Top 11 Renowned Football Coaches in Vietnam Today

1. Mai Đức Chung

Mai Đức Chung (born in 1951) is a former football player and coach in Vietnam, currently serving as the head coach of the National Women's Football Team. Mai Đức Chung became the first head coach of the national women's team in 1997, achieving initial success with gold and silver medals at the SEA Games in the same year. He led the team to two more SEA Games gold medals in 2003 and 2005 before taking a long hiatus from coaching the women's team.

In 2014, to prepare for the women's team at the Asian Games (ASIAD), VFF invited him despite having intentions to hire a Japanese coach and at least two selected candidates. The women's team under his leadership caused a stir by reaching the semifinals of an ASIAD for the first time and securing a 4th-place finish. His subsequent successes with the women's team include two gold medals in women's football at the Southeast Asian Games in 2017 and 2019, along with winning the AFF Cup in 2019. Only considering SEA Games, he contributed to 5 out of the total 7 gold medals for Vietnamese women's football at the current time.

However, the pinnacle of his career with the national women's team came in early 2022. After the play-off series for the 5th spot in the World Cup 2023 at the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup, the women's national team under his guidance remarkably secured the sole ticket to the World Cup. This is the first time in history that a Vietnamese national football team, in general, and a women's team, in particular, will participate in a world-class tournament. Remarkably, this achievement occurred when his team faced significant personnel losses before and during the tournament due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After achieving this unprecedented feat with the women's team, Mai Đức Chung unexpectedly expressed his desire to step down from coaching. At the time of his withdrawal, he was over 70 years old and admitted that he was no longer suitable for the pressure of each match or important tournaments. At the 31st SEA Games, he once again helped the women's team win a gold medal by defeating Thailand 1-0 at home.

2. Coach Nguyễn Minh Phương

Nguyen Minh Phuong (born July 5, 1980) is a coach and former Vietnamese footballer. He is currently the head coach of the Football Club Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu.

He was a member of the Vietnam national football team that won the AFF Suzuki Cup 2008 and a former captain of the national football team. He is also the recipient of the Vietnamese Golden Ball in 2010.

Renowned for his technical and tactical prowess, coupled with his exquisite free-kick ability, Minh Phuong is considered one of the best midfielders in the history of Vietnamese football. He retired at the end of the 2015 season while playing for SHB Đà Nẵng.

Võ Đình Tân (born 1967) is the football coach of Sanna Khánh Hoà team currently competing in the V-League. He played a crucial role in elevating Sanna Khánh Hoà to professional competition after the dissolution of Khatoco Khánh Hoà at the end of 2012.

Võ Đình Tân was one of the solid defenders for Khánh Hoà football, originally known as Phú Khánh team. He began playing for the team in the early '80s and was promoted to the first team in 1987. Known for his strong defensive skills, after retiring in 2001, he continued to be involved in youth training and coaching U11, U13, U21 generations of Khatoco Khánh Hoà. His most significant success was helping Sanna Khánh Hoà climb two divisions and compete in V-League 2015.

Mr. Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn, the head coach of the U16 Vietnam national team, was born in 1974. The 48-year-old strategist had a career as a goalkeeper, winning two national championships with HAGL club.

After retiring, former goalkeeper Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn was appointed as the coach of HAGL's youth teams. His notable achievements include a silver medal in the 2009 National U19 Championship and a runner-up finish in the 2010 National U21 Championship with the Mountain Town team. From 2011 to 2015, Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn was promoted to assistant coach of HAGL's first team. With only five rounds left in V.League 2015, the Pleiku-based club's management decided to appoint Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn to steer HAGL's ship, replacing coach Guillaume Graechen, who returned to youth training for JMG Academy.

Coach Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn took on the task of leading HAGL when the team was at the bottom of the standings with only five rounds left in V.League. However, under the guidance of the 1974-born coach, HAGL earned 10 points in the last 5 matches to secure an astonishing survival. He continued to lead the team until the end of the 2017 season.

In early 2019, Coach Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn was unexpectedly chosen as the head coach of the U22 Vietnam national team for the U22 Southeast Asian Championship. Despite inadequate preparation before the tournament, Coach Tuấn 'Mát' led U22 Vietnam to the semifinals and clinched the overall bronze medal. Most recently, Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn served as an assistant to Coach Hoàng Anh Tuấn for the U17 Vietnam team during their training camp in Germany at the beginning of the year. Due to Tuấn 'Khánh Hoà' being occupied with the position of technical director of Phù Đổng Club, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) decided to appoint Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn as the head coach of the U16 Vietnam team to participate in the U16 Southeast Asian Championship and the 2023 U17 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Phạm Minh Đức (born on May 5, 1976), also known by the nickname Jose Mourinho of Vietnam, is a football coach, former professional football player from Vietnam, and a former national football team player in 2002.

Minh Đức was involved in a transfer dispute in V-League 2003, with the Vietnam Airlines club demanding Hoàng Anh Gia Lai to comply with transfer rules and pay a symbolic fee of only 500 VND (equivalent to 0.17% of Vietnam's minimum wage at that time).

On February 13, 2016, Minh Đức was appointed as the head coach of Hà Nội T&T, replacing Phan Thanh Hùng. However, after a poor performance with only 1 point in 4 matches, on March 17, 2016, Minh Đức officially resigned, handing over the position of head coach of Hà Nội T&T to assistant coach Chu Đình Nghiêm.

