World Cup winner to coach Vietnamese national futsal team
VOV.VN - The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) announced Diego Raul Giustozzi, a futsal World Cup winning coach, as the new head coach of the Vietnamese national futsal team at a ceremony held on August 9 in Hanoi.
Giustozzi, 44, is a former futsal player for Argentina who began a professional coaching career in the sport in 2013.
His most notable success was leading Argentina to victory at the 2016 Futsal World Cup in Colombia after beating Russia 5-4 in the final. Coincidently, Vietnam first competed in the finals of the 2016 Futsal World Cup in Colombia where they made it to the quarter-final stage.
Giustozzi also coached Argentina to a silver medal at the South American Games in 2014 and to third place in the Continental Cup held in the same year.
At club level, Giustozzi took charge of Spanish side ElPozo Murcia FC in 2018 and led them to second place in the Futsal UEFA Champions League in the 2019-20 season.
The VFF have spent the whole year of 2021 negotiating with the Argentine coach to entice him into working in Vietnam.
Giustozzi is taking the helm from August 1, 2022 to September 30, 2024. He is expected to lead the team up at the upcoming 2022 AFC Futsal Asian Cup which will take place in Kuwait between September 25 and October 20.
Vietnam have been drawn in the same group as the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, and defending champions Japan. Giustozzi is hoping to help the side gain a positive result at the regional tournament and qualify for the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup.
Earlier coached by Pham Minh Giang, the team managed to make the last eight for the second consecutive time at the 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup.