Recruiting foreign players at SLNA: Is it a paradox?

(Baonghean.vn) - With the deadline for player registration for the second phase approaching (June 29th), SLNA has yet to find a suitable foreign player to sign. This news is making fans in Nghe An feel satisfied, rather than worried or anxious.

"SLNA and the foreign player dilemma: Knowing when to retreat in order to advance!"

In professional football, whether in the West or Vietnam, fans always want their team to recruit quality players. But for fans in Nghe An province, it's completely the opposite; they don't support their team spending money on foreign players with the goal of avoiding relegation at this time.

It's not that they don't want to see SLNA stronger with the presence of foreign players, but simply that they're fed up with the club's management's wasteful spending sprees.

SLNA's coaching staff needs to carefully consider the issue of foreign players in the second phase of the season. Photo: Trung Kien.

Furthermore, the addition of another foreign player will further reduce the playing opportunities for young players at Vinh Stadium, leading to the stagnation of their talent. With a host of names like Dinh Hiep and Dinh Bao in the past, and Tuan Tai, Phuc Tinh, and Viet Nguyen currently, it's worrying if SLNA brings in a foreign striker to lead the attack.

The opinion of the fans from Nghe An is perfectly reasonable. Based on what is happening at the Nghe An team, there is no reason to recruit foreign players at all costs.

The ambition to soar high in the 2017 V.League is almost impossible, as the point gap with the top teams is quite large. Relegation doesn't really threaten SLNA either, as Long An and XSKT Can Tho are considered too weak. Therefore, SLNA's ranking range is from 12th to 6th or 7th place, with no significant difference between positions.

Even if the Nghe An team acquires a quality foreign player, the chance of improving their ranking by a few places in the standings is negligible. That's not even considering the risk of encountering a "flop."

Of course, besides the V.League, SLNA also has the National Cup to compete in. Currently, coach Nguyen Duc Thang's team has secured a place in the semi-finals. Therefore, on their journey to the championship title, the team from Nghe An province still has four more matches to play. Their upcoming opponents, Quang Nam and SHB Da Nang/Binh Duong, are not easy to beat, especially considering SLNA will only be fielding one foreign player (Olaha).

Therefore, ambitions in the National Cup competition will lead the management of the Vinh-based team to make appropriate calculations.

Removing one foreign player slot significantly increases the chances of young players like Tuan Tai getting playing time. Photo: Trung Kien.

Fans in Nghe An province would surely disagree with the plan to buy foreign players in order to "win" the National Cup title, a plan whose feasibility is not very high. It's better to boldly use the players they already have and fight their hardest; even if they don't succeed, no one will complain.

Moreover, the current squad is proving they deserve to be trusted. Four consecutive unbeaten matches (3 wins, 1 draw) along with impressive performances are enough to convince everyone. Therefore, while the opinions of the fans from Nghe An might seem paradoxical at first glance, upon closer examination, they are perfectly logical.

Thanh Hung