Southeast Asian public opinion was astonished to learn that the Vietnamese U20 coach... 'hasn't coached a team in 16 years'.

Head coach of the Vietnam U20 team, Mr. Yukata Ikeuchi - Photo: VFF The above information was published by ASEAN Football, a Malaysian-based football website, when reporting on the Vietnamese U20 team's failure in the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Championship qualifiers. Accordingly, ASEAN Football assessed: "This is an unacceptable defeat for Vietnamese football," and provided specific information about coach Ikeuchi. Specifically, ASEAN Football stated: "Certainly, the majority of the criticism will be directed towards the Japanese head coach, Yutaka Ikeuchi." The 65-year-old strategist was recommended to Vietnam by the Japan Football Association (JFA), but is said to have not coached any team in official competitions for 16 years before taking on this role. According to official records from the Japan Football Association (JFA), Coach Ikeuchi was born in 1961 and was a Japanese national team player from 1981 to 1985. After ending his playing career in 1993, he transitioned to coaching and worked in the youth system of Nagoya Grampus. Ikeuchi became deeply involved with the JFA's training program in the 2000s. He was successively assigned to coach the Japan U15 team in 2007, the Japan U16 team in 2008, and the Japan U17 team in 2009. Notably, the Japanese U17 team under Ikeuchi participated in the 2009 FIFA U17 World Cup in Nigeria, producing a generation that would later become famous players such as Takashi Usami, Gaku Shibasaki, Kenyu Sugimoto, and Ryo Miyaichi. After 2009, Mr. Ikeuchi shifted his focus entirely to youth football management. JFA records show that he served as an instructor for the federation for an extended period, and from 2014 to 2017 as deputy director of youth development, before becoming the JFA's director of youth football development from 2018 to 2021. Mr. Ikeuchi subsequently returned to direct coaching at the academy level. From 2021 to 2022, he served as head coach of the U15 team and head of department at JFA Academy Fukushima EAST, and continued to lead the academy's U15 team from 2023 to 2024. In 2024, he also served as Director of Football at Wyvern FC, before being introduced to Vietnamese football by the JFA. To be fair, Ikeuchi didn't completely leave coaching during the period from 2009 to 2025, as he spent time coaching the U15 team at JFA Academy Fukushima East. However, this is just a job leading a youth team in an academy, far different from the job of a "real coach" - which, in the football world, is envisioned as managing professional clubs or international teams. The information shared by ASEAN Football immediately sparked controversy in Southeast Asian football circles. On the Thai sports forum Pantip, one user commented: "I have great respect for Japanese football, with the level they have shown the world. But Thai football also has lessons to learn from Japanese coaches." Japanese coaches have a unique working style that is not suitable for every footballing nation." Meanwhile, on ASEAN Football, an account named Supriah said: "A coach who hasn't managed teams for many years will fall behind, even if he is a talented young football manager. A puzzling choice by Vietnamese football." Source: https://tuoitre.vn/du-luan-dong-nam-a-ngo-ngang-khi-biet-hlv-u20-viet-nam-16-nam-khong-nam-doi-nao-100260906222843322.htm