Hai Phong fires coach Riedl



Austrian coach Alfred Riedl’s coaching career at Hai Phong was cut short after only three games when he was fired Monday morning.The northern football club Hai Phong sacked coach Alfred Riedl Monday morning after suffering a 2-0 home loss to Nam Dinh at Lach Tray Stadium on Sunday.
With the 1-0 away loss to Da Nang at Chi Lang Stadium in the opener, Hai Phong’s second loss after three one-game-rounds of Vietnam’s top-flight V-League was the last straw for club managers and fans.
Club owner Le Van Thanh said, “We are not being ruthless. But we are really worried with the club conceding two goals at home. It was a painful defeat. Before the clash against Nam Dinh, we had planned to sack Riedl if Hai Phong didn’t play well. I was disappointed by the performance.”
Reidl had only signed a contract with the club in October last year.
“We have good domestic and foreign players but they haven’t played well as a team. We might as well say goodbye to Riedl. If we had continued to let him stay in the position, I am afraid Hai Phong would suffer more losses.”
Thanh explained the contract with Riedl said the Austrian had the right to choose his own assistants, so the club also fired assistants Hoang Gia, Le Tuan Long and Pham Van Hung.
Reidl shocked
Speaking to Thanh Nien on the phone, Vietnam’s former national team coach expressed his shock at his sudden sacking.
The Austrian coach said he couldn’t understand the way the club managers dealt with the problem.
He said four men were sacked in just two hours coming as a total shock to all of them.
Stranger still, he said, Thanh met him after the Sunday loss and comforted him by saying that the defeat to Nam Dinh was no big deal and that there was still a long way to go in the league.
Reidl said Thanh had then told him that Hai Phong would let him stay until the end of the tournament.
Riedl admitted he was responsible when the team lost but the players’ performances were not bad and they had one win already.
Hai Phong had the right to do what they wanted but shouldn’t have dismissed him when the situation was not very bad for the club, the sacked coach said, adding they should have been more patient.
According to the Austrian, the club had difficulties when he agreed to be coach, but the trouble was more than he had imagined.
He explained that the players were in much higher spirits last year because of their new promotion from First Division and their higher salaries, but this year they had less ambition while the club managers were pushing heavily for a top season.
Reidl might use the unexpected free time to return to Austria for a week or so before looking for work again. He said he and his wife want to live in Vietnam despite many painful experiences which have made him question why he loves it so much.