VFF appoints Coach Cristiano Roland to lead the Vietnam U16 national team
As part of the preparation plan for the 2025 AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers, the Vietnam Football Federation has officially appointed Coach Cristiano Rocha Canedo Roland to lead the Vietnam U16 national team during the second training phase of 2024.
01/08/2024 09:53:35
Mr. Cristiano Roland, born in 1976 and of Brazilian nationality, is known as a former player for Hanoi FC, where he played a key role in the team winning the V.League title twice during the 2009-2013 period. After retiring from playing, Cristiano Roland transitioned into coaching, completing the AFC C coaching course organized by the Vietnam Football Federation in 2014. He then continued to enhance his expertise through UEFA coaching courses (C, B, A) from 2017 to 2023. During his pursuit of these courses, Cristiano Roland was entrusted with roles in youth development for teams ranging from U9 to U19 in clubs in Portugal and Luxembourg.
In Vietnam, Cristiano Roland served as an assistant coach for Becamex Binh Duong in 2021, head coach of the Hanoi U15 team in 2023, and most recently led the Hanoi U17 team to victory in the U17 National Championship – Thai Son Nam Cup 2024. Before being appointed as the head coach of the Vietnam U16 national team, he was also involved in the coaching staff of the U16 Vietnam team during the first training camp of 2024. This experience is seen as advantageous for him as he officially takes on the role of head coach for the U16 Vietnam team, leading them towards the 2025 AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers, which will take place in October.
To prepare for the 2025 AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers, Coach Cristiano Roland has selected and proposed a squad of 28 players for the Vietnam U16 national team. Half of these players have already gained experience at the 2024 ASEAN U16 Championship. The remaining players have shown impressive performances at the U17 National Championship – Thai Son Nam Cup 2024. Notable additions to the squad include Nguyen Van Thang Long, who was the best goalkeeper at the U17 National Championship – Thai Son Nam Cup 2024, and the top goal scorers of the tournament, Dang Cong Anh Kiet and Tran Hong Kien.
According to the schedule, the Vietnam U16 national team will begin their training camp at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center on August 1, 2024, in preparation for the international U16 friendly tournament – Peace Cup 2024, which will be held in China from August 16-20, 2024. The opponents for Coach Cristiano Roland’s team in this tournament will be China U16, Uzbekistan U16, and Japan U16. Following this valuable warm-up, the U16 Vietnam team will also be given the opportunity by the Vietnam Football Federation to train in Japan in mid-September, to complete their final preparations before competing in the 2025 AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers.
In the 2025 AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers, the Vietnam U16 national team (which will be referred to as U17 Vietnam at that time) will host Group I (scheduled to be held at Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho). They will face the following opponents: U17 Kyrgyzstan on October 23, U17 Myanmar on October 25, and U17 Yemen on October 27.
