1 month of change
In the middle of August 2024, at the 2024 Peace Cup friendly tournament in China, the U16 Vietnam team took turns playing against more highly rated opponents: China U16, Uzbekistan U16 and Japan U16. Many people thought that it would be a "training trip" mainly for friction and learning.
There are not many images from U19 Vietnam's matches at the tournament in China and when they started with a 0 - 4 defeat to U16 China, the comment about the "learning trip" is even more valid. However, in the following two matches, although they were not watched directly but were only sent back information, fans still felt a significant change. As a result, U16 Vietnam beat U16 Uzbekistan 3 - 0, beat U16 Japan 1 - 0 to win the runner-up position in the friendly tournament (only lower than the home team U16 China).
How can U16 Vietnam "transform" after witnessing the faded image of this group of players in the previous tournament? More than a month earlier, in Indonesia, these same teenage players finished the ASEAN U-16 Boys Championship in 4th place.
Fourth place is a failure - when getting through the group stage is not too difficult, especially when losing 1 - 2 to U16 Thailand in the semi-finals and losing 0 - 5 to U16 Indonesia in the third place match. That was the U16 team led by coach Tran Minh Chien... Among the coaching staff at that time was Cristiano Roland - the person who succeeded the former striker of the Vietnam National Team and transformed U16 Vietnam in a positive direction. more.
Prestige and prestige
For the players in the current U16 Vietnam squad, they are only a few months old, not even born when their teacher started playing football in Vietnam for Hanoi FC (2008). And they are too young to know and remember the Brazilian teacher who won the V.League championship twice and the Vietnam Super Cup once.
However, perhaps, in just about a short month of work, the players must have felt the teacher's position, prestige and somewhat his status in Vietnamese football. He won the hearts of not only Hanoi FC fans because of his calm demeanor when playing football, and of course the technical qualities of a Brazilian.
The Wiki page only records Cristiano Roland's coaching work starting in 2021, as an assistant at Becamex Binh Duong club, then Hanoi's youth teams and then the national U17 team. However, the reality is that he went through a painstaking preparation process about 10 years ago.
After retiring, Cristiano Roland soon began his coaching career to soon complete the C/AFC coaching course organized by the Vietnam Football Federation in 2014. After that, there was a process of cultivating expertise through training courses. C, B, A training courses of the European Football Federation (UEFA) from 2017 to 2023. During the period of pursuing the courses, he was trusted to participate or be in charge of training young people of all ages. ages from U9 to U19 at clubs in Portugal and Luxembourg.
In Vietnam, after Binh Duong, he became head coach of Hanoi U15 team in 2023 and most recently led Hanoi U17 to excellently win the national U17 Championship - Thai Son Nam Cup 2024.
Encourage and motivate
As mentioned above, Cristiano Roland has joined the coaching staff of the U16 Vietnam team, so he has a certain advantage in understanding the numbers and capabilities of this group of players. And while he directs the team to build a technique-based playing style, he also knows how to convey information. It can be seen through the statements after the 2 wins against Uzbekistan U16, Japan U16 or what is written on the personal page...
"Today we celebrate but tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow, we have to think about the next match. If we don't win in the last match, everyone will forget today. Ball Kicking very fast, maybe today we are on top, tomorrow we will immediately fall down.
"To win today, the team really had to be very tired, try very hard and make an effort. But it was worth it. The teacher said a lot, shouted a lot, but those things only gave us a result. like today. I know that every day you will be able to do more, so I ask a lot, because I know you are qualified to do this"... is what he said after the victory. U16 Uzbekistan.
After the final match with U16 Japan to win the runner-up position in the Peace Cup, he said many things. "The teacher is here to guide you forward, be confident and courageous because it's okay to make mistakes"; “This is just the beginning. I need all of you, and with the attitude you play in the yard today we can change everything”; “Once again, this is a gift for the entire Vietnamese people. When they set foot in Vietnam, everyone was proud of them"; "We are not afraid of anyone. There is no word "fear" in our dictionary. It is always courage, we must fight and not give up”; "As the teacher once said, the power lies within each individual, we just need to unleash it"...
Bricks for the future
Former coach of the Vietnam National Team, Philippe Troussier, also had a way to give such encouraging messages to his players, but his method and implementation were somewhat hasty, leading to pressure on the players - even at home. national team, so the effectiveness is not high.
Praise for Cristiano Roland also needs to be moderated at this time as it is only an initial success, but from the momentum created at this time, the Brazilian coach and the players themselves must continue to make efforts. Of course, also Vietnamese football in general, to continue and promote the new confidence that has formed in the young players. There must be a way, there must be a change so that the players' development is continuous instead of returning to the club and then having a "big loss" because of few opportunities to play.
With personal coach Cristiano Roland, Vietnamese football will likely continue to monitor developments to "advise" the national team. As a Brazilian, he builds his playing style based on technique but is still solid in defense. That's what the Vietnamese team needs.
