Mai Đức Chung
{{Short description|Vietnamese football manager}}
{{BLP sources|date=September 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Mai Đức Chung
| image = Maiducchung.jpg
| caption = Mai Đức Chung in 2023
| full_name = Mai Đức Chung{{cite web |url=https://fdp.fifa.org/assetspublic/ce93/pdf/SquadLists-English.pdf |title=FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 – Squad List: Vietnam (VIE) |publisher=FIFA |page=31 |date=11 July 2023 |access-date=11 July 2023}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1951|6|21}}
| birth_place = Hanoi, North Vietnam
| position = Midfielder,{{Worldfootball.net|mai-djuc-chung}} utility player
| years1 = 1975
| clubs1 = Xe ca Hà Nội
| years2 = 1975–1984
| clubs2 = Tổng cục Đường sắt
| nationalyears1 = 1981–1984
| nationalteam1 = Vietnam
| nationalcaps1 = 5
| nationalgoals1 = 0
| manageryears1 = 1997
| managerclubs1 = Vietnam Women
| manageryears2 = 2003–2005
| managerclubs2 = Vietnam Women
| manageryears3 = 2007
| managerclubs3 = Vietnam (assistant)
| manageryears4 = 2008
| managerclubs4 = Vietnam U22
| manageryears5 = 2009–2010
| managerclubs5 = Becamex Bình Dương
| manageryears6 = 2010–2011
| managerclubs6 = Navibank Sài Gòn
| manageryears7 = 2012
| managerclubs7 = Vietnam U19
| manageryears8 = 2013–2014
| managerclubs8 = Thanh Hóa
| manageryears9 = 2014
| managerclubs9 = Vietnam Women
| manageryears10 = 2015
| managerclubs10 = Vietnam U22
| manageryears11 = 2016–2023
| managerclubs11 = Vietnam Women
| manageryears12 = 2017
| managerclubs12 = Vietnam (interim)
| manageryears13 = 2024–
| managerclubs13 = Vietnam Women
}}
Mai Đức Chung (born 21 June 1951) is a Vietnamese former football player and coach, currently serving as the manager of the Vietnam women's national football team. As of 2023, he is the oldest head coach of any national football team—men's or women's—at the FIFA World Cup.{{Cite web |last= |date=2023-07-21 |title=Mai Duc Chung, the oldest coach in World Cup history |url=https://en.vietnamplus.vn/mai-duc-chung-the-oldest-coach-in-world-cup-history/259791.vnp |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=VietnamPlus |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2023-07-20 |title=Records that could be broken at Australia & New Zealand 2023 |url=https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/tournaments/womens/womensworldcup/australia-new-zealand2023/articles/records-milestones-stats-statistics-that-could-be-broken-womens-world-cup-2023 |website=FIFA |quote=Vietnam’s Mai Duc Chung, who turned 73 last month, is set to become the oldest coach in World Cup history.}}
Playing career
Mai Đức Chung was a versatile player who could play in multiple positions. His preferred positions were midfielder or striker, but when needed, he could also play as a defender. During his peak, he was nicknamed "Chung Athletics" due to his tireless running ability. Starting his career as a player, he received offers from prominent clubs of the time, such as Tổng cục Đường sắt and Công an Hà Nội. However, he chose to play for a lower-tier club, Xe ca Hà Nội, which is also the origin of his nickname, Chung "Xe ca." In September 1975, he joined Tổng cục Đường sắt, where he stayed until his retirement. With the club, he won his first national championship in 1980. He was called up to the national team between 1981 and 1982 to compete abroad. Mai Đức Chung retired from football in 1984.
Managerial and coaching career
=Vietnam national youth teams=
For a long time, Mai Đức Chung served as the top assistant to coach Alfred Riedl in the men's national football team. In 2007, when Mr. Riedl was absent due to undergoing kidney transplant surgery, Mai Đức Chung took charge of the Vietnam Olympic men's football team during the second and third rounds of the 2008 Beijing Olympic men's football qualifiers.
After losing the semi-final match at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games against the Myanmar U-23 team, the VFF fired Alfred Riedl, and Mai Đức Chung replaced him as the head coach. He led the Vietnam U-23 team to the bronze medal match against the Singapore U-23 team, but they lost 0–5. This remains the Vietnam U-23 team's record defeat.
