Despite public assumptions, former Khanh Hoa coach Hoang Anh Tuan has turned down the opportunity to coach the national football team at the last minute.

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan (right) turned down national football team job

Tuan instead said that he was keen on working for Haiphong Football Club.

He began training at Haiphong on January 6, despite having yet to officially sign a contract with the club.

Tuan told the press that the two sides were speeding up negotiations to reach an agreement in the next few days.

“I met the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF). However, we couldn’t reach agreement.

The VFF has been struggling to find a coach for the national squad in recent months.

Hoang Anh Tuan’s rejection left VFF Vice Chairman’s Pham Van Tuan looking rather foolish as he had set a press conference date for Hoang Anh Tuan to take over the national football team.

Le Hung Dung and Pham Ngoc Vien, VFF’s Vice Chairmen said that there had been no final decision on offering a contract to coach Hoang Anh Tuan.

“We’ll come to a final decision after the VFF’s regular meeting on January 8,” Dung said.

There have been arguments among VFF members over selecting a domestic or foreign coach for the national football team.

Those who support selecting a foreign coach said a domestic coach would not be capable of leading the national squad and that Hoang Anh Tuan was not a serious candidate.

Meanwhile, those who favour selecting a domestic coach said that several domestic coaches were equally as capable as foreign trainers. Under a series of foreign coaches over the past 20 years, the national squad had only registered a brief period of success under Henrique Calisto.