The Cong Viettel announced on the evening of 1 November that assistant Guilherme Almeida (Almeida De Azevedo Silva), the club's goalkeeper coach, will take charge as interim head coach. According to Tuoi Tre, the move allows the club to meet the AFC requirement for a Pro Licence head coach ahead of their AFC Champions League Two game at FC Seoul in South Korea on 4 November. The club had parted company with Velizar Popov late on 31 October, hours after a 3-1 defeat at Thep Xanh Nam Dinh.
How the day unfolded
Timeline compiled by KBVN+ from reports published on 1 November:
| When | What happened | Reported by |
|---|---|---|
| Late 31 October | Club parts ways with Popov after the 3-1 loss to Nam Dinh | Tuoi Tre, SGGP |
| Morning and midday, 1 November | Reports say assistant Nguyen Van Bien will lead the team | Bongdaplus, SGGP |
| Afternoon, 1 November | Popov posts a farewell letter | Tuoi Tre, Bongda24h |
| Evening, 1 November | Club announces Almeida as interim head coach | Tuoi Tre, Thanh Nien |
Bongdaplus, citing its own sources, had reported that former Vietnam centre-back Nguyen Van Bien would step in while the club searched for a foreign coach, and SGGP carried the same line. The club's official statement that evening named Almeida instead.
The club said Almeida has been at The Cong Viettel since July 2024, knows the squad well, holds a Pro Licence and has worked in professional football in Brazil, Asia and the Middle East. Thanh Nien describes him as Brazilian. Tuoi Tre reports that he will cover until a permanent coach arrives, and that the club is negotiating with Korean candidates, with an announcement expected the following week.
Why Popov left
According to SGGP, the army club had gone 8 games without a win in all competitions, 5 in the V.League and 3 in the AFC Champions League Two, conceding 17 goals. They are 12th in the league with 4 points from 6 games and, per Bongdaplus, bottom of Group E in Asia after losing the first meeting with FC Seoul 5-0 in Hanoi (see our earlier report on The Cong Viettel against FC Seoul).
Popov led the club to second place in 2025/26 with 54 points, a club record, plus a 38-game scoring run and 24 games unbeaten, Tuoi Tre notes. In his farewell letter he took full responsibility for the mistakes behind this season's poor start, while saying he had always given his best.
What comes next
Almeida's first game is the group-stage match at FC Seoul on 4 November. Thanh Nien reports that the team return home four days later to face Thanh Hoa in the V.League, and Tuoi Tre expects the club to prioritise the domestic league given their slim chances in Asia. See our V.League fixtures for the schedule.