Nghe in the National Team: Elite and combative

Coach Park Hang Seo comes from an advanced football background, the Korean strategist understands how to build a team by taking the core from a few clubs in the V.League as the backbone. From there, maximize the collective strength of a football background.

Through many generations of coaches from domestic to foreign, and most recently coach Toshiya Miura and coach Huu Thang, players from Nghe An and SLNA have always dominated the national team list and are trusted. Now that Hanoi Club and HAGL have quality players, considered the golden generation, these two teams have become the main force for the national team, especially since after the AFF Cup 2016, coach Huu Thang resigned.

The national team is the quintessence of many clubs and localities. Photo: VFF

In the official list of 23 players participating in AFF Cup 2018, there are 7 players from Hanoi Club and the second most is HAGL. The "Nghe" quality is no longer as abundant as before in the national team, only Nguyen Trong Hoang, Que Ngoc Hai, Phan Van Duc (SLNA) and Nguyen Cong Phuong (HAGL) remain.

However, the 4 players mentioned above are truly the elite of Vietnamese football at the moment. Trong Hoang is a rare one, since 2009 when he was only 20 years old, he has been coached by generations of coaches Calisto, Miura, Huu Thang and this time, Coach Park.

The former SLNA captain, who is currently playing for FLC Thanh Hoa, is also a player who has participated in 4 AFF Cups with about 50 matches for the national team, scoring 12 goals (according to Wiki). Among the faces this time, Trong Hoang is considered the most veteran and has the most achievements at many levels, just after veteran Anh Duc.

In the scheme that Coach Park is building, Trong Hoang will also play an important role thanks to his versatility and strong physical foundation, combined with his experience. The midfielder born in 1989 can play as a full-back, attacking midfielder and striker. Few people know that Trong Hoang was once Malaysia's fear at the AFF Cup 2010 and 2016 with very important goals.

Center back Que Ngoc Hai is considered by experts to be the best defender in Vietnamese football at present. Photo: FBNV

Que Ngoc Hai - SLNA's central defender also participated in 2 AFF Cups in 2014 and 2016. In terms of expertise, SLNA's captain is also a prominent factor in the national team's defense. The former captain of U23 Vietnam is far superior to Dinh Trong, Tien Dung and Duy Manh in terms of international competition experience. In previous AFF Cups, Ngoc Hai often made personal mistakes, but when he overcame them, he is gradually gaining the trust of coach Park Hang Seo with his inherent ability.

Younger than Trong Hoang and Ngoc Hai is Phan Van Duc - a new star of SLNA who has made great progress in 2017 and 2018. His tenacity, breakthrough ability, intelligent playing style, comprehensive attack and defense and good finishing are very useful for the national team in this AFF Cup campaign. Phan Van Duc's ability was clearly demonstrated at the U23 Asian Cup, Asiad 2018 and 9 goals in V.League 2018 in SLNA's shirt or at AFC Cup.

It is not clear whether Phan Van Duc will be a starter or a reserve, but he is a player with the ability to solve the match like Quang Hai. It can be said that, in the fierce competition, the rise of other training centers, Phan Van Duc is a bright spot, a testament to the traditional roots of SLNA in recent years.

Phan Van Duc is confident in his first AFF Cup. Photo: FBNV

As for Nguyen Cong Phuong, although he did not grow up from SLNA. But the people of Nghe An in general and the people of Do Luong in particular have the right to be proud that the current successes of Vietnamese football have a great mark of the striker who is playing for HAGL. Cong Phuong is a testament to the internal resources, young players are everywhere in Nghe An countryside. Not a "child prodigy" like Van Quyen, but Cong Phuong has grown up and become much more mature thanks to the hands of good coaches, the guidance of senior players like Anh Duc, Cong Vinh...

If luckier, SLNA will have more players at the AFF Cup 2018 this time, such as Ngo Hoang Thinh or defender Pham Xuan Manh, who once wore the captain's armband of the Olympic team at the 2018 Asiad. The ability and quality of Manh "Kalou" are very clear, but the fact that Coach Park has placed his full trust in him is completely reasonable.

Thinking back and forth, this time there are only 4 Nghe An players in the national team, only 3 players who grew up in SLNA and 2 are still playing for their hometown team. But all of them are strong players, will be the perfect pieces for a team with Hanoi and HAGL as pioneers.

There are coincidences that show how foreign coaches build their teams. In 2008, coach Calisto led the Vietnamese team to win the AFF Cup with only Duong Hong Son, Le Cong Vinh and central defender Nguyen Minh Duc from SLNA. It can be seen that SLNA players or Nghe An players in the team as coach Huu Thang built are not necessarily good, but they are indispensable to create a tournament with many expectations. Because Nghe An players have a tenacious nature, they are the essence of SLNA, contributing to fanning the big fire./.

The players and the national team's coaching staff have trustedNguyen Van Quyetbe captain. AndQue Ngoc Hai and Luong Xuan Truongwill be vice-captain of the Vietnamese team at the AFF Cup 2018. Notably, all three are captains at the three clubs Hanoi, SLNA and HAGL.

What do experts and coaches in the region say about the Vietnam National Team before the AFF Cup 2018?

(Baonghean.vn) - Recently, the new coach of the Indonesian national team, Bima Sakti, assessed the Vietnamese national team as one of the brightest candidates for the AFF Cup championship. Coach Kiatisuk Senamuang of Thailand also had similar comments, but the current head coach of the Thai national team, Milovan Rajevac, is confident that he will bring his students to the championship.