The Peruvian way of Vietnamese football: from El Tigre to Teacher Park

When Ricardo "El Tigre" Gareca first appointed as coach of the Peru national football team, the Peruvians had just entered their 33rd years without a World Cup. The dissatisfaction was high among the national team because they were regarded by their own countrymen as nothing but a bunch of pop stars with no discipline and full of scandals. It was real. And no one imagined just a few years, a villain would turn into a hero.

Not so easy

Back in 2010, the Uruguayan Armenian manager Sergio Markarián was appointed as coach of Peru following the country disastrous campaign in the 2010 World Cup qualification, where Peru finished bottom with only three victories, despite not losing at home to Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. In fact, the national team of Peru was so bad for some points, the media in the country named this team "Los hijos de Burga" (sons of Burga), to refer to Manuel Burga Seoane, President of the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF) from 2002 to 2014. The anger was high, but with the blessing of then-FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who was eventually convicted of corruption in 2016, Burga was able to retain power. To salvage some reputation, Burga hired Sergio Markarián, and even paid him 760 thousand USD, making him the third-highest earned salary manager in South America in 2010, far more than the predecessor José del Solar twice. The Armenian task was simple, to end Peru's World Cup drought, and to restore Peru's position as a major South American football power. Markarián actually had his experience in Peru, guiding Peruvian club Sporting Cristal to the final of 1997 Copa Libertadores but lost 0-1 to Brazil's Cruzeiro after two legs.

Former Peru manager Sergio Markarián, who earned the nickname "El Mago" (The Magician) for his tactic manipulation.

Markarián delivered the promise, nearly. In 2011 Copa América held in Argentina, the Peruvians succeeded in just reaching the last four, before beating Venezuela 4-1 to win bronze, but just that was enough for many Peruvians to become optimistic. Well, Manuel Burga at least did something right.

Peru's qualification for Brazil 2014, however, turned into another sad memory for many Peruvians. The country's national team began with an impressive 2-0 home win over Paraguay, but then a string of national team's unrest and uneasy relations with the manager derailed the team's unity, which contributed to Peru's inconsistent forms aftermath. Their decisive game was, ironically, against Uruguay, the country of the manager, on 6 September 2013 in Lima, the capital of Peru. Markarián knew that only a win could maintain Peru's hope to qualify, the national team of Peru only won four and drew two, losing six matches.

But Peru was not lucky enough to do so. Two goals by Luis Suárez meant that the lone equaliser of Jefferson Farfán, who is talented yet infamous for instigating players to go for night bars, was not enough and Peru lost 1-2. The Peruvians were not just defeated but also having no luck: despite constant foul plays by the Uruguayans, including a violent tackle that led to the blood spilt out from the head of Paolo Guerrero, the country's biggest star after Claudio Pizarro at the time, by Cristián Stuani, there was no red card. To make it worse, Yoshimar Yotún was later given a red card for his angry reaction toward Luis Suárez in the dying minutes of the first half, ultimately contributing to Peru's failure.

Many Peruvians reacted hotly, too, this time directing against the Argentine referee Patricio Loustau, as they believed he robbed the game for the Uruguayans, to a point they chanted "FIFA es puta" (FIFA is a bitch). Yet also a group of fans became disillusioned with the national team for their failure once again.

And no secret, this only worsened the already difficult fan-team relationship in Peru, already strained since 1987 Alianza Lima air disaster that killed the entire of the club's players that was also the backbone of a potential future Peruvian team. So be it. Knowing that there was nothing to improve,  the Peruvian FPF was too corrupt to handle, Markarián left a disunited and fractured Peru after the qualification. A year after the qualification, Burga stepped down from the Presidency of FPF.

The journey of Ricardo Gareca as coach of Peru wasn't easy like his Uruguayan fellow. He was disliked by so many Peruvians for the goal he scored against the nation back in El Monumental in 1985 that gave Argentina a needed draw to progress for the 1986 World Cup, where the Argentines would go on to win their only second world trophy. But Gareca, also known by the nickname "El Tigre", was not part of the victorious 1986 World Cup squad of Argentina, and never played in a World Cup as a player.

