Duc Thang

“Duc Thang is a young, capable, enthusiastic coach who can speak English well. I’ve known him for a long time so I want to choose Duc Thang,” said Calisto.

The coach said he previously wanted to call up the chief coaches of some clubs but it is difficult because a team can’t lack its chief coach. Duc Thang is a young coach at The Cong whose responsibilities are not as heavy so it is easier for him to work for the national squad.

According to Calisto, Duc Thang will be his only new assistant, besides his current ones, Ngo Le Bang, Tran Van Khanh and Phan Thanh Hung.

Before naming Duc Thang, the coach made a list of candidates, including: Le Huynh Duc of SHB Da Nang, Tran Cong Minh of Dong Tam Long Anh, Trieu Quang Ha of T&T Hanoi, and Nguyen Van Sy of Vissai Ninh Binh. However, these coaches are currently very busy with their local clubs.

Duc Thang said that he received the invitation from Calisto and “it is very attractive”. “I’m ready to do my duty when I’m officially invited by written documents,” he said.

When he played for the national squad, Duc Thang was one of the best Vietnamese left fullbacks. He said goodbye to football in the role of a player in 2005, at the age of 29. He started his coaching career with the U12 team of The Cong Club, which is his current job.

An official from the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), Nguyen Trong Giap, said VFF and Calisto will have a meeting on April 27 to consider the list of national football players and the coaching board.

Calisto said that he will make public the names of players for the friendly match between the national team and Olympiakos in early May. The list may have from 25 to 30 players but it will surely not have players from Hanoi ACB and Binh Duong because these clubs will need their best players for the AFC Cup 2009.

PV