French footballer and coach
Philippe Omar Troussier
,
[1]
(
French pronunciation:
[filip
t?usje]
; born 21 March 1955) is a French former
association football
player who was most recently the manager of the
Vietnam national football team
.
After a modest playing career as a
defender
within the French leagues, he moved into management where he started out within the lower echelons of French football, however it was his move to
Ivorian
team
ASEC Mimosas
where he started to distinguish himself as a manager after winning several league titles with them.
[2]
This would soon see him have a long association with
African
football and particularly their national teams, with
Ivory Coast
,
Nigeria
,
South Africa
and
Burkina Faso
being teams he managed. His international management career would continue with
Japan
where he had a successful spell with them by winning the
2000 AFC Asian Cup
. Since then, he has returned to club management.
Playing career
[
edit
]
Troussier started his career in football as a player and would go on to become a professional with
French Division 2
football club
Angouleme
in the
1976?77 league season
. The following campaign he would leave to join
Red Star 93
, however his stay at the club was brief and he moved to
Rouen
. After several seasons with Rouen, Troussier's last professional club was
Stade de Reims
whom he played for until 1983. After having spent his whole professional career in the second division he moved into management.
Coaching career
[
edit
]
Early coaching career
[
edit
]
Troussier soon moved into management after gaining his coaching licences and achieved his first coaching position with the
French Football Federation
where he was allowed to manage a
National football centre
football club called Institut National du Football de Vichy or more commonly known as
INF Vichy
. The team were allowed to participate in the third tier and given exemption from promotion or relegation so the young players could develop. In his time with the team he led them into the 1983?84 league season where they came second within their group.
[3]
The following season Troussier would coach CS Alencon in the French fourth division and spent three seasons learning how to manage an amateur football club.
[4]
He would return to his former club Red Star 93 in the 1987?88 league season as their manager. In his time with the club he would guide them to second within the group and promotion to the second tier at the end of the 1988?89 league campaign.
[5]
He would, however leave the club on 30 June 1989 to join second-tier club
Creteil
on a caretaker basis until 1 October 1989 when Bernard Maligorne took on the management position.
[6]
Move to Africa
[
edit
]
Troussier's first move away from France started with Ivory Coast top division football club
ASEC Mimosas
where in his debut season he won the league championship.
[7]
This would soon be followed by two further league titles and an endearment towards the country, which saw him gain citizenship with Ivory Coast. With his impressive run at club level the
Ivory Coast national football team
hired him as their manager in hopes that he could replicate his success with the national team. He was assigned to
qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup
, however he failed to achieve this and soon left his post to move to South African football club
Kaizer Chiefs
.
After a brief period with Kaizer Chiefs Troussier moved to Moroccan football club
Fath Union Sport
and led them to the 1995
Coupe du Trone
.
[8]
His time with Fath Union Sport also saw him experience relegation to the second tier with them, however he remained with the club for several seasons until he was offered a chance to return to international management with
Nigeria
to replace
Shaibu Amodu
as they attempted to qualify for the
1998 FIFA World Cup
. Entering the job halfway through qualifying he led them into four games throughout the campaign as Nigeria qualified, however the
Nigeria Football Federation
decided to relieve Troussier of his duties and ultimately let highly experienced coach
Bora Milutinovi?
lead them into the tournament due to his experience of already managing three different nations in a World Cup at that time.
[9]
Troussier quickly found a new job managing another African nation in
Burkina Faso
where he was assigned to coach them in the
1998 African Cup of Nations
, which they were hosting. In a short period of time he made the team genuine title contenders until they were beaten by
Egypt
2?0 in the semi-finals. Burkina Faso ultimately finished fourth after losing to DR Congo in the third-place match, nevertheless the result meant it was their highest ever finish at the time.
[10]
His stint at Burkina Faso would impress the
South African Football Association
, who offered him the job of leading South Africa to the 1998 World Cup. He would replace
Jomo Sono
, who, despite leading South Africa to the final of the 1998 African Cup of Nations as a caretaker manager, was not given a permanent position. Troussier, however was not able to galvanize the squad as he had done with Burkina Faso and the team were knocked-out in the group stages. After the tournament he would leave Africa, but before he did he was nicknamed as the "White
Witch Doctor
" for his overall successful legacy towards African football. However, his role as coach of South Africa remains a highly controversial topic, in which former defender
Mark Fish
, who played in the 1998 World Cup, later blamed Troussier for the failure.
