To lessen anticipation, the national team at the upcoming Southeast Asian Games will have lower targeted expectations.
Coach Hoang Van Phuc wants to lower the national team’s targets
While the newly-appointed coach of the Vietnam national football team, Hoang Van Phuc, has confirmed many times that he only set the target for the team to get into the semi-final of SEA Games 2013, Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) leaders seem to be far more ambitious, claiming the team should be capable of reaching the final.
VFF Chairman Nguyen Trong Hy said Vietnam would qualify for the semi-finals by taking first or second place during the group stage. "Our target should be the final so the players have a specific target to train for," he said.
The national team has always aimed to reach the final and some have claimed it has the ability to make that a reality.
However, Phuc's target seems to clash with the General Department of Sport and Physical Training's expectations. During the meeting with VFF early 2013, head of the department said that since they had spent huge amounts of money on domestic football in recent years, their objective should be trophies.
Due to difficulties in achieving such goal, the VFF lowered the target to just making the final. "If we’re prepared, I think we can achieve that goal. But of course, the highest target is the trophy." a official from VFF said.
Coach Hoang Van Phuc wanted to lower the target further. According to him, they should set the target for the team to reach the semi-finals, and once there anything could happen.
The chairman said they decided to sign a long-term contract with Phuc. The contract is hoped to provide time for Phuc to prove his abilities, with an aim of reaching the qualification round for the World Cup or Olympics.
Hy said Phuc's salary would not be over VND100 million per month (USD4,800). The salary is said to be low compared with the goal set for the national team, particularly when the VFF once promised that they would pay VND200 million per month for their domestic coaches.
An official from VFF said if the national team succeeded in SEA Games, Phuc's efforts would be rewarded.
Both VFF and Phuc expect to sign the contract in May to work with the team soon.
