Former Vietnam national team striker gets unprecedented opportunity in V.League

Nguyen Viet Thang, a former Vietnam international forward, is set to lead a club in the V.League for the first time, following Dong Nai's decision to continue placing their faith in him for the 2026/27 campaign.

This marks a special milestone in Nguyen Viet Thang's coaching career, as the ex-Vietnam striker gets his first opportunity to guide a team in the top-flight V.League competition. After a successful season with Dong Nai, the 1981-born manager continues to earn the trust of the club's leadership to stay on for the highest level of Vietnamese football in the 2026/27 season.

Recently, Dong Nai Club confirmed that they will keep placing their trust in coach Nguyen Viet Thang following their championship win in the 2025/26 National First Division. The Southeast region team secured promotion early, one round before the end, and finished the season in first place. This success led to Viet Thang being retained to prepare for the biggest challenge of his coaching career.

In an official announcement, Dong Nai's leadership praised the professional competence and team-building ability of the 45-year-old strategist. The club believes Viet Thang can inspire, create an identity, and help Dong Nai compete in the V.League. This decision also put an end to earlier speculation that the team might seek a foreign coach for their first season after promotion.

Before entering the coaching profession, Nguyen Viet Thang was one of Vietnam football's standout forwards and contributed to the national team's victory in the 2008 AFF Cup. After retiring in 2014, he began working in youth development at PVF before moving on to serve as an assistant coach at SHB Da Nang for several seasons. His years of accumulating experience in different environments helped Viet Thang gradually prove his abilities on the sidelines.

In 2022, he took on his first head coach role when he led Can Tho in the First Division. During the 2023-2024 period, Viet Thang became an assistant to coach Philippe Troussier for the Vietnam national team and U23 Vietnam. Although his time working with the French tactician was not long, it was still a valuable experience that allowed him to access modern coaching methods at the national team level.

After leaving the national team, Viet Thang continued to make his mark at Phu Dong Ninh Binh, helping the club win the 2024/25 First Division title with an almost perfect record. Despite not being retained when Ninh Binh moved up to the V.League, he quickly proved his worth by winning a second consecutive First Division championship with Dong Nai. Now, a new challenge awaits the former Vietnam international as he steps onto the V.League stage for the first time as head coach.