[11]
Move to Asia
[
edit
]
In 1998 Troussier replaced
Takeshi Okada
to coach Japan and was assigned to improve upon the nation's previous results at the 1998 FIFA World Cup as they prepared to co-host the
2002 FIFA World Cup
. Having to use a translator, he struggled to get what he wanted from the players as they were knocked out of the
1999 Copa America
within the group stages.
[12]
The disappointing performance within the tournament gathered a negative reaction from the Japanese media, which saw Troussier go for a more youthful approach and take the reins of the
under-20 team
as they participated in the
1999 FIFA World Youth Championship
.
[13]
The Japanese team had a successful campaign and were runners-up within the tournament. He continued to take control of Japan's youth teams when he managed the
under-23 team
in the
2000 Summer Olympics
and led them to the quarter-finals.
[14]
The majority of that team would then go on to be called up to the
2000 AFC Asian Cup
and win the tournament.
[15]
With this success, Troussier went into the 2002 FIFA World Cup with confidence and led Japan to the final 16, making it at the time Japan's best ever finish within the competition.
[16]
In July 2003 Troussier was appointed as the new manager of
Qatar
and was assigned with qualification for the
2004 AFC Asian Cup
with the hope of repeating the success he previously had with Japan.
[17]
Initially his reign went smoothly with a successful qualification campaign and a team selection that once again employed a youthful approach as well as several naturalized players.
[18]
The tournament itself turned out to be a disappointment that saw Qatar finish bottom of their group. Along with his disappointing start to the
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
campaign, Troussier was ultimately fired from his position.
[19]
Return to France and Africa
[
edit
]
On 27 November 2004, Troussier returned to France to manage
Ligue 1
team
Olympique de Marseille
. His time with the club would see him have a tumultuous relationship with the senior players, particularly
French international
player
Bixente Lizarazu
.
[20]
A fifth-place finish at the end of the season saw Troussier replaced by
Jean Fernandez
. He returned to Africa and became the head coach of the
Moroccan national team
, having taken over after the country's failure to qualify for the
2006 World Cup
. However, he was fired after two months in charge by the
Royal Moroccan Football Federation
due to a difference in opinion.
Return to Asia
[
edit
]
From 2005, after a stint with
Morocco
, Troussier would stay away from football and was confirmed to have converted to Islam around 2006.
[1]
In March 2008, he returned to Japan to manage
FC Ry?ky?
a Japanese third-division team, before he was replaced by compatriot Jean Paul Rabier. On 22 February 2010, he returned to management with
Chinese Super League
side
Shenzhen Ruby F.C.
on a three-year contract.
[21]
He would once again enforce a youthful team selection; however this would relegate the team, making them the first top-tier champions to be relegated since the foundation of professional football in China.
[22]
He would remain with the club while they were in the second tier; however after mounting criticism he would alienate himself from the fans after the fourth-round league match versus
Chongqing F.C.
when in a local TV interview Troussier fired out against criticism and doubt from fans and urged them "not to come to the game or him". Shenzhen Ruby won the match, however former players who were forced to leave by Troussier in his efforts to force youth into the team
Li Fei
and
Chris Killen
scored for Chongqing F.C. in their first return to Shenzhen and physical confrontations took place after the match among fans, staffs, players and even Troussier himself.
[23]
He further alienated his relationships with the squad and staff on 25 August after a defeat to
Chengdu Tiancheng F.C.
saw the club's hopes of promotion vanish and he provided a statement that he would take leave back to France on a "regular holiday under his contract".
[24]
The club's supporters would believe the board sent him on leave hoping that the indignity would see him resign rather than compensating him the 1 million euros per year in his contract. He returned from his holiday and managed the club throughout the
2013 Chinese league season
, where he was unable to gain promotion.
Troussier is widely believed to be the first-choice replacement as coach of the
Malaysia national football team
after the
Football Association of Malaysia
didn't renew former coach
K. Rajagopal
's contract after it expired in December 2013. He was said to have agreed a
MYR
5 million annual salary with the FAM.
[25]
However, the deal fell through when he faced some disagreements with the Football Association of Malaysia.
[26]
On 30 June 2014, Troussier became manager of
CS Sfaxien of Tunisia
.
[27]
On 28 September 2014, Troussier quit CS Sfaxien.
[28]
In April 2018, he was one of 77 applicants for the vacant
Cameroon national team
job.
[29]
Vietnam and decline
[
edit
]
Later in 2018, he became a strategic adviser and then officially a technical director of
PVF
, a Vietnamese football academy.
