Waiting for Mr. Troussier to follow in Mr. Calisto's footsteps

In fact, in theory, to reach the final match of each tournament, overcoming any opponent is a must, sooner or later. U23 Vietnam or the Vietnam National Team, if they meet Thailand right from the group stage, will always have the important task of striving for the top spot, that is, they must defeat Thailand in the "first leg final" to make it easier to calculate when they only have to meet the second-place team in the remaining group.

If we cannot overcome the Thais in the group stage, the risk of meeting the other group winner and easily losing in the semi-finals is always present. But in general, with the current level of regional football, meeting or not meeting the Thais in the group stage is not as important as having to play well in the semi-finals, which means having to beat the Malaysians or the Indonesians. And of course, we have to calculate playing the final match against the Thais in every tournament and that is what determines success or failure in each tournament.

In this SEA Games 32, U22 Vietnam is in the same group with U22 Thailand and the final match between the two arch-rivals, the first leg final, will decide who will win the group, which can be easier than the semi-finals. If U22 Vietnam or U22 Thailand lose in this match, it will be considered an "accident" to restore the desired order against their opponents.

The problem that arises: Football is not always a problem with a ready-made solution. There are always surprises from teams considered weaker in tournaments. Both U23 Vietnam and the Vietnam National Team have had difficulty with the stubborn concrete play of Indonesia, the Philippines, and even Singapore. U23 Thailand or the Thai National Team also did not have an easy time when facing rivals Malaysia or Indonesia for a long time. Not to mention that recently, Cambodian or Lao football has made great progress and is openly challenging the dominance of Thailand or Vietnam. The massive naturalization campaign of foreign players from the Philippines, Indonesia and many other countries cannot be underestimated as they have really changed the strength of regional teams.

The upcoming opening match of U22 Vietnam against U22 Laos will not be a story of "knowing and talking forever", meaning we will easily overcome our friendly neighbors thanks to tradition and many other things. On the one hand, the spirit-wrenching of weak opponents is something that is already known, so there may not be too much concern. It is also not a concern when in the U22 Laos squad there are many players playing abroad, even in low leagues, and there are also 2 Lao players of Vietnamese origin. The main thing is that U22 Vietnam is "invisible" in the eyes of all opponents and in the belief of Vietnamese fans. A long process of losing and losing continuously is causing doubts to increase day by day and may cause opponents to declare more loudly? People are talking about the story of 2008, when Mr. Calisto and the Vietnamese team only lost and drew 10 consecutive matches to "blind" the opponent, and then with absolute confidence, won a historic victory in the AFF Cup 2008, including the victory in the first leg final on the field of rival Thailand.

Nowadays, U22 Vietnam under the new Troussier regime has just suffered 3 defeats in international friendly matches against top opponents in the continent, which is not satisfactory but not too surprising. More importantly, in the following domestic friendly matches, U22 Vietnam only won one match, the rest were losses and losses until the day of departure for the "big battle". At this point, it is very difficult to say what level of "confidence" in U22 Vietnam is, although most knowledgeable people still confirm that everything will be fine in the group stage, but from the semi-finals, it is really impossible to say anything?

All theories, playing defense-counterattack or controlling the ball, in the end, are just stories in the media, but the results on the field are what confirm the true ability of the teachers and students of U22 Vietnam. Facing weak teams, the story of controlling the game, even if not said, still happens and it is not certain that U22 Vietnam can solve everything neatly. And when facing Thailand or Malaysia, even if we want to play controlling, it is not easy because the opponent does not allow us to do that. Saying that to see the flexibility in tactics and game situations is always present with anyone, any team. That is when we need to have "trump cards" in hand to decide the fate of each match. Good students start from good teachers, that is where.

And we have the right to hope because more than anyone else, Mr. Troussier has experienced great battles in history and has won countless victories with the meticulous, scientific calculations of a talented strategist in Asia and Africa? Of course, Vietnamese football needs Mr. Troussier for a "big battle" in the World Cup later, and the opening match with the upcoming SEA Games is just the beginning, it may or may not be won, but it is necessary to achieve a step, a specific step forward on the not-so-simple journey ahead./.