Vietnam National Team: When Hung Dung Returns

The absence of Hung Dung inevitably caused the midfield axis to collapse, and when facing opponents of a different level in the continent, they were "crushed" and subjected to continuous pressure and torture from match to match from the end of the second qualifying round until now.

Of course, in that unwanted process,Vietnam National TeamFortunately, Quang Hai maintained his inherent class and Hoang Duc's brilliance, so that the leading position of the Vietnamese national team in the region was not shaken violently when the AFF Cup 2021 was approaching.

Hung Dung returns to training with the Vietnam team. Photo: Archive

While many people are worried about the process of retaining the throne of the Vietnam National Team in Singapore, the good news comes with the information that Hung Dung is back. The fact that Hanoi Club was not interested in calling Hung Dung before and now allows this star to join the national team shows the peace of mind first of all from the management unit, when they suffered losses after the incident with Van Hau and Dinh Trong. It is also unknown how well he can reintegrate with his teammates, but surely Hung Dung will bring a warm, trustworthy wind to the national team, inspiring the whole team before the difficult match ahead.

Experts and the media of course quickly began to speculate on how Coach Park Hang-seo would use his players, especially the midfield, when Hung Dung returned. Perhaps, in matches against weaker opponents, Mr. Park did not rush to use Hung Dung from the start, but allowed this player to gradually adapt to the fierce competitive environment, after the game had been decided, for example. The midfield framework at this time was of course already prepared by Mr. Park after the 3rd qualifying round.

In the decisive matches in the next round, of course, Mr. Park will play his trump card, Hung Dung. Most likely, Hung Dung will pair up with Hoang Duc in the center, one with the ability to cover and work hard, the other with the ability to change positions, pull the ball up high, and create breakthroughs. At that time, Quang Hai's ability to play wide, close to the goal will be promoted. It is very possible that a player who has long been considered to be in poor form like Van Duc will be trusted to play as a starter when he does not have to participate much in the defensive front, focusing on developing the ability to play breakthroughs on the left wing, close to the opponent's goal as often seen before?

Hung Dung may return to the Vietnam national team to attend the AFF Cup 2020. Photo courtesy of Minh Tuan

Recently, many people often ignore the SLNA midfielder in the expected starting lineup when the last 2 matches of the Vietnam National Team had to retreat to the bench. But remember, in the last 20 minutes of the match against the Saudi Arabia National Team, Van Duc showed how strong his comeback was when he was encouraged to play high up, playing according to his inherent strengths. In the recent internal practice match, Van Duc also "opened fire" to bring good news to his coach and teammates. Everyone knows that for a long time, Mr. Park has been quite "conservative" with his way of using people and now is the time for that to continue to be shown not only with Van Duc, when Hung Dung is the basis for all long-term calculations of the Korean coach?

And most notably, when Hung Dung returns, there will be a few other factors that will have to step back such as Tuan Anh, Xuan Truong or Duc Huy, Hoang Anh... At the same time, if Van Duc returns to the left wing, Van Toan, as usual, will continue to get used to the bench and mainly score points of hope in the... media!

Of course, everything is still just a prediction and expectation. But certainly, the positive effect of the return of the current 2020 Vietnam Golden Ball Hung Dung is not small and that is good news for Vietnamese football after a long period of overcoming difficulties. Hopefully Hung Dung will soon return to his original form, truly be the star of the midfield of the Vietnam National Team to help his teammates feel secure on the defensive front, creating a foundation for his teammates on the offensive front.

Hung Dung's return means the Vietnamese national team returns with strength and courage as a united and creative team, for the common goal of defending the most prestigious AFF Cup throne in the region today./.