He never knew there would be a chance he would reunite in Peru when he chose to embark on his coaching career. He came to Peru, first in 2007, to coach Peru's giant Universitario, winning the Torneo Apertura title, contributed to the team's qualification for the 2009 Copa Libertadores, but he left after just a season. His biggest success as a coach was at home with Vélez Sársfield, where he managed to create and strengthen the teamwork mentality of the club to win three Argentine Primera División titles. Again, it was at club level, not national level.

Gareca was actually close on signing to the first major national team when he was contacted by the Ghanaians after Ghana's disastrous 2014 World Cup, but the West Africans could not make it right and he shrugged off, continuing his duty as coach of Brazilian side Palmeiras. He was sacked just three months with the helm of the Brazilian, then became complete obsolete for half a year.

Coincidentally, he was contacted by Juan Carlos Oblitas, once Peru's legend and former manager who led Peru to a successful 1975 Copa América conquest and missed out bitterly on the 1998 World Cup qualification by goal difference with Chile. Juan Carlos Oblitas was only appointed as technical director of Peru after the resignation of Manuel Burga, where he started a complete reshuffle of the federation. Oblitas's resilience was paid off, and Gareca agreed, reluctantly, to become manager of Peru.

Gareca was announced as Peru's new manager in February 2015. In the meantime, trust among fans to the FPF had gone to the lowest. Many Peruvians, seeing Gareca's appointment, was quick to call off the goal of Gareca that killed Peru's dream to qualify for Mexico 1986, Argentina's history of betraying Peru, football bribery (including Loustau's perceived unfair refereeing that eliminated Peru in the previous qualification) and El Tigre's not so significant coaching profile. People threw vulgar comments into the internet, condemning the federation of choosing a manager from a "sinister country" like this, some even expressed that "nothing would change". Oblitas offered Gareca's coaching chair only for one mission: at least reaching the last eight in 2015 Copa América held in neighbour Chile, before talking about World Cup. His salary when he was appointed cut off to half than that of El Mago Markarián. The pressure went higher when Peru's friendly against Venezuela in the United States ended in an agonising 0-1 loss.

Gareca delivered more than expected after the loss. Peru went forward to the final four, before falling to the eventual champions and host Chile 1-2, and beating Paraguay 2-0 to acquire bronze for the second times in a row. Peruvian media, sarcastically, praised him but just telling how Peru got was no more different, and the World Cup qualification would decide Gareca's future. If Peru failed to qualify, Gareca had no reason to stay.

And it appeared to be going that way. Peru's first six games in 2018 World Cup qualification, only one was a win. Hope nevertheless revived when Peru had a promising performance in the Copa América Centenario 2016, where Peru eliminated Brazil before bowing to Colombia in the quarter-finals. But another loss away to Bolivia led to widespread fan anger that Peru was about to fail as usual. Gareca then corrected the fault, guiding Peru to beat Ecuador at home 2-1.

But God was with Gareca this time. The Bolivians were found to have fielded an ineligible player from Paraguay and FIFA sanctioned Peru a 3-0 win away, the first Peruvian away win against Bolivia in a World Cup qualifiers. This also added Peru to a third win, but little to know, Gareca turned the whole thing around and helped Peru from doubts to glory. Peru entered 2017 without a loss in the remaining qualifying matches, ultimately overcame Chile to reach the intercontinental playoff. Among these primes were two draws to Argentina; an away win against Ecuador which was Peru's first, like with Bolivia; two wins against the annoying Paraguayans; an important three points at home against Uruguay and the needed draw to Colombia in the decisive match at Lima so that Peru could make the final showdown against New Zealand. With New Zealand never known for being a football country, it was just a matter of time. Gareca didn't waste it, a 2-0 home win, coupling with a goalless draw away, ended Peru's long drought.

So on, it was history. Peru didn't progress further in Russia 2018, ending in the group stage, but gave Peruvian people a lot of hope after playing well against Denmark and eventual world champions France, before beating Australia 2-0. In 2019 Copa América, Peru even broke the long thirst after 44 years by winning the silver medal after losing to hosts Brazil 1-3 in the final.

