HAGL and the dark side of 'fame'
Explaining why the teams in the V-League this season show great determination every time they play against HAGL, coach Doan Minh Xuong commented: “Winning against HAGL is fine, but losing means being scorned by public opinion. With that mentality, teams playing against HAGL have to grit their teeth and play their best to win.”
Even the bottom team like XSKT.Can Tho also had a great victory against HAGL. The mountain town team lost 5 out of 7 matches and up to this point, it is worth mentioning that whenever they play away, HAGL will definitely lose.
No one says it, but this season many people understand that HAGL is the team that every team wants to defeat.
In football, winning and losing is normal, but the fact that Cong Phuong and his teammates have to "fight hard" every match like in the past does not seem really fair. And it hurts more for the young people when they seem to be just victims of overconfident statements from adults, while this team itself has just experienced the flavor of V-League.
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| For HAGL players, being too famous is not necessarily good. Photo: Duong Thu |
If they were not “scrutinized” so closely, Tuan Anh, Xuan Truong, and Cong Phuong might not have been so badly surrounded, to the point of having almost no space in each match. If they did not have to shoulder such high expectations, HAGL might not have disappointed their fans so quickly, when HAGL’s audience attraction was no longer as strong as at the beginning of the season.
Coach Graechen himself is now showing signs of psychological distress because the clubs in the V-League have figured out HAGL's playing style. Although the force is still thin and weak, whether playing at home or away, Mr. Graechen always wants to attack the opponent first.
The beautiful style of play that HAGL created is only suitable for youth tournaments, because they only had no more than 5 good chances in the entire 90 minutes. If Mr. Graechen knew how to be firm and gentle at the right time, Cong Phuong and his teammates would have more room to perform instead of always running into the wall.
HAGL's last 6 matches are 6 matches in which Cong Phuong has failed to score. Although Mr. Duc still declares that he always puts his trust in his kids, but even so, it cannot prevent the HAGL players from suffering from heavy psychological pressure.
With the form shown in recent times, if coach Toshiya Miura does not choose any HAGL players for the U23 Vietnam team in the upcoming training session, it will not surprise anyone.
In the current V-League, HAGL is still in the group of teams at risk of relegation.
If only not a "star"! After losing to HAGL in the opening match of V-League 2015, S.Khanh Hoa showed that it was just an accident of a young team. In the last 6 consecutive matches, coach Vo Dinh Tan and his team won 2, drew 4 and are comfortably occupying a position in the middle of the overall rankings. S.Khanh Hoa does not make a fuss about playing for fame, they are humble, aware of where they are to quietly move forward. Many young players in this team are being noticed by coach Miura such as Dinh Kha, Van Vu, Van Trien, Trung Hieu, and the Japanese coach has personally come to watch the coastal city team play many times. Perhaps, Cong Phuong and his teammates sometimes want to be "anonymous" like their peers at S.Khanh Hoa. |
According to TTVH
