In the latest training session, coach Cristiano Roland divided the U16 Vietnam team to organize internal competitions, thereby observing and evaluating the players' ability to absorb the training methods that he is applying.
“Even though it's just the first days of work, the coaching staff is trying to instill in the students appropriate playing methods and philosophies. Regarding the quality of players, I see that they have a very good personal technical foundation.
Therefore, we orient the players to try to play in a proactive style in controlling the ball, but must rely on the solidity of the defense. To do this, in addition to the desire to play football, the players must also always maintain confidence in training and competition," said coach Cristiano Roland.
Born in Brazil and at the age of 21, he moved to Portugal to play, so it is easy to understand that coach Cristiano Roland is deeply influenced by the playing philosophy of Portuguese football.
He also admitted that he had applied Portuguese football training methods during his time leading Hanoi U17 and helped the team win the 2024 National U17 Championship for the first time .
“Everything is completely new at first, from the way exercises are distributed, as well as the arrangement of exercise volume, but gradually when players understand it, they will see the necessary benefits. Currently, I also apply that method to the U16 Vietnam team," coach Cristiano Roland shared.
According to the plan, U16 Vietnam will continue to practice at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center. On August 14, the team will leave for Shenyang (China) to participate in the international U16 friendly tournament - Peace Cup 2024.
This tournament has the participation of U16 Vietnam, U16 Japan, U16 Uzbekistan and host U16 China.
Assessing the goals of the U16 Vietnam team when participating in the above tournament, coach Cristiano Roland said: "Games with strong opponents at this time are very necessary for U16 Vietnam. Meeting high-level teams brings pressure, helping them grow a lot. In addition, this is also an opportunity for me to test the connection between the players, to see if they create the certainty as the coaching staff expects."
After this tournament, U16 Vietnam will continue to train in Japan in mid-September to complete the final preparations for the 2025 U17 Asian qualifiers.
In the 2025 Asian U17 qualifying round, U16 Vietnam (then known as U17 Vietnam) is the home team of Group I (scheduled to be held at Viet Tri Stadium, Phu Tho) and will in turn welcome U17 Kyrgyzstan. (October 23), U17 Myanmar (October 25) and U17 Yemen (October 27).