Gareca isn't exactly the type of manager people expected. He is abnormal because he is superstitious, he believes touching on the wedding dress of a bride could bring good luck. Yet he is manipulative, energetic and determined. Gareca loves to hear good news and shuns out people complaining about the difficulties of the Peruvian team. As for the result, good news healed the Peruvian players and reshaped their abilities. He's manipulative because he, while not a game reader, understood the outcome in just a look with one or two players, and switched the team after each game. In one story linking to this, when Peru was just at the early phase of the Russia 2018 qualifiers, finishing near the bottom with only a win and just suffered a 0-2 down to Bolivia (later awarded a 3-0 win for Peru), Juan Carlos Oblitas asked if Peru really got ready for the outcome of staying home again, the Argentine responded with steel: "I've my team. We'll qualify." Another was when Pedro Gallese, the team's main goalkeeper, suffered a hand injury for a month, instead of reusing veterans Diego Penny or José Carvallo for crucial 2018 World Cup games, he placed his faith in Carlos Cáceda, a young custodian with little international common, insisting on his decision based on moral faith; Cáceda finally delivered Peru two wins, especially the historic 2-1 away victory over Ecuador in Quito, the latter caused him to bust in tears thanking Gareca for entrusting him amidst disapproval.

Yet Gareca is also realistic from down to earth. Back when he was interviewed in early 2018, shortly after bringing Peru back to World Cup, Gareca told that the Peruvian players "are talented", echoing his own words as "technically sound, [physically] strong and adaptable" in December last year, but also he warned the FPF to do more for its own players, noting that despite the talents, criticising the FPF for having done little to reward their boys, citing the also dismal state of the Peruvian Premier League (Torneo Descentralizado) and widespread corruption. He also expressed his wish to keep working for Peru, but only when these issues are addressed. Gareca worked in Peru for only a year before returning but had successfully documented the life of the majority of Peruvian players, and reused the same experience to get close with the players. Christian Cueva once called Gareca as his father-like figure.

Like any South American nations, Peruvians are fanatics at football. Nothing surprising when Peru was one of the first national teams to play in the inaugural 1930 World Cup. Peru had since then waited for 40 years before they got its golden era of 1970s, when Teófilo Cubillas, Pedro Pablo León, Héctor Chumpitaz and Hugo Sotil gave Peru a respected privilege, qualifying for three World Cups (1970, 1978, 1982) and winning the 1975 Copa América. But the 1986 qualification failure and the Alianza Lima disaster in 1987 ended hope for Peru to sustain relevance in South America. During that time, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Paraguay soon gained prominence at the expense of Peru while its historic rival Chile also laughed at them.

Peru was in a sad state before Gareca, the executioner of 1985, coached Peru, 30 years after the tragedy. Its youth teams were neglected, the players were often undisciplined. Peruvians only knew a miserable national team. And then, when Peru continued to ignore the call for reforms, other South Americans (outside Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay) have continuously exported talents to even bigger clubs. Think James Rodríguez (Colombia) playing for Real Madrid. Then Arturo Vidal (Chile) once represented Juventus, Bayern Munich, Internazionale and Barcelona. Alexis Sánchez, also from Chile, came to the rank of Barcelona, Internazionale and Manchester United. Antonio Valencia (Ecuador) spent ten years with Manchester United. Roque Santa Cruz of Paraguay also participated in Bayern squad for eight years. This shows how far Peru has fallen, with only Nolberto Solano and Claudio Pizarro demonstrating feats in Newcastle United and Bayern.

Claudio Pizarro and Nolberto Solano, Peru's finest players during the crisis period (1986-2018).

I feel sorry that Peru had been a laughing stock for the rest of South America. Perhaps with the exception of Bolivia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname, the two latter aren't even CONMEBOL members.

