Asisstant to Technical Director

Born in 1965 in Hanoi, Nguyễn Mạnh Cường is among the stars of Vietnam’s football “golden generation.” He was a household name among local (Vietnamese) football fans, as he was always the Vietnamese national team’s key midfielder back in the 1990s. As a sweeper/libero, Mạnh Cường invariably served as the Vietnam Team’s fail-safe bumper during its matches at the Sea Games or Tiger Cup.

Maturing from the The Cong football “incubator,” Mạnh Cường has always found happiness with the round ball. His career of shorts and jersey is not restricted to arenas across Vietnam and the Southeast Asia, but spans well beyond that, as he has never parted with his beloved ball even after retirement from his player’s career. He currently works as a coach with the Promotion Fund for Vietnamese Football Talent- PVF. The former national team midfielder’s composure and rich expertise has earned him trust and respect from his colleagues at PVF. Therefore, whenever PVF sends their trainees to tournaments, Mạnh Cường is usually trusted with momentous tasks as the head coach or delegation leader.

+ Career as a Footballer

- Advanced to Team 1 (First-grade Team) of the Military Football Club at 19

- Played for Thể Công from 1984 to 1997

- Former player of the Vietnam National Team from 1991 to 1997

+ Positions that he used to take: midfielder and Defender

+ Achievements as a footballer

- Named the champion at the Vietnamese National Football Champions League in 1987 and 1990 (playing for the Military Football Club)

- Named the runner-up at the Vietnamese National Football Champions League in 1984 and 1986 (playing for the Military Football Club)

- Bagged the silver medal at the 18th Sea Games in 1995 and the bronze medal at the Tiger Cup in 1996 (acting as the captain of the Vietnam National Team at these tournaments)

- Joined the Vietnam National Team in the World Cup 1994 qualifier and Asia Cup 1996 qualifier

- Named the Year’s Best footballer by Thể dục thể thao (Sports) Newspaper in 1993

+ Coaching achievements

- The Vietnam national under-20 football team was named the champion at the AFF U20 Youth Championship 2007 under his coaching

- The U19 Viettel team was named the champion at the Vietnam U19 Championship in 2009 under his coaching.

- Mạnh Cường was on the coaching panel for the U16 Vietnam Team at the AFC U16 Youth Championship final held in the United Arab Emirates in 2001.

- The U15 PVF team was named the champion at the 2012 Vietnam U15 Championship under his coaching.

- The U17 PVF team was named the champion at the 2015 Vietnam U17 Championship under his coaching.

- The U19 PVF team was named the champion at the 2015 Vietnam U19 Championship under his coaching.

- The PVF Second Team was named the champion at the 2016 Vietnamese National Football Second League under his coaching.

- The PVF U15 Team was named the runner-up at the Vietnam U15 Championship in 2014 under his coaching.

- The PVF U17 Team was named the runner-up at the Vietnam U17 Championship in 2016 under his coaching.

- The PVF U19 Team was named the runner-up at the Vietnam U19 Championship in 2017 under his coaching.

- The U17 PVF team was named the champion at the 2017 Vietnam U17 Championship under his coaching.

+ Coaching level: Has C, B, and A coaching certifications conferred by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), as well as a Level-1 strength and conditioning coach certification.

+ Title at PVF: Deputy head of the Coaching Panel