Former national legend takes reins at Long An
by Tien Thanh
HCM CITY — V-League club Dong Tam Long An have named assistant coach Tran Cong Minh as the interim head coach after Portuguese Jose Luis had to return home for medical treatment.
Pham Phu Hoa, the team manager, said Luis had sought permission to return to Portugal to treat his arterial aneurism, which forced him to into bed for more than 10 days.
"If Jose Luis does not come back, we will seek a long-term replacement," he added.
It is for the third time that the national team's former defender and the 1999 Golden Ball winner gets a chance to prove his coaching acumen in the V-League, after an earlier stint with Long An and one with his hometown club Dong Thap.
In the closing stages of the 2008 season, Long An appointed him head coach in place of Portuguese Artnaldo Patricio and he helped the club win their last five matches to finish second in the table.
But the good-natured Minh, a hard-working player for the national team, soon felt the pressure.
Despite being a highly respected footballer and having some coaching experience, he seemed to lack the mental strength required to coach a major club with stars.
After Long An fell into a rut in the early part of the next season in 2009 when the two-time V-League champions won only eight points from seven matches and were in eighth place, Minh was replaced by Jose Luis in March.
But this time things could be different since Minh has more experience and seems to get the most out of players as he showed in two recent matches against major rivals Ha Noi T&T and Becamex Binh Duong.
In the match against Ha Noi T&T, Long An dominated the match for most of the 90 minutes.
But Minh left a bigger mark on the victory last weekend in Binh Duong.
After a lacklustre first half, the home team began to dominate in the second and had numerous good chances that were fluffed by Nguyen Vu Phong, Huynh Kesley Alves, and substitute Egbo Osita or saved well by goalkeeper Phan Van Santos.
Even as it seemed just a matter of time before Binh Duong would score, Minh sent on Bogere Asman, who, with his physical advantage, largely repelled the Binh Duong attacks.
Mrwanda Danny David then scored out of nowhere to hand DTLA victory.
This season Long An have recruited aggressive striker Shamala Kahanga and skillful winger Mrwanda, who, together with Antonio Carlos, are forming a formidable strike force. — VNS