The long-haired goalkeeper, Đinh Hiếu Minh, enthusiastically practiced his reflexes using the Okada method

Playing football with friends, learning new exercises from Japanese coaches, and receiving gifts... it was truly a wonderful day for Đinh Hiếu Minh

Among the 30 children selected for the football training session at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center on the morning of October 26, Đinh Hiếu Minh attracted a lot of attention. Despite being small, Minh plays as a goalkeeper. Additionally, this 11-year-old boy has a long, flowing hairstyle.

This program was organized by Mitsubishi Electric in collaboration with the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ 2024. At the training session, Đinh Hiếu Minh and his friends were introduced to exercises using the famous Okada method by coaches from Imabari FC. This method is named after the renowned coach Takeshi Okada, who led the Japanese national team to their first World Cup in 1998 and reached the knockout stage at the 2010 World Cup. The Okada method encourages independence, critical thinking, and mastering the principles of play before the age of 16.

The initial awkwardness between the coaches from Imabari Club and the young Vietnamese players quickly faded with the fun and unique exercises of the Okada method. The children were paired up to lift the ball with one hand, back-to-back to hold the ball and stand up together; hold the ball with their heads and move together... In these exercises, Hiếu Minh was encouraged to communicate continuously with his teammates. Both must trust each other to coordinate and persist.

Later, coach Dobashi from Imabari Club continued to guide the young players on tactical approaches to move the ball to advantageous positions for teammates or position themselves to intercept the opponent's passes. This was Hiếu Minh's favorite exercise. The 11-year-old goalkeeper shared: “I liked the rondo game the most in today's training. It trained me to see the ball clearly, move it to advantageous positions for my teammates, and respond quickly to avoid losing the ball.”

At the end of the training session, the 30 children were divided into four teams to apply the lessons from the Okada method into real match. Although experienced in youth competitions, Hiếu Minh still found the challenges from coach interesting. He shared: “I am used to playing in tournament. But today, the coach introduced a new rule: The scoring team must celebrate earlier than the conceded team; otherwise, the goal doesn't count. We were so engrossed in the game that celebrating became a challenge itself.”