In 2008, the VFF appointed him as head coach of the Vietnam U-22 team. In October 2008, he led the Vietnam U-22 football team to victory in the 2008 Merdeka Cup in Malaysia, drawing 0–0 with the Malaysian national team after two extra times and winning 6–5 in a penalty shootout.[http://vnexpress.net/GL/The-thao/2008/10/3BA07C92/ U22 Việt Nam đoạt Cúp Merdeka sau loạt luân lưu], VnExpress, 25 October 2008
=Becamex Binh Duong=
In May 2009, Mai Đức Chung was unexpectedly appointed head coach of Becamex Bình Dương football club.{{Cite web |url=http://www.thanhnien.com.vn/TheThao/Pages/200920/20090511100337.aspx |access-date=17 May 2009|title=hlv Mai Đức Chung dẫn dắt Bình Dương}} His achievement during his first stint in charge was leading the team to the semi-finals of the 2009 AFC Cup, marking the best performance by a Vietnamese football club in the continental competition to date. At the end of the 2009 V-League season, Bình Dương finished in second place.
In April 2010, after the first 8 rounds of the 2010 V-League season, the leadership of Becamex Bình Dương was dissatisfied with the team's performance, as they were in 4th place on the table at the time. As a result, they fired him.{{Cite web |last=ONLINE |first=TUOI TRE |date=2010-04-11 |title=Bình Dương sa thải HLV Mai Đức Chung |url=https://tuoitre.vn/binh-duong-sa-thai-hlv-mai-duc-chung-869139.htm |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=TUOI TRE ONLINE |language=vi}}
In 2015, Mai Đức Chung returned to Becamex Bình Dương in the middle of the season to replace his predecessor, Lê Thụy Hải, as the team's technical director. Under his guidance, Bình Dương quickly regained their form and successfully defended the V.League championship, securing their second consecutive title and fourth in the club's history. Additionally, they won the 2015 National Cup for the first time.
=Navibank Saigon=
Shortly after being fired by Becamex Bình Dương, he became the coach of Navibank Saigon.{{Cite web |title=hlv Mai Đức Chung chính thức chèo lái Navibank.SG|url=http://dantri.com.vn/c26/s400-394890/hlv-mai-duc-chung-chinh-thuc-cheo-lai-navibanksg.htm|publisher=Báo điện tử Dân trí |date=10 May 2010|access-date =11 May 2010 }} Under his guidance, Navibank Saigon won the 2011 National Cup championship. At the end of January 2012, he was appointed head coach of the Vietnam national U-19 team.[http://thethao.thanhnien.com.vn//pages/20120131/hlv-mai-duc-chung-dan-dat-u-19.aspx hlv Mai Đức Chung dẫn dắt U.19] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205033653/http://thethao.thanhnien.com.vn/pages/20120131/hlv-mai-duc-chung-dan-dat-u-19.aspx |date=5 February 2012 }}, Báo Thanh Niên, 30 June 2012.
=Thanh Hoa=
In early February 2013, he officially became the head coach of Thanh Hóa Football Club after the club unexpectedly fired coach Triệu Quang Hà.[http://thethao.thanhnien.com.vn/pages/20130203/hlv-mai-duc-chung-dan-dat-thanh-hoa.aspx hlv Mai Đức Chung dẫn dắt Thanh Hóa], Báo Thanh Niên, 3 February 2013. During his time there, he became involved in a controversy following a clash with a Đồng Tâm Long An fan after a 0–2 loss to Đồng Tâm Long An in the 2014 V.League season.{{Cite web|url=https://tuoitre.vn/news-806748.htm|title=HLV Mai Đức Chung:"Tôi không đánh CĐV Long An"|date=21 July 2014|website=TUOI TRE ONLINE|language=vi|access-date=12 February 2022}} Disagreeing with the club's leadership over a contract issue, coach Mai Đức Chung decided to part ways with the team with just three rounds remaining in the 2014 season,{{Cite web|url=https://thanhnien.vn/the-thao/content/MzI5NDk=.html|title=HLV Mai Đức Chung xin từ chức ở Thanh Hóa|date=21 July 2014|website=Báo Thanh Niên|language=vi|access-date=12 February 2022}} coinciding with his return to the national women's team.
=Vietnam women's national football team=
Mai Đức Chung was the first head coach of the Vietnamese women's national team in 1997,{{Cite web|url=https://thethaovanhoa.vn/news-20220209004153350.htm|title='Gã thợ hàn' Mai Đức Chung|date=9 February 2022|website=thethaovanhoa.vn|language=vi|access-date=12 February 2022}}{{Cite web|url=https://vtc.vn/hlv-mai-duc-chung-71-tuoi-van-chay-xe-may-nang-ta-50-kg-ar660880.html|title=HLV Mai Đức Chung: 71 tuổi vẫn chạy xe máy, nâng tạ 50 kg|date=11 February 2022|website=Báo điện tử VTC News|language=vi|access-date=12 February 2022}} with his first success being the women's football bronze medal at the 1997 Southeast Asian Games. He and the team won the first two SEA Games gold medals in 2003 and 2005 before taking a long break from leading the women's team.
