The Ho Chi Minh City Football Federation wants to invite Dang Tran Chinh to take over the reins of HCMC Club again, but City’s 2002 championship-winning coach is reluctant to give up his position with Binh Duong.

Chinh’s expertise is sorely needed now that HCMC Club has been relegated from the V-League to First Division.

The team is a pale imitation of the side that won Vietnam’s premier league in 2002, when it was called Saigon Port.

Chinh is obviously pleased to be wanted back but doubts whether he can return at this stage.

“Things are going so well, I will be reluctant to leave Binh Duong,” he said at a meeting with the federation on Monday. “Anyway, my contract does not expire until 2011.”

For the past ten months, Chinh has been working with eight coaches to train 65 young players.

He is in charge of Binh Duong’s under-17, 19 and 21 sides, as well as the teams in the third and second tiers of championship football, and his second-tier team has just been promoted to First Division.

Whether he comes back to Ho Chi Minh City or not will depend on the negotiations between his current and former clubs, he said.

Asked whether he could return HCMC Club to the V-League, Chinh said he could if he got enough support from influential individuals and the relevant government agencies.

Should he team up with the city again, Chinh said, he would invite back those disgruntled players and coaches who had quit HCMC in disgust and moved to greener pastures.

Source: Thanh Nien, Tuoi Tre