Chu Đình Nghiêm (born on August 18, 1972) is a former football player from Vietnam and currently the head coach of Hải Phòng Football Club.

Hà Nội T&T football club was established in January 2006 starting from the grassroots level. Chu Đình Nghiêm officially joined the coaching staff at Hà Nội T&T alongside Triệu Quang Hà when the club began its operations. After Hà left Hà Nội T&T, Chu Đình Nghiêm continued as an assistant coach for coaches Nguyen Huu Thang, Phan Thanh Hùng, and Phạm Minh Đức. In 2016, he was appointed as the head coach of Hà Nội club.

Immediately, he led Hà Nội to a successful season, winning the championship despite a slow start. In nearly 5 years of coaching Hà Nội, he won 3 V.League 1 championships (2016, 2018, 2019), 2 National Cups (2019, 2020), and 3 National Super Cups (2018, 2019, 2020), becoming the most successful coach in the history of Vietnamese football. Especially in the 2019 season, Hà Nội reached the AFC Cup 2019 inter-zone final with an impressive performance.

In early April 2021, the Hà Nội club leadership announced the departure of coach Chu Đình Nghiêm after an unsuccessful start to the 2021 season. Subsequently, he moved on to lead Hải Phòng Football Club.

Nguyễn Đức Thắng (born in 1976) is a former football defender for Thể Công club and the Vietnam national team. He is currently coaching Topenland Bình Định Football Club competing in V.League 1. In September 2014, after finishing the V-League 2 - 2014 season in 4th place overall, failing to secure a playoff spot for promotion, Hà Nội FC (predecessor of Sài Gòn FC) appointed Đức Thắng as the head coach. In his first season, he led the team to win V-League 2 - 2015 for promotion to V.League 1.

The performance of Sài Gòn FC in V.League 1 under Đức Thắng's coaching improved each year. In the first season in V.League 1 - 2016, despite being newcomers, Sài Gòn FC finished 7th out of 14 teams with 36 points. In the V-League 2017 season, Sài Gòn FC finished 5th out of 14 teams with 43 points, equal in points and with a higher goal difference than the 4th-placed Than Quảng Ninh but ranked lower due to inferior head-to-head results.

At the end of the 2017 season, Đức Thắng ended his contract with Sài Gòn FC, but he didn't rush to sign a new contract despite continuing his responsibilities in coaching. After the change of chairman from Nguyễn Giang Đông to Trần Tiến Đại, Đức Thắng officially parted ways with the club.

Under Đức Thắng's leadership, Sài Gòn FC played a style characterized by compactness and sophistication in counter-attacking tactics, considered one of the top teams in V.League despite not having an outstanding squad. Đức Thắng was appointed as the head coach of Thanh Hóa FC after the fifth round of V-League 2018.

Lê Huỳnh Đức (born on April 20, 1972) is a coach and former football player from Vietnam currently serving as the technical director at Saigon Football Club.

He is one of the most outstanding players in the history of Vietnamese football. Lê Huỳnh Đức won the Vietnamese Golden Ball three times in 1995, 1997, and 2002, and served as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Vietnam. Transitioning to coaching in 2008, Lê Huỳnh Đức made history in Vietnamese football by becoming the youngest coach to win the V.League 1 championship with SHB Đà Nẵng in 2009 at the age of 37.

Lê Huỳnh Đức has been awarded the Labor Order Medal twice by the state. UNICEF selected Huỳnh Đức as the Goodwill Ambassador in Vietnam due to his influence on children and society.

Trương Việt Hoàng (born on December 9, 1975) is a coach and former football player. Currently, he is the head coach of Ho Chi Minh City Football Club. During his playing career, Trương Việt Hoàng was a forward for Thể Công and the Vietnam national team.

In 2016, Trương Việt Hoàng led Hải Phòng to the runner-up position in V.League 2016 with 50 points, equal to the champion Hà Nội T&T but fell short in goal difference.

In November 2019, Trương Việt Hoàng officially signed a contract with the Viettel Sports Center. After nearly 3 years of association, he had successful seasons, achieving historic milestones for Viettel by winning the V.League 1 in 2020 and finishing as the runner-up in the National Cup 2020.

At the end of August 2022, Trương Việt Hoàng took over the coaching position at Ho Chi Minh City Football Club. However, after a loss to Sài Gòn in round 17 of V.League 1, he submitted his resignation, which was approved by the club's leadership. In his 4 matches in charge, Ho Chi Minh City drew 1–1 against Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh and suffered defeats to Hải Phòng (3–4), Nam Định (0–1), and Sài Gòn (0–2).

Nguyễn Hữu Thắng (born on December 2, 1971, or July 1972) is a former football player from Vietnam. During his playing career, he served as a defender for Sông Lam Nghệ An football club. He was also a member and captain of the national football team of Vietnam from 1997 to 1999.

In 2003, Nguyễn Hữu Thắng transitioned to coaching, starting with Sông Lam Nghệ An football club. He had stints coaching Hà Nội T&T before returning to his former club, Sông Lam Nghệ An. From March 2016 to August 2017, he coached the national football team of Vietnam and the U-23 national team of Vietnam.

Currently, Nguyễn Hữu Thắng serves as the chairman and CEO of Ho Chi Minh City Football Club.