The 'key' that helped U15 Song Lam Nghe An pass the national U15 qualifying round

With flexible tactics, U15 SLNA achieved good results against their opponents. Photo: Chung Nguyen

Highlights that make up the strength

U15 Song Lam Nghe An participates in the tournamentU15 NationalIn 2022, it was established based on the core force of the U13 team that won the National Youth Football Championship in 2020. In that year's tournament, Nghe An U13 was the team that showed superior strength compared to the remaining opponents. With a 4-0 victory over Hai Duong U13 in the final match, helping Nghe An team win the National U13 Championship for the 8th time.

Entering the National U15 Qualifiers this year, U15 Song Lam Nghe An has 1 month to practice. With the expectation of maintaining tradition in youth tournaments, the leaders of Song Lam Nghe An Club brought coach Dinh Van Dung to lead the U15 team. Mr. Dung is one of the most experienced coaches in youth training in Nghe An football. In early 2022, he led U19 Song Lam Nghe An to win the Bronze medal at the National U19 Tournament.

Coach Dinh Van Dung shared: “With the trust of the club's leadership, I took charge of U15 Song Lam Nghe An. Before entering the qualifying round, we faced a few difficulties. In particular, the training ground was limited due to the National Youth Football Championship Qualifiers. That also affected the development of new tactics for the players. However, the timely attention and encouragement of the club's leadership helped the players and coaching staff to make more efforts. And the U15 team overcame all difficulties to enter the tournament with the best spirit."

Although they do not have good looks or physical condition, in return, Nghe An players possess perfect basic techniques. That helps SLNA often control the game better than the opponent. Photo: Chung Nguyen

Although some outstanding players have joined the U17 Song Lam Nghe An team, the U15 Song Lam Nghe An team still has the names that made waves at the 2020 National Youth Football Tournament. Some notable names include: Defenders Nguyen Tan Minh, Tran Cong Dat, Nguyen Huu Nhat Long; midfielders Vuong Van Tung, Vuong Quoc Dung; strikers Truong Van Tan Sang, Tran Quoc Hoa.

These are all players who have competed for many years in national youth tournaments. They have affirmed their professional level, having achieved high results in previous national U11 and U13 tournaments. With experience and well-trained techniques, this year's U15 team can completely dominate the remaining opponents.

Evaluating his students, the captain of U15 Song Lam Nghe An said: “This year's U15 team does not have the same appearance and physical condition as previous generations. But in return, they all have basic techniques and a good football mindset. And especially, they are very hard-working and serious in training. Every time they go on the field, they play with a fiery spirit and enthusiasm, true to the Nghe An identity. As for Tran Quoc Hoa, I consider him a striker who is quite sensitive in scoring goals and he also has very good technique, but his physical condition is still limited. However, I am quite satisfied with leading this generation of players.”

Flexible in applying tactics

Entering the 2022 National U15 Qualifiers, U15 Song Lam Nghe An is in Group C, including the teams: U15 Da Nang, U15 Hue, U15 Hong Linh Ha Tinh, U15 Quang Nam. Taking place from July 8 to July 15 at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center.

According to Coach Dinh Van Dung: “This is a fairly easy group for the yellow team. Looking at the balance of power, these teams do not possess many outstanding factors. However, we are not subjective, because young players often have unstable mentality, if we lose first, it will be very difficult to play.”

Mr. Dung also added: “Entering the qualifying round, we are determined to solve each match one by one. And for each opponent, we apply different tactics. If we meet Hong Linh Ha Tinh, we play 4-4-2, focusing on attack. Then when we meet Da Nang, we play with a 4-1-4-1 defensive counter-attack formation. Coming up with reasonable tactics not only brings positive results, but also helps players become more flexible and mature through each match. This is the key to helping U15 Song Lam Nghe An go deep in this tournament.”

It is not easy to apply many tactical schemes to young players. However, if the coaching staff can do it successfully, it will make it difficult for the opponent to predict the team. Moreover, the flexible use of the formation also helps the coach easily rotate the players. This is an effective way to help the U15 team go deep into the tournament.

U15 SLNA's celebration after winning a ticket to the final round. Photo: CTV

Returning to the qualifying round, in the opening match against the neighboring team Hong Linh Ha Tinh, coach Dinh Van Dung's students won with a score of 2-0. With goals from Tran Quoc Hoa in the 20th minute and Phan Duc Huynh in the 75th minute. In the first leg matches, U15 Song Lam Nghe An won against the remaining opponents in group C. Specifically: U15 Song Lam Nghe An won U15 Hue 4-1, won U15 Quang Nam 6-1, won U15 Da Nang 2-0.

Entering the second leg, U15 Song Lam Nghe An continued to win against Hong Linh Ha Tinh with a score of 3-0; tied Hue 1-1. With the points earned, coach Dinh Van Dung's students only needed a draw to qualify for the next round. However, with the strength that had been confirmed since the beginning of the qualifying round, U15 Song Lam Nghe An continued to win against U15 Quang Nam with a score of 2-1. The scorers for Song Lam Nghe An were Truong Van Tan Sang in the 44th minute and Nguyen Tan Minh in the 49th minute.

Through the qualifying matches, U15 Song Lam Nghe An, in addition to applying different tactics, coach Dinh Van Dung also rotated, so that almost every player had a chance to play. This helped the players to practice, prove themselves and also created competition in each position. So that each Nghe An striker when playing on the field always had to try hard when being selected to play as a starter.

U15 SLNA will still be the team highly rated for its ability to win the championship this season. Photo: Chung Nguyen

U15 Song Lam Nghe An has passed the qualifying round quite smoothly, with resounding victories. However, when entering the final round, facing "tough" opponents such as Viettel, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, or PVF is not an easy thing for coach Dinh Van Dung and his team. But with the way the coaching staff works and the strength of each player, U15 Song Lam Nghe An will still be considered a candidate for the championship of this year's season./.