The Torneo Descentralizado has already plummeted in football rating, the league by 2019 only ranked above Venezuelan league, far worst than even its Bolivian neighbour. The Peruvian League's plummet was contributed by factors like rising indiscipline, players' violence, lack of proper education and nepotism within the league system. I was glad to have a number of Spanish lessons so I know some words, having heard Peruvians days and nights talking about officials embezzling money from fans only for themselves to gain while players got nothing, or the referees/players having ties to mafia or cartel groups. When Peruvian clubs don't perform well as expected, the first word will be "corruption", they accused the club staff. Unsurprisingly, Juan Carlos Oblitas pressed out his concern about how Peru missed out on opportunities to move forward and had designed the Centennial Plan 2022, which aimed to make Peruvian League again a reckoned force in South America. He was aware that Gareca was temporary, and a long-term plan is the only way. He is one of the spearheads, alongside new FPF President Edwin Oviedo, on building new football facilities located in Chaclacayo outside Lima few kilometers as well as encouraging clubs to set up youth academies, often with funds from private tycoons and national government.

He did like Gareca, though, because of the Argentine's contribution. So the majority of 33 million Peruvians, who honoured Gareca as a saviour and completely forgot about how he destroyed Peru in 1985. In the end, still no question, it is not so easy, as claimed.

Is Vietnam moving the Peru way?

I'm Vietnamese so I'm quite fascinated to see how and why. And we're talking about football.

No two stories are similar alike, and even when they drew comparisons, only 95% are close. Nothing is perfect. Not even with the case of Vietnam-Peru comparison.

For instance, Vietnam has never qualified for a World Cup, which was understandable because the South Vietnamese team participated in the first World Cup qualification only in 1974 edition, a few years before the North invaded the South, and subsequent wars with China, Thailand and Cambodia, to international isolation. As a unified nation, Vietnam took part in the first World Cup qualification in USA 1994, and was way more too late than the rest of Southeast Asia, save for Myanmar, Laos, the Philippines and Cambodia. East Timor did not win independence until 2002. So football in Vietnam, while long, is just a recent development one. This is a disadvantage.

As for the result of its recentness, Vietnam could not be compared to any major national teams, even in Asia alone, Vietnam was, still no near Japan, South Korea, Iraq, Iran, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Uzbekistan and the UAE; the Vietnamese side has to even struggle against regional opponents like Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. So literally Vietnam is nothing.

But while the root has nothing similar, its development and especially managerial position have offered common patterns more than that.

Just like the Torneo Descentralizado of Peru, Vietnam's V-League was marred, for decades, with widespread corruption and nepotism. V-League turned professional in 1990s when Vietnam opened up to the world for its economic reforms, but because of lacking previous experience on how to develop footballers from grassroots, the league has been captured in the eyes of observers as a league full of violence and referees making money from bribery or relationship with criminal enterprises. Coaches like Ljupko Petrovic (once managed Thanh Hoa F.C.) even once told that Vietnamese players are "disgustingly unprofessional", reflecting the situation of Vietnamese football state.

Yet many football pundits noted about Vietnamese players being some of the most talented and skilled, and have the potential of becoming Asia's best. Just like in Peru, Vietnamese players have always been seen as passionate, masters in deception on the field. No better example than Nguyễn Hồng Sơn, who was invited to participate in a friendly (ironically ridiculous) Pepsi World Challenge in 2001, standing side by side with David Beckham, Dwight Yorke, Okan Buruk, Rafael Márquez, Emmanuel Olisadebe, Ronaldo de Lima, Sergei Semak, Roberto Carlos, Juan Sebastián Verón, Fan Zhiyi and Rivaldo, and the only Southeast Asian on the list. Interestingly, Nolberto Solano also took part, too.

Nguyễn Hồng Sơn was once regarded to be one of Vietnam's greatest footballers since reintegration of Vietnam into the world.

Hồng Sơn did not disappoint: he finished second, behind Egypt's Hazem Emam, and his skills were applauded by the fans in London, where the friendly Pepsi tournament took place.

A Brazilian manager who used to work in Vietnam, Dido, spoke out honestly about Hồng Sơn: "had he been born in Brazil, he would have become a world legend." Unfortunately, the environment of Vietnam did not allow it to blossom further.

