonstrate his abilities and beselected to the national team, where he has become Japan’s number onegoalkeeper over the last decade.

Those characteristics of theJapanese coach are well-suited to the Vietnam national team, whichrequires a restart following four consecutive years of failing at theregional arena - from the 2011 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games to the 2012AFF Suzuki Cup and the 2013 SEA Games.

Currently, Vietnamesefootball does not need a coach with a sparkling resume, but rather onewho knows how to improve the situation. It will be not so difficult forthe newly appointed coach Miura to seek promising new talent for thenational and national Olympic teams while V-League giants Hanoi T&T,SNB Da Nang, Song Lam Nghe An and Hoang Anh Gia Lai have been payingever more attention to investing in each successive generation. Manyexperts hope that the Japanese tactician’s capacity of discovering rawtalent will continue to shine in Vietnam.

Miura will also facecertain obstacles in his new post as the national coach, however. He haslittle experience in working with national teams and does not have muchtime to select his players as the V-League 2014 and the First Divisiontournament were half over when he signed his contract with the VFF.

TheVFF has also taken appropriate measures in response to this situation,affirming not to assign specific achievement targets for Miura at the17th Asian Games in September and the 2014 ASEAN Football Federation(AFF) Suzuki Cup a month later.

Freed from the pressure toperform, Miura is expected to whole-heartedly build a team with a strongbase instead of only looking towards short-term goals as did hispredecessors, who subsequently fell under the pressure of dreams andleft bitter lessons about the importance of basic values.-VNA

See more

Vietnamese football players try to put pressure on their opponents but spurned chances to break the duck. (Photo: VNA)

Football: Vietnam held to goalless home draw by Kyrgyzstan

Vietnamese could not make home ground advantage count as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Kyrgyzstan at the Group I of the AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2025 Qualifiers held in the northern province of Phu Tho on October 23.

The excavation covers an area of over 6,000sq.m with 60 research pits, each measuring 100sq.m. (Photo courtesy of the Institute of Archaeology)

Over 100 burials from 4000 years ago discovered in Hanoi

Archaeologists from the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology, the Hanoi Museum and the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities have announced the discovery of over 70 graves from the pre-Dong Son period and 40 graves from Dong Son period at the Vuon Chuoi archaeological relic in Kim Chung commune, Hoai Duc district.

Pho bo (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) and nem ran (fried spring rolls) attract the attention of many Korean and foreign visitors at a festival in the Republic of Korea. (Photo: VNA)

Festival promotes Vietnam-RoK cultural exchange

A cultural festival has been held in Uijeongbu city of the Republic of Korea (RoK)'s Gyeonggi province to mark the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam Women’s Association (VWA) in the country.

The women dance to the tunes of the “Nguoi Ha Noi (Hanoi people)”, “Tien ve Ha Noi” (Marching to Hanoi), and “Ha Noi nhung cong trinh” (Hanoi’s construction works)” songs. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi Ao dai dance marks Vietnamese women’s day

More than 70,000 women from across the capital city of Hanoi dressed up in Ao dai (traditional long dress) and participated in a folk dance ensemble on October 20 to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Hanoi and the 94th founding anniversary of the Vietnam Women’s Union.

Runners compete in the Vietnam Jungle Marathon last year. This year, the event will welcome around 1,500 runners from almost 40 nations. (Photos courtesy of the organising board)

Vietnam Jungle Marathon welcomes runners from around the world

The Vietnam Jungle Marathon (VJM) returns for its seventh edition, welcoming around 1,500 runners from almost 40 nations to the stunning trails of Pu Luong Nature Reserve in Thanh Hoa province on October 19, featuring picturesque 10km to 70km routes.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO Ha Kim Ngoc speaks at the event. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam attends UNESCO Executive Board’s 220th session in France

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO Ha Kim Ngoc led a Vietnamese delegation to attend the 220th session of the UNESCO Executive Board on October 14-16 in Paris, which saw the participation of representatives from 58 member countries and over 100 observer countries.

Vietnamese men's football is set to enter the top eight in Asia and qualify for World Cup. (Photo: VNA)

Sports development strategy approved

Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long has signed a decision approving the sports development strategy until 2030 with a vision to 2050, with an aim to promote the sector in a sustainable and professional direction.

An exhibition held during the annual international ArtTech Fusion event last year (Photo courtesy of UEH)

HCM City to host international ArtTech event

New technological applications in the ArtTech field will be showcased at the annual international ArtTech Fusion event that will take place in Ho Chi Minh City from October 22-24.

The reenactment of a royal procession in the late 19 century at the National Museum of Asian Art. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam Week in US helps promote Vietnamese cultural heritage

The Vietnam Week 2024 has been held in Washington D.C, the US, from October 4-12, aiming to honour the country’s rich cultural heritage, enrich Vietnamese-American people's identity and commend the achievements of the Vietnamese-American community.