Coach Troussier: 'I am happy to return to Vietnam'

The flight carrying coach Philippe Troussier arrived an hour earlier than originally scheduled to land at 6:50. It took him about 50 minutes to check in and wait for his luggage before going to the lobby.

After receiving flowers from VFF General Secretary Duong Nghiep Khoi, coach Troussier said: "I am happy to return to Vietnam - the country I love. I am proud and honored to lead the Vietnamese national team. We have a lot of tasks in the future and I'm ready. I feel very motivated when I take over the Vietnam team."

The French military leader brought four suitcases of luggage when he arrived in Vietnam, accompanied by four security officers hired by the VFF when he was at the airport until he got on the bus back to VFF. He was accompanied by assistant Moulay Azzeggouarh - who used to work with PVF Youth Football Training Center and U19 Vietnam. Assistant Azzeggouarh was born in 1966, has Moroccan nationality.

Coach Trousier was born in 1955 in Paris, France. He was dubbed the "White Witch Doctor" when he achieved much success in Africa. Coach Troussier's peak was when he was with Japan, won the 2000 Asian Cup and reached the 1/8 round of the 2002 World Cup.

After that, he went through many different clubs from France, Japan to China. In 2019, he accepted the position of technical director of PVF Youth Football Training Center, then led Vietnam U19 before parting in 2021.

Two years later, when Coach Park Hang-seo left, VFF reached an agreement to bring Coach Troussier back to be the head coach of the national team and U23 Vietnam from March 1, 2023 to July 31, 2026. The period of 3 years and 5 months is a record for a Vietnamese coach.

Tomorrow 27/2, coach Troussier will sign a contract with VFF and debut in a new position. After that, he began to work when convening the U23 team from March 1 to March 7. This is one of four gatherings of the team to prepare for the campaign to defend the 32nd SEA Games gold medal in Cambodia in May. Right after the end of the working session with U23, the French leader will move to direct the team. country from March 8 to March 12.