We don’t know how you feel about this, but YouTube seems one of the best platforms at the moment to give you football depth around several themes. Asian football makes no exception, although the AFC could up their game a bit around their channel. Anyway, this platform gives as well pundits, and lovers of the game to expose their POV on the growth of the continental movement.
And we know how Asian football is a rich tapestry. One is made of the “rising nations”, the one you can find mostly on the southeast side of the continent. It’s not an accident if we talked to ASEAN experts back in 2021, to understand if the Thai experiment in J.League could have been replicated with other nations. And Vietnam is surely one of the most interesting movements in that space.
On the other hand, you have powerhouses – with the AFC mostly sending the same teams in the last years. Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia – but mostly Japan, who are imposing themselves clearly as the side to beat. And that came even stronger as a concept since the Samurai Blue have been going through a wonderful streak of results – winning all the last 10 games and scoring 45 goals in the process.
In the middle between these two movements, one man is standing. No, it’s not Nguyen Quang Hai – although it would have been nice to see him in J.League. No, it’s not Philippe Troussier – although he’s become the head coach of Vietnam after winning the Asian Cup with Japan in 2000. That man has been a YouTube treasure, intertwining witty humour and a great curiosity for every angle of the football world.
His world passion for the great sport is something that should be spread. It resonates with the person writing this article, so the floor goes to Maxwell, who’s been active on many football topics, but he’s here to speak about Vietnam, Japan, the recent adventure he had over Asia (invited by the J.League), the perspective for his beloved national team, and finally the love he feels for the Japanese football world as well.
J.League Regista wanted to hear him out especially because Vietnam and Japan will face each other in the debut of Group D on Sunday. It’s not gonna be the first meeting between the two, but it’s an essential opener for both teams to start properly the competition. We’ve talked with Maxwell about that and much, much more.
Vietnam will debut against Japan, starting from the same point they left in the Asian Cup 2019. Do you think things have improved in these five years?
That quarter-final vs Japan 4 years ago gives me flashbacks (laughs). Honestly, I think our individual talent has improved since 2019, especially since we had one of the youngest squads in that Asian Cup. We’re also constantly seeing an influx of younger players with promise. But we’re in a weird period where we still don’t know what to expect from our new coach Philippe Troussier (who was the manager during Japan’s 2000 Asian Cup run) despite him being in charge for almost a year now.
Another issue is that some of the stars from 2019 aren’t anywhere near the quality they once were. Nguyen Quang Hai had a stint in France that completely messed with his development. Doan Van Hau was 19 in the last tournament and impressed a lot, but he’s been suffering numerous long-term injuries, and he’s out for this tournament. And Nguyen Cong Phuong – who once was bagging us goals in the Asian Cup – doesn’t even get call-ups now. Definition of wasted potential.
Injuries will definitely play a role in this – what kind of expectations do you have for the group?
I honestly have very low expectations for Vietnam due to the numerous injuries to our starters. We’re entering this tournament with five of our starters out due to injury. It sucks because I would have loved to see players like striker Nguyen Tien Linh and midfielder Nguyen Hoang Duc, who never got to see the spotlight in 2019.
This all said, Troussier has been experimenting and using V League youngsters like attacking midfielder Khuat Van Khang. So really my only hope – besides the highly unlikely chance of advancing to the knockout stage – is that some of our youngsters can break out against Asia’s best. If I had to make a prediction, I’d say we finish third in our group, but an inferior goal difference will send us home.
You’ve been recently to Japan. The vlog will surely be out soon, but if you have to try to recap the experience, what did it leave you?
Japan has been a dream of mine for my entire life but especially the last 2 years when I went on an Abroad in Japan binge. So being welcomed by the J League was a dream come true. But the whole time I was there I could never wrap around my head the fact I was visiting the country I’ve always wanted to experience, but honestly, I like that. I only started travelling in 2022 and left the country for the first time in 2023 so I still feel like a little kid entranced by his surroundings anytime I go somewhere for the first time.
But to sum up that trip, it was everything and more. I never had a bad meal, I loved getting lost in the streets of numerous cities, everything around me was fascinating. I went to a ton of football matches as well: Osaka Derby, Kofu v Kumamoto, and the Levain Cup final. But the game that was most special to me was Vegalta Sendai against Machida Zelvia.
Vegalta and its fanbase hold a special place in my heart, because I made a video about the story of Vegalta fans and the impact the Tohoku earthquake had on them and how they reacted. I’ve always had a special place in my heart for the stories of those who rebuilt their towns because it reminds us how strong the human will is when we work together.
So Vegalta’s story made me fall in love with its fans and the club. I’ll never forget when I was in the stadium and they started singing Take Me Home Country Roads by John Denver, it was an atmosphere I always wanted to experience in person and it was just special.
I didn’t spend much time in Sendai but it made me realize how much I want to discover more of Tohoku the next time I do go back. Whenever I do, I hope I can make some small trips to towns that once were swept away entirely but now have been rebuilt by a strong dedicated community, towns like Minamisanriku.
Thinking about interactions, the Vietnamese player you’d like to see in J.League (and where maybe) and the Japanese player you’d like to see in the V-League.
Right now I don’t think there’s anyone that’s good enough to play in the J League but hypothetically I could see Nguyen Hoang Duc getting some decent experience in J3. Would looove to see him play for Ryukyu so I can cop a shirt with his name on the back of it.
A Japanese player I’d love to see go to a V League club is Yuma Suzuki, his shithousery would be incredible for a country that has that perfect mix of shithousery and heartwarming hospitality. Now if we’re talking J League player? Peter Utaka 200%. Love that guy, I tried to ask the J League if I could meet him after the Kofu game but didn’t work out.
Japan seems now the best team in Asia and J.League seems the most watched league in the continent. I always thought South East Asia could have been the zone to connect to for the championship (e.g. Thai players featuring in Japan, Ifran Bachdim and Lê Công Vinh having a stint in J2, both Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo). Do you still see that association?
So I spent about 11 days in Thailand in a cafe where the social media team for J League international works. Not only is there that connection but there’s a whole subculture there. Just recently they did a watch party for the last match day (obviously being Urawa-Consadole the match with the highest crowd) and it was super awesome to witness both the preparations and the event itself.
If we’re talking about players from ASEAN going to Japan, however, I think Thai League players are about the only ones who can make an impact. Everyone else is still in that stage of “market signing” and that’s it. How I usually see the stepping stones of an ideal V League prospect with no greedy agent is this:
1. V League
2. Thai League or A League maybe
3. J League
We can only thank Maxwell for the time he’s given us. We wish him the best – the hope is that going to cover (and follow the J.League-sphere) with this world spirit of opening the mind to other cultures and football movements. You can follow him on many platforms, but we leave here YouTube, X/Twitter, and Instagram.
