The story of Nguyen Van Truong and Khuat Van Khang competing 'beyond their level'

More interesting is whenU19 VietnamHaving these two excellent pillars in the midfield has made the teams in the same group in the upcoming U19 tournament, such as Thailand, "uneasy", forcing them to wind up their spirits after the disastrous confrontations with Vietnamese youth football...

Many people knew and were really surprised by Mr. Gong Oh-kyun's call and maximum use of Van Truong and Van Khang's time and effectiveness on the field in the recent 2022 U23 Asian Cup finals.

It is no exaggeration to say that this is a very new and "innovative" step of Vietnamese football when it boldly uses young talents from the U19 generation for the national U23, boldly breaking down the old, slow-moving stronghold in the way of using talent, especially when these talented players have only played excellently in the national U19 tournament, but have never played in the First Division or V. League as has long been a tradition.

Nguyen Van Truong had an impressive debut in the match where U23 Vietnam tied U23 Thailand 2-2. Photo: VOV

Then, before the continental tournament, both in the group stage and in the quarter-finals, Van Truong and Van Khang were continuously in the starting lineup, and were even voted "Best Player of the Match" by AFC in the match against U23 Korea.

Van Truong played for more than 70 minutes in the decisive match against Saudi Arabia in the quarter-finals against an opponent superior in every aspect, but did not show any immaturity or inferiority despite being on the "big ocean" for the first time with countless stormy challenges...

The problem is that in the long-standing development of Vietnamese football, many talented young players have been discovered and used in domestic tournaments, a synchronous step, not a single or small number.

That is Xuan Tien, Van Cuong, Van Bach... from U19 went straight to team 1SLNA. That is Duc Viet after the Quang Trung Emperor Cup consolidated his position in the HAGL first team, Vy Hao in B.Binh Duong or not long before that Hai Long in Quang Ninh, now back to Hanoi FC...

But the advancement of the above young players cannot be compared to Van Truong and Van Khang when they were called up from U19, played as a starter for U23 Vietnam in a continental tournament and immediately achieved results beyond the expectations of experts and fans.

Khuat Van Khang (yellow shirt) always shows his strength on the field. (Photo: VFF)

This result shows that the youth training of Hanoi FC and Viettel is reaching a new “level” compared to other training centers in the country and the region. It is no coincidence that the personnel of the Vietnam National Team or U23 Vietnam from the time of Mr. Park Hang-seo or starting with Mr. Gong Oh-kyun all have “roots” from the two training centers and the two clubs mentioned above.

Most of these players have good physique, good physical strength, perfect skills, good adaptability to all tactical schemes, the ability to confront high-class opponents in the region and continent... They are the main factors, the basic nucleus in the process of rising to the level of Vietnamese football, with a very bright example, with steps inherited and selectively taken from Korean and Japanese football or neighboring Thailand.

But from the breakthrough of Mr. Gong Oh-kyun and U23 Vietnam, whether it will inspire the next bold idea for Hanoi, Viettel or other clubs about using the above young talents "above level" or not is not an easy question to answer.

The Vietnam national team and U23 Vietnam are the quintessence of Vietnamese football, of V. League 1, 2… but no one can be sure whether all the good things and methods of foreign coaches can be “carried intact” into the club or not?

Simply put, the Vietnam National Team and U23 Vietnam usually participate in concentrated, short-term tournaments, while the V.League is a long-distance race, from half a year to the next half a year like the football world is operating. And Mr. Gong Oh-kyun himself also advised his students about that difference to have appropriate training and competition methods.

Obviously, it is not easy for Van Truong and Van Khang to be the main players in the V. League when the team has countless experienced seniors, the expensive foreign players bought never have the purpose of "showing off", sitting on the bench. But surely the coaches of the clubs cannot ignore the fact that Van Truong and Van Khang were once trusted in the U23 Vietnam team, and if they play well in the upcoming U19 regional finals, the matter will be "examined" carefully, putting real pressure on the coaches.

While other young players who could not stay in the final list of U23 Vietnam are now being trusted by clubs when competing in V. League, the above question is even more pressing for insiders. Is it also a process of fair and unceasing competition, requiring new and creative ways like what Mr. Gong Oh-kyun did successfully with U23 Vietnam and there is no reason not to continue with other young players to discover and use for newer and higher tasks.