Don't praise too quickly.

(Baonghean) - The Vietnam U19 team is having a successful run at the Southeast Asian U22 Championship held in Brunei. The final result is still unknown, but after their opening match victory against Singapore (4-0), our young players were praised to the skies. Amidst this momentum, during a live interview before the match against Malaysia, Team Manager Duong Vu Lam confidently predicted a 1-2 victory. However, the Vietnam U19 team suffered a crushing 2-0 defeat. After the loss, those responsible claimed it was due to "experimenting with different lineups"!

Vietnamese U19 players at the Southeast Asian U22 Championship held in Brunei. Photo: Dantri.

It's worth remembering that the "worship" of players from the HAGL Football Academy began at the 2013 Southeast Asian U19 Championship. At that time, due to numerous controversies in the V.League and the national team's poor performance in international competitions, after a few outstanding performances by the U19 team against weaker regional opponents, fans placed all their faith in the promising young players from the HAGL Academy, which is affiliated with Arsenal. Although in that tournament, the Vietnam U19 team ultimately lost to Indonesia U19 in the final.

In subsequent matches at the 2014 Nitufood Cup friendly tournament against teams of the same age group from countries with developed football, the Vietnam U19 team suffered crushing defeats with scores resembling tennis sets, such as losing 7-0 to Japan U19 and 0-9 to Tottenham U18. It was then that people finally acknowledged that the HAGL U19 team wasn't some "Phu Dong" suddenly appearing to save Vietnamese football. At that time, some coaches spoke out, saying that regardless of whether football is beautiful or not, victory is still necessary; you can't just say you lost... despite having the upper hand! They also suggested that the VFF should add players from other training academies, as a single club team couldn't possibly represent the national team.

During interviews with SLNA club coaches about young players, the author of this article expressed the sentiment that while the press can write whatever it wants, they shouldn't overpraise the young players, as it might lead them to mistakenly believe they are "stars" and neglect their development. They argued that the journey from youth to professional is a rigorous one, and a few outstanding performances shouldn't be enough to label someone as a "prodigy." Sometimes, players in the U15, U17, and U19 age groups may perform brilliantly, but ultimately, only a few possess the qualities to remain in the professional football career.

Therefore, regardless of the current results achieved by the Vietnam U19 team, we shouldn't overpraise them or place too much hope in them, only to be disappointed later. Excessive expectations will become a psychological burden, putting pressure on them in every match.

Duc Dung