Will coach Huu Thang help Vietnam break the jinx?

(Baonghean.vn) - Four times leading the group stage of the AFC Cup (formerly the Tiger Cup) also meant four times the Vietnamese national team was eliminated in the semi-finals. In the two instances where Vietnam reached the final, both times we finished second in the group stage. Superstitious people attribute this to a curse of "winning first, then failing to finish," while many experts believe the issue lies in timing and timing.

A cruel history

Commentator Dang Gia Man said, "In the past, we have topped the group stage four times: in the Tiger Cup 2000, 2002, AFF Cup 2010, and 2014, and ultimately had to stop at the semi-finals each time, a bitter truth." Recalling the Tiger Cup 2000, the Vietnamese team topped Group B after three wins and one draw, advancing along with Malaysia. However, in the semi-finals, we lost 2-3 to Indonesia on the golden goal rule after two extra time periods.

Next, in the 2002 Tiger Cup, the group stage consisted of four teams, with Vietnam in the same group as two main rivals: Singapore and Malaysia. We again topped the group after three wins and one draw to advance to the semi-finals. This time, our obstacle was the formidable Thailand, with a comprehensive 0-4 defeat.

In the 2010 AFF Cup, under the guidance of "the wizard" Calisto, the Vietnamese national team secured first place after the group stage for the third time. At this point, the semi-final format included two legs, and we still lost 0-2 to Malaysia.

Two years ago, the Vietnamese team topped their group with two wins and one draw, but couldn't escape the jinx of losing in the semi-finals. Once again, Malaysia was the opponent that caused us heartbreak.

Conversely, on both occasions that the Vietnamese national team reached the final of a regional tournament, we finished second in the group stage. The first time was the 1998 Tiger Cup, played at home with the "golden generation" of players like Huu Thang, Cong Minh, Hong Son, Viet Hoang, Minh Hieu, Huynh Duc, and Van Sy Hung…, but we finished behind Singapore and lost to them in the final. The second time was the 2008 AFF Cup; we finished behind Thailand in the group stage but then defeated them in the final to win our only gold medal in the regional competition to date.

Huu Thang is the only domestic coach to have a perfect record in the group stage of the AFF Cup.

Entering the 2016 AFF Cup with three consecutive wins, Coach Huu Thang's team finished the group stage at the top for the fifth time. Their opponent is Indonesia, a team Vietnam hasn't beaten in an official tournament for 17 years. The team is led by Coach Alfred Riedl, who knows Vietnamese football very well. Will Huu Thang be able to break the jinx of "winning first, losing later" by finishing first in their group for the fifth time?

Belief in numbers

First, our group stage performance at the 2016 AFF Cup was different. We topped our group after winning all three matches – something we hadn't achieved in our previous four group stage wins. In other words, this was the only time we'd topped our group in the five previous AFF Cup tournaments, making it the most impressive result.

Secondly, we've only unleashed about 70% of our potential in the three group stage matches. Coach Huu Thang still has many cards up his sleeve, including Cong Phuong, Minh Tuan, Phi Son, and the long-range shots of Hoang Thinh and Thanh Trung. Striker Cong Vinh hasn't yet used the header that brought him the gold medal at the 2008 AFF Cup, or the run-and-shoot move...

Cong Vinh remains the biggest hope for the Vietnamese national team to break the jinx.

Next, the four previous tournaments with "wins first, losses later" were all led by foreign coaches; this time it's a domestic coach. We can mention Coach Riedl for the 2000 Tiger Cup, Coach Henrique Calisto for the 2002 Tiger Cup and the 2010 AFF Cup, and Coach Miura for the 2014 AFF Cup. More broadly, among the 16 coaches who have led the national team, Huu Thang (a Vietnamese) has the best record in the qualifying rounds of the AFF Cup over the past two decades.

Will Huu Thang, a man from Nghe An province, be able to break the 20-year curse this time? We'll just have to wait and see.

An Thanh