The online community expresses regret for the former head coach of the Thailand national team

23/10/2025 08:57:00 ceshi

On October 21st, the Football Association of Thailand announced the dismissal of coach Masatada Ishii following a series of unsatisfactory results. However, Vietnamese netizens expressed sorrow that Mr. Ishii could not complete his "football revolution" in Thailand.

“Although the results were not great, he also helped the Thailand national team enter the world’s Top 100. Parting ways after two victories against Chinese Taipei is appropriate. Especially the latest 6-1 win over Chinese Taipei on their home ground,” Facebook user Nguyễn Khoa considered the decision to part with Coach Ishii after two wins reasonable.

“He aimed to revolutionize Thai football but faced strong backlash from the public and fans. Last year, Ishii dropped Chanathip and Bunmathan and was severely criticized online. This year, recalling Chanathip eased the situation but there was still criticism for not calling Bunmathan,” Facebook user Hưng Hoàng added in a comment.

“He is no different from CoachTroussier. He wanted to reform football but faced a very weak generation. However, his coaching was better,” Facebook user Nam Đỗ unexpectedly compared Coach Ishii to Philippe Troussier.

“It’s inevitable; when the results with Thailand are really poor, parting ways is reasonable. It seems the Thais don’t suit Japanese coaches. Before him, Nishino also failed with Thailand. Unfortunately, Thailand doesn’t favor Korean coaches much, so the next coach might be European.

The quality of players is also declining because the golden generation like Dangda, Chanathip, Bunmathan, Sarach… are past their peak. The next Thai coach will face many challenges,” Facebook user Steve Nguyen shared his opinion.

Many Vietnamese fans expressed regret that Coach Ishii’s contract was terminated early by the Thai Football Association. Photo: Hoàng Linh

“In general, it is very difficult for coaches to lead teams in Southeast Asia. Football mindset, methods, and systematic development are not at a high level. It’s a pity for Ishii because he was too quick to discard veterans and start a revolution too early when Thailand’s young players were not mature enough,” Facebook user Tung Pham commented.

“The coach was dismissed due to failure to pass World Cup qualifiers, poor performance in the 2024 AFF Cup, and losing to the 138th ranked Turkmenistan in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers,” Facebook user Nguyễn Bình pointed out the reasons for Masatada Ishii’s dismissal by the Thai Football Association.

“The internal strength is starting to decline severely. Even the young player groups keep losing continuously; replacing the coach is just a surface solution. He was talented, with a clear, coherent playing style balancing offense and defense. Thailand, like Indonesia and Malaysia, demands results too soon,” Facebook user Thạch Polycom expressed regret for Coach Ishii.

“Recently, playing 4-3-3 has been stable. The reason for dismissal being poor results is more reasonable. Previously, he played 4-1-4-1 which was somewhat unstable or the Thai players hadn’t adapted yet. While coaching Buriram United , he often used 3-4-3, 3-4-1-2 but did not apply those formations again with the Thailand national team ,” Facebook user Nguyễn Thành shared.

“Firing coaches in Southeast Asia is common. It’s a pity for Ishii because his tactics and strategies were clear but the young players didn’t meet expectations. Given more time, things would have improved a lot. Suphanat has been performing better under him,” Facebook user Hoài Vũ expressed regret.

Masatada Ishii no longer leading the Thailand national team is also an opportunity for some Vietnamese clubs to consider candidates for head coach positions. Meanwhile, the Football Association of Thailand has many tasks to handle before the SEA Games scheduled for December.

Comment (0)