HANOI (7 Dec 2012) – Phan Thanh Hung has quit the Vietnam national team – less than a week after the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) stated that they will still back him up despite failing to make the semi-finals of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2012.
Vietnam – the 2008 champions – faltered in the group stage where after being held by Myanmar in their first game, they went on to lose their remaining games against the Philippines and then to hosts Thailand.
“I was very confident in the task and received the very good attention of the VFF in preparation. The players were cooperative and they showed the spirit of determination,” said Thanh Hung.
“However, weakness appeared during the tournament. I took responsibility to the VFF. The coaching board also has proposals and has learnt from this experience for the upcoming tournaments.
I would like to offer an apology to the VFF and fans and resign from the coach position. This is a positive factor in preparation for the team in the near future. I hope people will see this as a better contribution to the team. I think it is my right decision.”
Thanh Hung announced his decision to quit after a meeting with VFF officials that included VFF president Nguyen Trong Hy, Deputy president Le Hung Dung, Deputy president Nguyen Lan Trung, secretary-Ggeneral Ngo Le Bang and chairman of the National Coaching Council Nguyen Sy Hien.
Thanh Hung was accompanied by all members of the coaching staff – assistants Hoang Anh Tuan, Nguyen Van Sy and Dylan Kerr.
“The main cause of failure is professional factor and the coaching staff. Poor capability and quality of the coaches and the players resulted in unsuccessful games,” Thanh Hung said in his five-page report.
Pix by Thananuwat Srirasant (World Sport Group)
