Vietnam Olympic Team: If the captain was Que Ngoc Hai...

Choosing a captain for a team is always a difficult task! At the moment, the Vietnam Olympic team has not elected a committee, but perhaps defender Que Ngoc Hai has been appointed as the representative for his teammates in meetings. And most likely, the SLNA midfielder will be chosen as the team leader.

Que Ngoc Hai (middle) has many qualities to become a leader.

Why Que Ngoc Hai?

To reiterate, Que Ngoc Hai is only the temporary captain of the Vietnam Olympic team. When making this decision, coach Toshiya Miura must have felt that it was time for his team (mostly young players) to need an experienced player to act as a bridge between the coaching staff and the players.

But it is not without reason that Mr. Miura chose SLNA's central defender. In fact, Que Ngoc Hai, Nguyen Thanh Hien, and Vo Huy Toan played at the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup. They also participated in the 17th Asiad in Korea with Pham Hoang Lam. And if we count the time before that, Ngoc Hai was the leader of SLNA's youth teams, or the U19 Vietnam team in 2012...

In addition to the above-mentioned group of "veterans", Que Ngoc Hai also has a formidable "opponent" in the leadership role, that is his teammate Pham Manh Hung at SLNA. However, in 2014, Manh Hung lost a lot of points in the eyes of coach Miura. And we must also mention Nguyen Cong Phuong, Nguyen Tuan Anh and Luong Xuan Truong, who used to wear the captain's armband for U19 Vietnam and HA.GL, but if we consider the criteria of age and experience, the "rising stars" of the Mountain City cannot be compared with this senior born in 1993.

It was not without reason that Mr. Miura chose the SLNA midfielder as the temporary captain of the Vietnam Olympic team.

In search of the heart of defense

At the AFF Suzuki Cup 2014, Que Ngoc Hai played all 5 matches of the Vietnam national team (447/450 minutes played) and scored 1 goal. The above numbers helped him to be listed as the best defender of the tournament. It is worth mentioning here that Que Ngoc Hai played the role of a winger, instead of his usual position as a central defender.

In fact, Mr. Miura saw Ngoc Hai's leadership qualities when he "rotated" the central defenders in the national team, but in the end, this coach pushed him to the wing to increase the steel and aerial ability of the defense. Mr. Miura was not wrong because his student played better than expected, but now Ngoc Hai needs to be (must) returned to his forte because in the center of the defense, the Japanese coach needs a leader in both expertise and spirit. "He is a promising player and has proven his ability, so in any position, I believe Hai will play well," Mr. Miura once commented about Que Ngoc Hai.

Obviously, Ngoc Hai is the number one candidate and can be the heart of the defense. But to be the main player, this center back needs to improve a lot of things. In addition to the ability to comfort the spirit, he also needs to find a common voice with his partner and the satellites around him. Those are Pham Hoang Lam, Bui Tien Dung, maybe Le Duc Luong or "acquaintance" Pham Manh Hung...

Of course, Que Ngoc Hai must have understood that, in Coach Miura's philosophy, the captain is not number one, meaning that if he does not meet the professional requirements, or if there is a need for a change in tactics, sacrificing the leader is also a very normal thing. If we look at the story of Le Tan Tai at the AFF Suzuki Cup 2014, who used to wear the captain's armband but had to sit on the bench for almost the entire tournament, Ngoc Hai will surely have the motivation to strive.

Fierce competition

The Vietnam Olympic team currently has many central defenders with different strengths and weaknesses. If Que Ngoc Hai is chosen as captain, he is likely to be the most certain. Therefore, Mr. Miura must choose a partner for Hai and that person must be suitable for the arrangement: a pressing central defender and a cutting midfielder that the Japanese coach likes to use.

According to bongdaplus