Japan's Emotional Meeting With Philippe Troussier Who Is Now Vietnam's Coach

Philippe Troussier, Vietnam coach, has an emotional bond with Japan who is the opponent in the 2023 Asian Cup (doc. AFC).

JAKARTA - Japan will face Vietnam in the inaugural match of Group D of the Asian Cup, Sunday, January 14, 2024, Al Thumama Stadium. The meeting will be emotional.

There is a long story going on between Japan and Philippe Troussier, the current Vietnam coach.

The French coach has an important role in Japan's revival on the world football stage. He took charge of the Blue Samurai after the 1998 World Cup to 2002.

Troussier brought the East Asian team to their second continental title when Japan beat Saudi Arabia in Beirut to win the 2000 Asian Cup. Previously, Japan had won the Asian Cup in the 1992 edition.

After that, the Blue Samurai move impressed and won praise. They became runners-up in the 2001 Confederation Cup after losing 0-1 to France.

In fact, Japan has never lost in the group stage. In detail, they won against Cameroon and Canada and the series against Brazil before beating Australia in the semifinals.

A year later it became a long-awaited event. Japan, which first qualified for the World Cup finals in 1998, hoped a lot when it hosted with South Korea at the 2002 World Cup.

Philippe Troussier answered the expectations by leading the Blue Samurai for the first time stepping into the knockout stages of the World Cup in their history.

They were unbeaten in the 2002 World Cup group stage by beating Russia and Tunisia after the draw against Belgium. Unfortunately, their steps were stopped at 16 after losing 0-1 to Turkey.

The Japanese public is well aware that since then Troussier has brought the national team to its next level. He made history by distributing stars such as Hiroshi Nanami, Naohiro Takahara, Hidetoshi Nakata, and Junichi Inamoto, as well as young talents including Shunsuke Nakamura and Shinji Ono.

However, Troussier left after the 2002 World Cup ended. He has raised Japan's football profile and inspired the younger generation who then helped the national team grow stronger over the next two decades.

After 22 years had passed, Troussier returned. This time he came as an opponent in the 2023 Asian Cup.

The meeting between Japan and Vietnam this time was quite emotional compared to the meeting in the 2019 Asian Cup. The Blue Samurai and Golden Star did meet earlier in the 2019 Asian Cup when they played the quarter-finals.

At that time, Japan won with a narrow score of 1-0. However, there was no emotional bond because Vietnam had not been trained by the Troussier.