In 2014, in preparation for the women's team to attend the 2014 Asian Games, the VFF hired Mr. Chung to manage the team. Under Mai Đức Chung, the Vietnamese women's team reached the semi-finals and finished 4th at the 2014 ASIAD, their best achievement at the Games to date.{{Cite web|url=https://zingnews.vn/zingnews-post462540.html|title=Ông Chung xe ca không phải họ… May|language=vi|access-date=12 February 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://vov.vn/the-thao/tuyen-nu-viet-nam-o-asiad-2014-2-thang-cho-mot-ky-tich-354941.vov|title=Tuyển nữ Việt Nam ở ASIAD 2014: 2 tháng cho một kỳ tích|date=30 September 2014 |language=vi|access-date=22 May 2022}} His successes with the women's team continued as they won gold medals at the 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2023 Southeast Asian Games, along with the 2019 AFF Cup title.{{Cite web|url=https://vnexpress.net/hlv-mai-duc-chung-nguoi-thap-lua-cho-nu-viet-nam-4466455.html|title=HLV Mai Đức Chung - người thắp lửa cho nữ Việt Nam - VnExpress|language=vi|access-date=22 May 2022}}{{Cite web |title=Vietnamese women’s football team wins AFF championship |url=https://en.qdnd.vn/culture-sports/sports/vietnamese-women-s-football-team-wins-aff-championship-508992 |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=en.qdnd.vn |language=vi-vn}}
However, Mai Đức Chung's career with the national women's football team reached its pinnacle in early 2022. After defeating Thailand and Chinese Taipei in a series of play-off matches for the 2023 World Cup at the 2022 Asian Cup, the Vietnamese women's team secured the only remaining direct ticket to the World Cup. This was the first time in history that a Vietnamese national football team, men or women, had qualified for the world's biggest tournament.{{Cite web|url=https://tuoitre.vn/news-20220208102300036.htm|title=HLV Mai Đức Chung: Một đời tận hiến cho bóng đá Việt Nam|date=8 February 2022 |language=vi|access-date=22 May 2022}} More importantly, this achievement came after his team faced numerous challenges before and throughout the tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/womens/womensworldcup/australia-new-zealand2023/news/origin1904-p.cxm.fifa.comworld-cup-first-for-jubilant-vietnam|title=World Cup first for jubilant Vietnam|website=www.fifa.com|language=en|access-date=11 February 2022}}{{Cite web|url=https://laodong.vn/bong-da/hai-dieu-uoc-cua-ong-chung-xe-ca-1001724.ldo|title=Hai điều ước của ông Chung "xe ca"|date=7 February 2022 |language=vi|access-date=12 February 2022}}
After achieving unprecedented success with the women's team, Mai Đức Chung expressed his desire to step down and not participate in the upcoming 2023 World Cup. At the time of his rumored withdrawal, he was over 70 years old and considered himself unfit to handle the pressure of important matches or tournaments.{{Cite web|url=https://thethaovanhoa.vn/news-20220207133856572.htm|title=HLV Mai Đức Chung xin thôi làm HLV trưởng tuyển nữ Việt Nam|language=vi|access-date=12 February 2022}}
Despite this, Mai Đức Chung continued to lead the Vietnam national team at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in New Zealand, setting the record for the oldest coach in World Cup history at the age of 73. He surpassed Otto Rehhagel, who was 71 when he led the Greece team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
He continued to lead the Vietnam national team until 2025.
=Vietnam men's national football team=
In 2017, after Nguyễn Hữu Thắng resigned as head coach of the men's national football team and the national U23 team following the U23 team's elimination from the group stage of men's football at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games, the Vietnam Football Federation asked Mai Đức Chung to serve as interim coach for the men's team during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifying round against Cambodia.{{cite web|url=https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/ong-mai-duc-chung-lam-hlv-tam-quyen-cua-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-20170827173646932.htm|title=Ông Mai Đức Chung làm HLV tạm quyền của đội tuyển Việt Nam|website=Báo điện tử Dân Trí|date=27 August 2017 |language=vi|access-date=22 May 2022}} This was the second time he accepted the role as interim coach of the national men's football team. He led the team to victories in both Asian Cup qualifying matches against Cambodia, both home and away, helping the team move from 3rd place to 2nd in the group.{{cite web|url=https://vov.vn/the-thao/bong-da/dt-viet-nam-5-0-campuchia-loi-chia-tay-hoan-hao-cua-hlv-mai-duc-chung-681343.vov|title=ĐT Việt Nam 5-0 Campuchia: Lời chia tay hoàn hảo của HLV Mai Đức Chung|date=11 October 2017 |language=vi|access-date=22 May 2022}} After the VFF appointed Park Hang-seo as head coach of both the men's national team and the national U23 team, Mai Đức Chung returned to his position as head coach of the women's national team.{{cite web|url=http://vff.org.vn/tin-tuc-vff-12/hlv-park-hang-seo-chinh-thuc-nam-quyen-dan-dat-dtqg-U23-va-olympic-qg-29471.html|title=HLV Park Hang Seo chính thức nắm quyền dẫn dắt ĐTQG, U23 và Olympic QG|access-date=11 October 2017|website=VFF}}
Personal life
Mai Đức Chung was born in Ngọc Hà Flower Village, Hanoi, but his hometown is in Hưng Yên. His birth year is 1951, although many of his peers believe he was born in 1949.[https://anninhthudo.vn/the-thao/mai-duc-chung-ong-thay-doc-nhat-vo-nhi-lang-bong-viet/740337.antd Mai Đức Chung- ông thầy 'độc nhất vô nhị' làng bóng Việt] He was the second child in a family of six sisters. As a child, he often received tickets to attend football matches, thanks to his mother working at Hàng Đẫy Stadium. The matches there, especially the confrontations between the North Vietnamese team and teams from the socialist bloc, such as China PR, DPR Korea, and Mongolia, sparked his passion for football at an early age.{{Cite web|url=https://cand.com.vn/giai-tri-the-thao/HLV-Mai-Duc-Chung-Xe-ca-hay-Xe-chua-chay-deu-tot-i547331/|title=HLV Mai Đức Chung: "Xe ca" hay "Xe chữa cháy" đều tốt!|access-date=12 February 2022}} In 1964, Chung enrolled in the preparatory class at Tu Sơn University of Physical Education and Sports and graduated in 1972.
Mai Đức Chung married Phạm Thị Ngọc Uyên (born in 1952), a primary school teacher, in 1977. The couple has two sons, one of whom is Mai Quang Hưng (born in 1981), a former Vietnam U-19 player who later became a star player for the Vietnam national team, alongside players such as Dương Hồng Sơn, Huy Hoàng, and Việt Thắng.{{Cite web|url=https://danviet.vn/con-trai-hlv-mai-duc-chung-ke-ky-niem-chan-trai-voi-thay-alfred-riedl-20200908221936476.htm|title=Con trai HLV Mai Đức Chung kể kỷ niệm "chân trái" với thầy Alfred Riedl|language=vi|access-date=12 February 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://vietnamnet.vn/vn/doi-song/gia-dinh/nguoi-vo-tao-khang-kin-tieng-dung-sau-thanh-cong-cua-hlv-mai-duc-chung-814260.html|title=Người vợ tào khang kín tiếng đứng sau thành công của HLV Mai Đức Chung|language=vi|access-date=12 February 2022}}
Honours
= Player =
- V.League 1: 1980
= Manager =
- V.League 1: 2009
- Vietnamese National Football Cup: 2015
- Vietnamese National Football Cup: 2011
Vietnam national under-23 football team
- Merdeka Cup: 2008
Vietnam women's national football team
- SEA Games: Gold medal (2003, 2005, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023)
- AFF Women's Championship: 2019
- Asian Games: 4th place (2014)
= Individual =
- Second-class Labor Order (2019)
- First-class Labor Order (2022)
- Hero of Labor (2025){{Cite web |last=News |first=V. T. C. |date=2025-02-14 |title=Coach Mai Duc Chung was awarded the title of Hero of Labor. |url=https://www.vietnam.vn/en/hlv-mai-duc-chung-duoc-phong-tang-danh-hieu-anh-hung-lao-dong |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=Vietnam.vn - Nền tảng quảng bá Việt Nam |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{NFT coach}}
- {{Soccerway coach|188134}}
{{Current managers of AFC women's national teams}}
{{Vietnam squad 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup}}
{{Vietnam squad 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup}}
{{Vietnam squad 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mai, Duc Chung}}
Category:Footballers from Hanoi
Category:Sportspeople from Hanoi
Category:Vietnamese men's footballers
Category:Men's association football midfielders
Category:Men's association football utility players
Category:Vietnamese football managers