Roll call of the 'departed' squad of Song Lam Nghe An

Not counting the retired veteran Van Binh, the 11 SLNA players who have just left Vinh Stadium are enough for a V.League squad. It is not difficult to see that except for Pham Duc Thong and Ba Duc, the remaining players have all fought in the V.League for many years. Players Nguyen Manh, Khac Ngoc, Van Binh, Dinh Hoang have all played for the national team.

Check out the players who just left Vinh Stadium

The 12 players leaving Vinh Stadium are a quality squad, capable of facing any V.League team. Standing in the goal is goalkeeper Tran Nguyen Manh (Viettel Club). 7 seasons as the main goalkeeper in V.League is a huge "fortune" for this 29-year-old goalkeeper. Joining Viettel, Nguyen Manh's goal is certainly the 2020 V.League championship.

Viettel Club already had Ngoc Hai and Trong Hoang, now has Khac Ngoc and Nguyen Manh. Photo courtesy of VTFC

If choosing the 4-4-2 formation, the defense of the Nghe An team will include the central defenders Damir Memovic (HAGL), Nguyen Ba Duc (Hai Phong Club), and Tran Dinh Hoang (SHB Da Nang) and Le Manh Dung (Hong Linh Ha Tinh) on the wings. If Dinh Hoang is a veteran full-back, Manh Dung is a midfielder, but with SLNA's training method, Manh Dung will also play as a left-back quite well.

In the 4-defender lineup, Damir Memovic and Dinh Hoang are the two names that contributed significantly to helping SLNA become the best defense in V.League 2019. Not having enough funds to keep this duo will make the coaching staff and Nghe An audiences remember them forever.

Damir Memovic is the most valuable foreign player that Vinh Stadium has had in recent years. Any V.League team would like to have this central defender in their squad, only SLNA, when “the family does not have the conditions”, had to accept parting with Damir Memovic.

When he moved to SHB Da Nang, improving his crosses while holding the ball to attack, Dinh Hoang is expected to become the backbone of the Quang Nam team. In the 4-1-4-1 formation of coach Le Huynh Duc, this right-back is attacking and defending quite rhythmically and seems to integrate well.

Ho Khac Ngoc (middle) when he was playing for SLNA. Photo courtesy of Trung Kien

The midfield will consist of the central midfielder pair Ho Khac Ngoc (Viettel Club) and Vo Ngoc Toan (SHB Da Nang). This is also the core of SLNA's midfield last season. They may not be sharp in their attacks, but their defensive ability is an undeniable strength.

When parting ways with SLNA, one went to the North, the other to the South and was expected to open up more professional boundaries. Many people believe that, under the guidance of coach Duc Thang, the guaranteed “no-lose” style of play has caused both Khac Ngoc and Ngoc Toan to lack the necessary versatility.

Playing as wing midfielders will be Le The Cuong (Hai Phong FC) and Pham Duc Thong (Pho Hien FC), players who will have a place in their new teams because of their somewhat stubborn playing style. To be fair, these are not the best wingers in the V.League, but they are capable of playing as regulars in teams that are in the middle of the rankings.

Who remembers?Michael Olaha?

Olaha player.

The striker duo Joel Vinicius and Michael Olaha (Hapoel Tel Aviv) are not low-quality foreign players. But for them to be able to demonstrate their quality, the midfield must provide the ball in time with their movements. Looking at the hat-trick on the B.Binh Duong field, Joel Vinicius is strong in the ability to move to receive through balls.

Meanwhile, in the Israel Premier League, having to sit on the bench quite a lot will remind Michael Olaha of Vinh Stadium. Having only played 4 out of 25 matches for Hapoel Tel Aviv is too modest a number for this player.

Many people believe that if Duc Thang were assigned to lead this team, many teams, including SLNA at present, would find it difficult to win, no matter where they play. That is to say, Nghe An football has many talented people.