And then, Vietnam has another unique ability that perhaps only seen by underdogs: the ability to create an eruption. Vietnam is not a power in world's football, but nevertheless has always upset opponents by its unpredictability. For example, Vietnam stunned South Korea in 2004 Asian Cup qualification 1-0 in Oman, shocked the rest of Asia. And then, no one in Vietnam forgets the miracle of 2007 Asian Cup held at home either. Vietnam was drawn in a nightmarish group composing Asian champions Japan, ASIAD champions Qatar and Gulf champions UAE, being the lowest-ranked team seeded, but screwed the two Arab opponents to join Japan for the last eight, before bowing to Iraq, the eventual winner. Vietnam would repeat this in 2019 Asian Cup, beating Jordan before bowing to Japan. Remember, Jordan overcame then-Asian champions Australia with perfect harmony to top the group. And Vietnam also received good friendlies with big names like Juventus B, Barcelona B, to Arsenal and Manchester City, lost all, but necessary.

Peru also has, in some aspects, the same since its decline from prominence. It beat Argentina 2-1 in 1997 Copa América. It also beat Uruguay 3-0 in 2004 Copa América, or recent 1-0 win over Brazil in 2016 Copa América. Until Russia 2018, enough to think over.

Yet nothing is more similar to the case of managers. Though their beginning was different. If Peru hired Ricardo Gareca only for purposes to show itself at first, Vietnam also got a manager with an even inferior start.

Vietnam hired Park Hang-seo, a former assistant to Guus Hiddink in 2002 World Cup, as coach in late 2017 when Vietnam was already in a difficult task to qualify for the 2019 Asian Cup, by then Vietnam had not returned since 2007. The Vietnamese side was in a complete shamble: its youth team was knocked out from the SEA Games 2017 for losing 0-3 to Thailand, and the nation was erupted by massive scandals between players and clubs. Two wins over Cambodia relieved some, but the way how they struggled to win was alarming. Coach Park faced a situation like never before: a team that was divided to pieces and public distrusts. Something familiar to Gareca's situation with Peru back in 2015.

Park Hang-seo, manager of Vietnam from 2017 and was the architect of Vietnam's revival.

When an assistant who only came coaching teams from the second or third-tier clubs in South Korea (which was also what coach Park got his successes from) was called up, many Vietnamese emulated what Peruvians used to think of Gareca: stone-throwing, mentioning South Korea's controversial 2002 World Cup run or even slamming South Korea's infamous Vietnam War participation, which saw South Korean troops fought alongside the U.S. and renowned for its brutal yet effective methods. A lot of doubts. It appeared to be correct first: Vietnam's first match under this Korean man was a goalless draw to Afghanistan, in a game where Vietnam did not prove to be more dominant than the Central Asians. The draw was the only positive thing because it put Vietnam back to the Asian Cup since 2007. The team eventually finished second, behind Jordan, after a 1-1 draw in Amman.

Think how Vietnam performed, not many people paid attention of. Newspapers ran tips like "what to wait from him [Park]?" The moods did not change until the shocking run of the youth team in U-23 Asian Cup 2018 held in China, where Vietnam became the first team from Southeast Asia to reach the final of an Asian competition, after Thailand back in U-17 Asian Cup 1998. It was even more historic because it was Vietnam's maiden final in any major Asian competitions. All under the same man. So the newly-breeded talents developed and the federation ushered a new target: perform at the full-best against powerful teams in the 2019 Asian Cup, at least reaching the round of sixteen. He did even better: Vietnam was the last to qualify, but stood out the only Southeast Asian to be on the last eight, a copycat of 2007 Asian Cup. Currently, 2022 World Cup qualification for Vietnam looked great, when Vietnam topped the group composing bedfellows and former 2007 Asian Cup hosts Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, alongside the traditional UAE until the end of June 2021. And now, Vietnam is fighting for a spot to the 2022 World Cup alongside the other major 11 teams.

The Vietnamese side isn't really perfect though. But like Ricardo Gareca for Peru, Park Hang-seo for Vietnam is like something else. Park Hang-seo understood the team's tempo, as well as concerns about the federation's long history of corruption. He also lives along with players, rather than distancing himself. He once spoke out confidently about Vietnamese players: "they're talented, they're not inferior to Korean and Japanese, but the mentality of Vietnamese players are weak. I'm sure Vietnam will go even further if they are headed into the right direction." Mimicking what Gareca echoed about Peruvian players, nearly 100%. And like Gareca, Park is also a superstitious person, he is a Baptist Christian, believing that he should attend to churches few days before a game, strictly. But he's still realistic.

