New applicants for national football head coach position
The Vietnam Football Federation this week has accepted the application of English coach Bob Houghton for the national head coach posting, said VFF vice chairman Tran Duy Ly. Sports analysts comment that the new coach’s record precedes him, and he’ll be a heavy contender against the two prospective head coaches Henrique Calisto from Portugal and Alfred Riedl from Austria.
The Englishman had four times taking the Swedish premier league’s football club Malmo to the championship trophy and was voted as best coach in 1974, 1975, 1977 and 1979 in Sweden.In the Asian Games 1998, Bob Houghton, who was also a senior football lecturer of the English Football Federation, led the Chinese national side to the bronze medal. Another advantage over two other candidates for the job is his proposed salary rate of US $9,000 – US $10,000 per month, quite acceptable for Vietnam.
In 2003, Coach Houghton was introduced by Strata Sports Marketing Company and a year later, he submitted his documents to the VFF to take over the Vietnamese national team in the early 2004. The VFF has agreed the Englishman has potential as a coach for the coming recruitment.
By Minh Phat - Thanh Nien - February 15, 2005
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