Ho Chi Minh City Club appoints interim coach

Ho Chi Minh City chose Mr. Phung Thanh Phuong as interim coach, despite rumors of contact with famous coaches such as Mano Polking and Park Hang-seo.

Mr. Phuong, 45 years old, used to be a player of the now-disbanded Ho Chi Minh City Police Club. From 2014 to 2019, he worked as an assistant for Ho Chi Minh City Club. A year later, he moved to Saigon FC as an assistant, then became the head coach for the 2021 and 2022 seasons but could not help the team stay in the V-League. Saigon FC then disbanded.

"As a son of Ho Chi Minh City, I am willing to help the team in difficult times," Mr. Phuong told VnExpress . "I will do my best to help the team play stably."

Coach Phung Thanh Phuong runs with the players during the training session of Ho Chi Minh City Club this afternoon, November 24. Photo: Ho Chi Minh City Club — Coach Phung Thanh Phuong runs with the players during the training session of Ho Chi Minh City Club this afternoon, November 24. Photo: *Ho Chi Minh City Club*

Coach Thanh Phuong’s first match with Ho Chi Minh City FC is against Binh Duong on November 28 in the 2023-2024 National Cup qualifiers. In the V-League, the club is ranked seventh with four points after three matches. On December 3, they will meet The Cong - Viettel in round 4.

Previously, on November 21, Ho Chi Minh City suddenly parted ways with coach Vu Tien Thanh due to financial disagreements. The Thong Nhat Stadium team was said to have contacted Mano Polking, but the former coach of the Thai national team denied it. Last night, information appeared that they had reached an agreement with former head coach of the Vietnamese national team Park Hang-seo and his close assistant Lee Young-jin, but the representative company of the two Korean coaches immediately denied it.

This afternoon, Ho Chi Minh City held a meeting to discuss the unpaid salaries, bonuses and signing bonuses of players and coaching staff. The club has paid 5 billion VND, the remaining debt, estimated at around 10 billion VND, will be resolved before January 2024.

Previously, 24 players and club assistants sent a letter to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), Ho Chi Minh City Football Federation (HFF), Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF) and Ho Chi Minh City Football Joint Stock Company. They said that in the 2023 season, the club paid the signing fee of the first phase late, and owed 50% of the signing fee of the second phase. The signing fee for the new 2023-2024 season was only paid 25% on November 15. In addition, Ho Chi Minh City still owes bonuses for two consecutive seasons. Specifically, in the 2022 season, they owe 4 billion VND in bonuses based on the performance of five matches and 3 billion VND in bonuses for successful relegation. In the 2023 season, they owe the players and coaching staff 2.5 billion VND in bonuses for three matches. Other expenses such as the fee for buying shoes and goalkeeper gloves at 5 million VND per person have not been paid by Ho Chi Minh City Club.

Ho Chi Minh City Club currently still has a good force, with many experienced players such as Nguyen Minh Tung, Ngo Tung Quoc, Nguyen Ha Long, Sam Ngoc Duc, Vo Huy Toan, Ho Tuan Tai, goalkeeper Patrick Le Giang, Brendon Lucas, Ntep Georges, Timite Cheick... At the 2023-2024 season launch ceremony, they set a goal of finishing in the top 5.

Duc Dong - Hieu Luong

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