Will coach Huu Thang help Vietnam break the curse?

(Baonghean.vn) - The four times leading the group stage of the AFC Cup (formerly Tiger Cup) were also the four times the Vietnamese team had to stop at the semi-finals. In the two times that the Vietnamese team was present in the final, both times we only finished second after the group stage. Superstitious people believe that there is a curse of 'winning first, not passing', while many experts believe that the problem is choosing the landing point.

cruel history

Commentator Dang Gia Man said, “In the past, we have topped the group stage 4 times, that is Tiger Cup 2000, 2002, AFF Cup 2010, 2014 and in the end had to stop in the semi-finals, a bitter truth”. Recalling Tiger Cup 2000, the Vietnamese team topped Group B after 3 wins and 1 draw, advancing together with Malaysia. But in the semi-finals, we lost 2-3 to Indonesia by the golden goal rule after playing 2 extra periods.

Next came the Tiger Cup 2002, with 4 teams in the group stage, Vietnam was in the same group with 2 main opponents: Singapore and Malaysia. We again topped the group after 3 wins and 1 draw to reach the semi-finals. This time, the obstacle was the "giant" Thailand, with a comprehensive 0-4 loss.

AFF Cup 2010, under the leadership of "magician" Calisto, the Vietnamese team won the top spot for the third time after the group stage. At this time, the semi-final rules had a home-and-away format and we still lost 0-2 in the semi-final against Malaysia.

Two years ago, Vietnam topped the group with two wins and one draw, but could not escape the fate of defeat in the semi-finals. Once again, Malaysia was the opponent that made us feel regretful.

But on the contrary, the two times that the Vietnamese team was present in the final of the regional tournament, both times we only ranked 2nd after the group stage. The first time was Tiger Cup 1998, right at home with the "golden generation" Huu Thang, Cong Minh, Hong Son, Viet Hoang, Minh Hieu, Huynh Duc, Van Sy Hung..., we ranked behind Singapore and lost to this opponent in the final. The second time was AFF Cup 2008, in the group stage we ranked behind Thailand but then defeated this opponent in the final to win the only gold medal to date in the regional arena.

Huu Thang is the only domestic coach with a perfect record of winning the AFF Cup group stage.

Coming to the AFF Cup 2016, with 3 wins, Coach Huu Thang and his team have just finished the group stage with the top spot for the 5th time. The opponent is Indonesia, a team that Vietnam has never won against in an official tournament for 17 years. Leading the team is Coach Alfred Riedl, who understands Vietnamese football very well. Will Huu Thang be able to break the "win first, lose later" curse by winning the group for the 5th time?

Trust from numbers

First of all, our group stage performance at the AFF Cup 2016 this time has one difference. That is, we won the group after 3 wins in all 3 matches - something we have not done in the 4 previous group stage wins. In other words, in the 5 times leading the AFF Cup group stage, this is the only time we have had an absolute and most impressive victory.

Second, we have only used about 70% of our ability in the 3 group stage matches. Coach Huu Thang still has many cards in his pocket, namely Cong Phuong, Minh Tuan, Phi Son and long-range shots from Hoang Thinh and Thanh Trung. Striker Cong Vinh has yet to use the header that brought him the gold medal at the 2008 AFF Cup, or the run-and-shoot cut-off...

Cong Vinh is still the biggest hope for the Vietnamese national team to "break the curse"

Next, the coaches in the four tournaments “winning first, losing later” mentioned above were all foreign coaches, this time it is a domestic coach. It can be mentioned that Tiger Cup 2000 was coach Riedl, Tiger Cup 2002 and AFF Cup 2010 was coach Henrique Calisto, and AFF Cup 2014 was coach Miura. If we talk broadly, of the 16 coaches in charge of the national team, Huu Thang (a Vietnamese) has the best record in the qualifying rounds of the AFF Cup over the past 2 decades.

Will Huu Thang, a man from Nghe An, be able to break the curse of the past 20 years this time? We will have to wait and see./.

An Thanh