It’s time for Coach Honda to hang up his boots or hand in his resignation

Cambodia’s part-time national coach is rumoured to returning to Cambodia to play for the team he owns, Soltilo Angkor FC. While on the face of it a good move, many in the game are questioning further his dedication and indeed ability as national coach of Cambodia.

To read about Cambodia’s loss to India click here.

Who is Coach Honda?

Keisuke Honda is one of the most recognised and well known Japanese footballers in history. Since starting at Grampus Eight in his native Japan he has had a glittering career with highlights including a spell at AC Milan and Botofago in Brazil, during which time he has also managed to amass 98 caps for Japan scoring 39 goals.

A true superstar by any definition of the word, instead of retiring at his peak he has since become somewhat of journeyman footballer plying his trade in Australia, Azerbaijan and most lately Suduva in the mighty Lithuanian league.

The latest news though is that after being released by the Lithuanian club, he is now in talks with Soltilo Angkor FC – the club he owns about joining them in CPL2. Quite how one goes about negotiating with a club they own is another story, but it could potentially mean us seeing Honda playing in Cambodia’s second-tier. 

To read about the Cambodian Premier League click here.

The Soltilo Angkor FC Story 

Formed to be the “second club” in Siem Reap their history has far from been a success story. First entering the top-flight in 2018 they finished 10th out of 12 in their first season, before finishing 8th, 11th and finally 13th out of 13 in 2021, the last year of the metfone C-League.

This meant starting the 2022 season in the second-tier of the the CPL system, with them currently placed 11th out of 12 teams, with only Next Step FC below them.

Poor results by anyones metrics, but it has not been just on the field where they have had problems, with talk of racism behind the scenes as well as a very acrimonious parting of ways with coach Charlie Pomroy in 2020.

To read our interview with Pomroy click here.

In short this controversial and extremely unremarkable club is the brainchild of the man tasked with leading the national team of Cambodia.

Part-Time Coach Honda

In August 2018, whilst still a player, Honda was named manager of Cambodia. Under the arrangement, Honda would hold weekly conference calls with Cambodian coaching staff, while being on the touchline in matches that fall under the FIFA International match Calendar. During this initial agreement he would not only do this for “free”, but his assistant, the brilliant Felix Dalmas would be in charge when he was not there.

Consider this perverse situation now if you will, Cambodia hired a part-time coach who was still playing football, not at the peak of his career, but at clubs based in places like Lithuania, Australia and Azerbaijan, meaning any players he did see were online, or via the opinion of his assistant Felix Dalmas.

To call this situation unenviable would be a great understatement, but in fact Cambodia had some good results during this time. The problem was it was largely down to the assistant. Sadly Felix left the setup in 2020, thus giving Honda a more prominent role, things since then have not exactly gone to plan.

As one leading CPL coach, who asked to remain anonymous put it “To me it’s very clear. Look at the success stories of the Cambodia National team over the last 5 years and you will see. Hosting AFF Under 22 in 2019 Felix Dalmas lead the team, the general manger was busy playing football elsewhere, the team reached the semi final. SEA games in Philippines 2019 also the team reached the semi final, the general manager was busy playing somewhere else again. Since then Felix has left and the the general manager has become more involved, results have worsened as has the overall performance”

Coach Honda’s qualifications 

Ans it is not just the results that have been put into question, but also the tactics of a “coach” who deems himself too experienced to have to apply for any form of coaching qualification, with the same unnamed manager telling us “Cambodia has gone from a team with a clear plan with and without the ball to a team who don’t seem to be able to play in a modern way. When they had an attacking style under Honda there was no plan on how to stop the counter attacks against them. Now they defend but when you watch them they have no clear plan on how to counter attack. This is why qualifications matter, the General manager says he doesn’t believe someone like him should have to do coaching licenses. But I’m sure when he visits the doctor he goes to one with a medical degree. Cambodia deserves better, our national team is not a project for someone to play with, the success of the national team can and should inspire a nation”

And it is this among many other reasons why Coach Honda playing for a club he owns is not just a poor idea, but also the very definition of a conflict of interests, with another coach who again asked not to be named stating “What happens if he has to play against someone vying for a national team place and he receives a bad tackle? What if there is an important game where he has to face national team players? This is plain and simply unprofessional”.

So, while Coach Honda was previously seen along the lines of a footballing version of Angelina Jolie, managers, players and most importantly the fans are fed up with having a part-time coach more interested in prolonging his career at the lower levels than in actually coaching the national team.

Therefore coach Honda perhaps it is time to hang up your boots and if you can’t do that, do the honourable thing and simply resign as national coach.