[30]
In 2019, referred by PVF, Philippe Troussier became the head coach of
Vietnam U19 National Team
.
On February 16, 2023, the
Vietnam Football Federation
(VFF) officially announced the appointment of Philippe Troussier as the next head coach of the
Vietnam national football team
.
[31]
[32]
[33]
Troussier officially took office in February 2023, succeeding
Park Hang-seo
[34]
[35]
[36]
to lead the U22,
[37]
U23, Olympic
[38]
and
Vietnam national teams
.
[39]
[40]
[41]
His contract is expected to officially begin in early March 2023 and will run until the end of July 2026, for a total of 3 years and 5 months.
[42]
[43]
At the
32nd Southeast Asian Games
, the
Vietnam U-22
team lost to
Indonesia U-22
in the semi-finals with a score of 2-3,
[44]
and won the bronze medal after beating
Myanmar U-22
3-1.
[45]
He then led the senior Vietnamese side to the biggest failure in their modern history, becoming the first team failing to advance past the group stages of the
2023 AFC Asian Cup
after two consecutive opening losses against
Japan
and
Indonesia
(the latter has not defeated Vietnam since 2016) and for the first time ever, Vietnam didn't advance past the group stages of an Asian Cup after having successfully advanced back in
2007
and
2019
.
[46]
Vietnam also lost in the last match against Iraq. Following the shock elimination, calls to fire Troussier from the job as coach of Vietnam side increased, but despite this, VFF confirmed he would not lose the job but could redecide his fate if Vietnam performed poorly in the remaining fixtures of the 2026 World Cup qualification.
[47]
[48]
[49]
After Vietnam once again lost to Indonesia in the first leg at the
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
, criticism against Troussier continued.
[50]
[51]
The loss is attributed to Troussier's lack of focus on professional areas and confrontational attitude with Vietnamese media.
[52]
On 26 March 2024, Vietnam played against Indonesia for their second leg on their home stadium and lost again with the score of 0?3. During the match, Vietnamese fans carried posters calling for Troussier to resign or be dismissed. Troussier was eventually fired by VFF shortly after the match.
[53]
[54]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Phillipe Troussier and his wife converted to
Islam
in Morocco, acquiring the name
Philippe Omar Troussier
.
[55]
Managerial statistics
[
edit
]
- As of match played 26 March 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team
|
From
|
To
|
Record
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
Win %
|
Nigeria
|
1 March 1997
|
1 September 1997
|
4
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
0
75.00
|
Burkina Faso
|
1 September 1997
|
1 March 1998
|
6
|
3
|
0
|
3
|
0
50.00
|
South Africa
|
1 March 1998
|
30 June 1998
|
6
|
0
|
4
|
2
|
00
0.00
|
Japan U20
|
1 July 1998
|
30 June 1999
|
7
|
5
|
0
|
2
|
0
71.43
|
Japan
|
1 July 1998
|
1 August 2002
|
43
|
17
|
14
|
12
|
0
39.53
|
Japan
|
13 September 2000
|
30 September 2000
|
4
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
0
50.00
|
Qatar
|
1 January 2004
|
20 July 2004
|
4
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
0
25.00
|
Marseille
|
28 November 2004
|
1 June 2005
|
23
|
8
|
6
|
9
|
0
34.78
|
FAR Rabat
|
1 January 2007
|
31 December 2007
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
0
33.33
|
Shenzhen Ruby
|
23 February 2011
|
6 November 2013
|
49
|
11
|
11
|
27
|
0
22.45
|
Sfaxien
|
1 July 2014
|
28 September 2014
|
10
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
0
40.00
|
HZ Greentown
|
2 December 2014
|
2 July 2015
|
17
|
5
|
5
|
7
|
0
29.41
|
Vietnam U23
|
1 March 2023
|
26 March 2024
|
12
|
6
|
3
|
3
|
0
50.00
|
Vietnam
|
1 March 2023
|
26 March 2024
|
14
|
4
|
0
|
10
|
0
28.57
|
Total
|
200
|
65
|
46
|
89
|
0
32.50
|
Honors
[
edit
]
ASEC Mimosas
FUS Rabat
Japan U20
Japan
Vietnam U23
Individual
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
October's ten ? Religious conversions
The Guardian
, Emma John; 1 October 2006
- ^
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- ^
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- ^
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. Retrieved
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- ^
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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- ^
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.
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.
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.
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. Retrieved
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- ^
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
External links
[
edit
]
Current managers of
AFC
national teams
|
---|
|
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International tournaments
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International
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National
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Academics
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Other
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