Coach Mai Duc Chung is about to leave the Vietnamese women's team

"I have decided to retire after my contract expires in 2023," Chung said this morning, October 23, after the team's training session at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center (Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi). "I have been working for many years, it would be better if another coach took over."

Regarding the successor, Mr. Chung said that it could be Japanese coach Akira Ijiri, who is working with the youth team from U16 to U20 Vietnamese women. Mr. Ijiri came to Vietnam to work since 2019 with the support of the Japan Football Federation. "Japanese coaches have coached many youth teams, so they understand Vietnamese culture and lifestyle and also have expertise," Mr. Chung analyzed. "That is the most convenient because if we hire a foreign coach, it will take time to master the local lifestyle and culture."

Coach Mai Duc Chung was born in 1951 in Hanoi and has led the Vietnamese women's team for 12 years through three periods (2003-2005, 2014 and 2016-2023). Under his leadership, the Vietnamese women's team won six SEA Games gold medals, including in 2003 and 2005, and a record four consecutive times from 2017 to 2023. In addition, the team won the 2019 AFF Women's Cup. At a higher level, the Vietnamese women's team ranked fourth for the first time at the 2014 Asian Games and will participate in the 2023 Women's World Cup.

As a player, he was an excellent striker for Vietnam in the 1970s and 1980s when playing for the Hanoi Van Ca team and the General Department of Railways. He then became a coach, leading many V-League clubs such as Hanoi ACB, Navibank Saigon (dissolved), Binh Duong and Thanh Hoa. At the national team level, he led the U23 Vietnam team in 2007 and 2008, was an assistant to the Vietnam team from 2005 to 2007, and then became an interim coach for two matches in September 2017.

Mr. Chung had planned to retire in 2022, before being extended by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) for another year. In 2023, he led the team to win the gold medal at the 32nd SEA Games, but was eliminated from the group stage of the World Cup and the 19th Asian Games. In the near future, he and his students will participate in the second qualifying round of the 2024 Paris Olympics, taking place from October 26 to November 1 in Uzbekistan.

The qualifying round consists of 12 teams divided into three groups. The teams play a round robin, with the top three teams and the best second-placed team advancing to the third qualifying round.

Vietnam is in Group C with Japan, India and Uzbekistan. Japan is the strongest team, having won 7-0 and indirectly causing Vietnam to be eliminated from the group stage of the 19th Asian Games. Vietnam aims to beat India and Uzbekistan and limit the number of goals conceded against Japan to secure the second place to continue.

Vietnam will depart tonight and is expected to arrive in Uzbekistan tomorrow night, October 24, due to two flights. The list of 22 players is only three names different from the 19th Asian Games, notably the return of striker Huynh Nhu.