One thing that also came out from Mr. Park's guidance was the Vietnam Football Federation, or VFF, also paid close attention, and began a systematic revamp of the national teams and national leagues. The V-League is slowly modelling after various major European and Latin American leagues, such as the Clausura-Apertura model only watched in Latin American football leagues recently applied for the tournament, albeit in a poorly functioned style.

And also I must thank that Vietnam also has a lot of good advice. Late Austrian manager Alfred Riedl reminded the Vietnamese back in 1990s when he first coached the team that: "Vietnamese football is built from the roof." Back in 2007, HAGL (Hoàng Anh Gia Lai) F.C. owner Đoàn Nguyên Đức once thought about inviting Arsenal to play friendly, but Arsène Wenger rebuffed, telling that they should build the grassroots before talking, this made boss Đức changed his mind and focused on building one of Vietnam's first modern football facilities in Gia Lai, which nurtured some of Vietnam's first best footballers. And now, with support from the VFF, billionaire Phạm Nhật Vượng - who once began making torture as a noddle seller in Ukraine - created the PVF, one of the most advanced football facilities Vietnam has in 2009, and appointed Ryan Giggs, former Man Utd player and now Wales manager, as the first director. So far, the route is not complete, yet, but I discover that by doing that way, Vietnam is avoiding the money-crashing path of China, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait.

The positive development of Vietnamese players still has to be attributed most to coach Park Hang-seo, who resembles many facets of Ricardo Gareca. He knew who he stood for and he even made it firm who he would select. Yet he sees the national team of Vietnam like a group of family members being abandoned by the parents and has sought to revitalise them. He is religious but not letting himself onto the sky. He constantly gives ideas for the VFF. He keeps believing on his players even when they're not at shape. And so, the reward has come. The 2019 Asian Cup performance heralded the rise of a new national team that Asia typically seemed preposterous to listen.

Even though Vietnam fell to Iraq and Iran in the group stage with minor results, Vietnamese players did not lose hope and rebounded with wins over Yemen and Jordan. A tragic 0-1 loss to Japan in the quarter-finals, in which Japan even beat Colombia and almost eliminated Belgium back in Russia, was not to be sad. It told how much coach Park transformed this team so they could keep growing further. The World Cup 2022 qualification only bolstered that feeling.

But what made it extremely special is a strong trust. Something created this special development for Ricardo Gareca and Park Hang-seo into a strangely similar pattern.

Gareca and Park do not always live in gold and jewel, like the most of world's population. Gareca's decision to include Nolberto Solano into the assistant staff proved controversial since Solano only has the fame - Peru under Solano had a disastrous 2020 Olympic qualifying which the U-23 side finished last, even losing to Bolivia. In the same qualification, also in Asia, Park failed to repeat the same form of the U-23 Asian Cup two years ago when Vietnam ended up last in their group stage. Yet despite their controversies, their federations still see their choices as rightful ones.

And these managers also have patrons backing: Ricardo Gareca has Juan Carlos Oblitas, a former Peruvian footballer and manager, now technical director of Peruvian Football Federation; while Park Hang-seo has Đoàn Nguyên Đức, a powerful tycoon and owner of HAGL, as well as a CEO within the VFF. It was these men that Gareca and Park could still continue to contribute. Mr. Oblitas and Mr. Đoàn didn't back down from their supports, regardless of public questioning.

A conclusion?

It's too early to consider if Vietnam is really walking like what Peru had experienced, but there is a potential coincidence of fate. Still, Asia is not South America. To go to World Cup from Asian path requires you must finish among the top four, something Vietnam is far behind; while in South America, 10 members equally compete. But the path of two managers, while starting different, seems going the same way.

Yet I continue to doubt. Sure, this is due to my permanent level of suspicion. I don't see any chance for this team of not progressing, but I think it is all about how will Vietnam gather the strength. Ricardo Gareca really inspired a number of coaches, and probably Park Hang-seo is one of them. But will it change? Only time can tell.