Ho Chi Minh City Club "Huu Thang version" in V.League 2019

First of all, people were quite surprised when Mr. Huu Thang decided to invite the pair of coaches Chung Hae-Soung and Jaemo Yang to "come down from the mountain" to coach at Thong Nhat Stadium. It is known that both Mr. Park Hang-seo and Chung Hae-soung are represented by the same company and the introduction of Mr. Park Hang-seo about his colleague Chung Hae-soung "HangKorea"High quality" made Mr. Thang boldly decide.

Change recruitment policy

Compared to Cong Vinh's time, Ho Chi Minh City FC has made a big change in its recruitment policy. While Cong Vinh likes to bring in famous stars even though he knows it's hard to combine them into a cohesive team, Huu Thang focuses on younger, more potential players, even picking up first-class players like center back Tang Tien (Dak Lak), striker Vo Ly (Hue FC). This has helped the club's budget save significant amounts, more importantly, it's easier for coach Chung Hae-soung to manage his players.

Coach duo Chung Hae-soung and Jaemo Yang are helping Ho Chi Minh City FC temporarily lead the rankings. Photo: Ho Chi Minh City FC

It is not difficult to see the mark of former national team coach Huu Thang in inviting to Thong Nhat Stadium the names Ngo Hoang Thinh (Thanh Hoa Club), Que Ngoc Manh (B.Binh Duong), Dang Quang Huy (Hai Phong). Before that, right after the end of the season, Huu Thang had quickly rolled out the red carpet to invite Cong Thanh, Tung Quoc, and Ut Cuong when XSKT.Can Tho was relegated.

It seems that the defense is the line that the club's president Huu Thang is most dissatisfied with. The 45 goals conceded last season made the manager, who was originally a central defender, uneasy and the plan to "replace" the goalkeeper and the defenders was prioritized. Goalkeeper Nguyen Thanh Thang (Thanh Hoa Club) was invited to replace Xuan Viet. Defenders Dang Van Robert, Au Van Hoan, Truong Dinh Luat, Diep Hoai Xuan left to make room for central defenders Louis Ewonde (SHB Da Nang), A San (HAGL), Que Ngoc Manh (B.Binh Duong), Cong Thanh (XSKT Can Tho)...

The striker of TP. HCM this season is Matías Nicolás,The Palestinian international had an impressive performance at the end of last season. The Palestinian foreign player made a great contribution to helping the Thong Nhat Stadium team escape the relegation zone. His partner is striker Joel Vinicius (Than Quang Ninh), the player who scored 9 goals for the mining team last season.

Many injuries

Ho Chi Minh City team often plays with a 4-4-2 formation. Photo: Ho Chi Minh City Club

Up to now, coach Chung Hae-soung still does not have the best cards. Because "sweeper" Van Thuan is injured, Hoang Thinh is playing as a central midfielder with Vu Anh Tuan. Midfielder Anh Tuan, as captain, has commanded the defense, played hard on the Pleiku field, and earned 3 valuable points.

Midfielder Phi Son also could not enter the field, forcing Minh Trung and Quang Huy to take turns on this wing. Newcomer A San (HAGL) who just arrived at Thong Nhat Stadium also suffered an injury.

What makes Mr. Thang satisfied is that the central defenders Huu Tuan, Ngoc Thinh and goalkeeper Thanh Thang are playing quite focused. In the match against HAGL, they did a good job of neutralizing the home team's attack. Meanwhile, the two new players Joel Vinicius and Hoang Thinh scored, putting their names on the scoreboard and reserve player Hoang Thien also contributed. "Old general" Van Thanh is still working hard to attack and defend, not allowing players like Van Toan and Minh Vuong to break through.

The two victories against HP and HAGL do not say much. Perhaps the serious preparation of Ho Chi Minh City Club will help them have a season that does not have to "eat every meal" like before.