Vietnamese football and the story of coaching chairs

Nearly at the same time in late May, two significant developments unfolded: Ninh Binh inked a three-year deal with head coach Chu Dinh Nghiem, and the iconic Park Hang-seo assumed the demanding role at Kanchanaburi Power FC in Thailand's second tier. Although the individuals and circumstances vary, the narratives of these two managers, each having soared alongside Vietnamese football, intersect in certain ways.

After an ambitious push to "win the championship right after promotion" fell short, Ninh Binh FC appears to be taking a different path. They have chosen Chu Dinh Nghiem—a strong-willed, outspoken leader with an almost flawless résumé for a club aiming to achieve more than just a V-League title.

In terms of pure achievements in the professional V-League era, Chu Dinh Nghiem is the most successful domestic coach in the history of Vietnamese club football: three V-League championships (2010, 2013, 2016 with Hanoi FC), two National Cups, and he once led the capital side to the AFC Cup semi-finals.

No domestic or foreign coach in the V-League era has accumulated more club-level honors than him. Yet what Coach Nghiem is best known for is his approach to building a playing style—from Hanoi FC to Hai Phong. It’s a brand of football with a clear tactical identity, evident in how his teams approach matches, even though the two clubs had different resources.

By granting him full technical authority—covering playing style, personnel, and transfer plans—Ninh Binh has demonstrated a long-term development vision for the club in this new phase. This is a story about a team's identity.

This is something Vietnamese football circles have long talked about but few have truly achieved at the club level. Identity, though abstract, simply means: when fans see a style of play and recognize the team; when new players instantly understand their role because the system existed before they arrived.

Looking back at the V-League, the link between coaching instability and inconsistent results is almost an unbroken rule. In just 24 matchdays this season, Ninh Binh FC has already used four different coaches. HAGL, Becamex Ho Chi Minh City, Thanh Hoa—familiar names in V-League history—are notorious for changing coaches like changing shirts, and the result is always aimless drifting without a solid foundation.

On the other hand, truly ambitious V-League clubs understand that the coach's seat is the key investment, not expensive foreign players. Hanoi FC, The Cong Viettel, and CAHN all sought innovation through foreign experts. Not every choice has succeeded, but these three heavily funded clubs still show persistence in building a playing philosophy capable of elevating the team's level beyond domestic borders.

The story of legendary Park Hang-seo's return to coaching offers a valuable reference point.

Kanchanaburi Power FC, promoted to the Thai League last season, went through four coaches and eventually finished 16th, suffering relegation. Their first step toward revival was not buying players but persuading Coach Park Hang-seo to take charge, with the goal of elevating the club.

Beyond financial factors, there must have been compelling reasons for a man wise enough to step away at his peak, like Coach Park Hang-seo, to agree to this adventure in the Thai First Division.

The coach's chair may be the same, but the paths sometimes differ—even when the destination is the same...