V-League 2024/2025 story and waves at the bottom of the table
While the Vietnam National Team is actively preparing for the ASEAN Cup 2024, which will take place from this December, domestic experts and media still cannot forget the small movements in V-League teams, especially the groups temporarily ranked at the bottom such as Da Nang, Song Lam Nghe An or Hai Phong.
The latest story is that Da Nang has just "given away the whole group" including the club president, technical director and head coach, to be replaced by the "new but old" person, Mr. Phan Thanh Hung, alongside the foreign coach who was successful with U17 Hanoi and U17 Vietnam, Cristiano Roland, meaning the characters belonging to the "ecosystem" of Mr. Hien were reinforced for Da Nang in difficult times.
Everyone knows that Mr. Phan Thanh Hung, after the resounding success of Quang Nam - Da Nang football, continued to be successful with Hanoi football under Mr. Hien, but then encountered difficulties with Quang Ninh, returned to Da Nang and suffered relegation with his hometown team in the 2023 season. His replacement, Mr. Truong Viet Hoang, was excellent in bringing this team back to V-League and had 9 bad rounds, the reason being that the domestic force was too weak, the foreign players were "bad"... Then people "rotated" to Mr. Hung and Roland, even though the roles changed a little, the work was definitely still the same.
Looking at the Central team that is facing the same difficulties as Song Lam Nghe An, everything is "like a shadow". Coach Anh Tuan replaced Phan Nhu Thuat and helped the team successfully stay in the league last season. Some people have questioned how long Anh Tuan can "last" in the head coach's chair when the team still enters the season with the old investment method, still using young, inexperienced players and average, weak foreign players as before? In fact, it did not take 9 rounds like Mr. Truong Viet Hoang, but people had to call back Phan Nhu Thuat 2 rounds before.
While the techniques have the above “similarities”, the two teams’ lineups also have similar points in a… bland direction. That is a series of potential young factors of Da Nang who were called up to U23 Vietnam such as Phi Hoang, Dinh Duy, Duy Cuong… or ofLam River Nghe An Players who played for U23, U19, U17 Vietnam such as Xuan Tien, Van Cuong, Nam Hai, Quang Vinh, Nguyen Hoang, Long Vu... all had difficulty competing, unable to meet the requirements when facing experienced seniors and great foreign players. When teammates, especially foreign players, are dull, the pressure on the shoulders of young players becomes heavier. The competition process only draws and loses with the most goals conceded in the tournament, so finding a win becomes more and more difficult, if not hopeless, unclear...?
The 2 months of break for the ASEAN Cup are considered an opportunity for struggling teams like Da Nang and Song Lam Nghe An to find replacements and add more players, in addition to "changing generals and changing fortunes", creating a new atmosphere in training and competition. Both Da Nang and Song Lam Nghe An did the easy thing first, which was to change the coaching staff, although one place before another, and in essence, it was still "renewing with old people".
As for the force situation, it will certainly not be announced until the end of round 11 according to regulations, but additions and replacements are mandatory. The teams belonging to the "ecosystem" of Mr. Hien certainly do not lack domestic and foreign resources for internal rotation as before? Is it difficult for Song Lam Nghe An with limited resources, hoping to have a new (but old) player capable of organizing midfielder, for example, is already good compared to... no movement? Even a foreign player who does not play well like Zaracho can still be used in a new position with more suitable capabilities, although everyone knows that he once played in the left center-back position and immediately received a red card, used to play in the center but the home team's goal was constantly on alert, many times he rushed forward but there was no clear pass...
People often compare “waves at the bottom of the river” or underground waves as unpredictable, containing power when rising. But the “waves” at the bottom of the V-League table, as before, are light, fleeting, passing back and forth just for show. Then, when the V-League returns, who can be sure that the above teams will create a new momentum, if the force situation is still just “use what you have”, “come and go, it’s the same” with the weak quality like the past 9 rounds./.
