What has coach Nguyen Huu Thang done while leading the national team?

(Baonghean.vn) - Leading the national team is a risky job for any domestic coach and Nguyen Huu Thang is no exception.

At the 17th ASIAD in Korea in September 2014, Huu Thang's predecessor, Toshiya Miura, led the U23 Vietnam team to the round of 16 in men's football. That was a remarkable achievement for the Japanese strategist.

Two months later at the 2014 AFF Cup, he led the Vietnamese team to the semi-finals and was stopped by Malaysia due to defensive errors. At the 28th SEA Games held in Singapore, coach Miura Toshiya led the U23 Vietnam team to win the Bronze medal. In early 2016, before being fired, coach Miura Toshiya first led the U23 Vietnam team to the final round of the 2016 AFC U23 Championship held in Qatar.

Since signing a contract with VFF on May 10, 2014, Coach Toshiya Miura has led the Vietnam National Team and U23 Team through 22 official matches with 13 wins, 2 draws and 7 losses.

Coach Nguyen Huu Thang is the one who deserves to be chosen to lead the national team after coach Toshiya Miura. Photo: Hoai Hoan

Since March 2016, coach Nguyen Huu Thang has been chosen as the head coach of the Vietnam national team and the Vietnam U23 team, replacing coach Toshiya Miura. The former captain of the national team has the ultimate task of bringing the country to the final of the AFF Cup 2016 and winning the gold medal at the 29th SEA Games. However, in reality, the minimum task of the head coach of the national team is to reach the semi-finals of the AFF Cup 2016 and the final of the 29th SEA Games.

Winning the group stage of the AFF Cup 2016, the first leg of the semi-final in Indonesia, the Vietnamese team lost 2 goals and scored 1 away goal, however, at My Dinh Stadium, individual mistakes caused Vietnam to be held to a 2-2 draw and eliminated. Completing the target set by the VFF in the contract and still in office, Coach Nguyen Huu Thang and the national team could not satisfy the fans. However, the AFF Cup 2016 was still a tournament that left fans with many emotions about the brave spirit of the country's players. The Nghe An coach revealed certain limitations in his expertise, however, as a captain, Huu Thang truly instilled in his students a fiery, dedicated playing style.

In the 2019 Asian Cup Qualifiers, the Vietnamese team under coach Nguyen Huu Thang drew 1-1 with Iraq before defeating Chinese Taipei (China) 4-1. With this result, Vietnam rose to 3rd place in Group F after Thailand and Iraq.

In the U23 Asian qualifiers, U23 Vietnam was in the same group with Korea, Timor Leste and Macau. At the end of the qualifiers, coach Nguyen Huu Thang and his team won tickets to the finals with the second place in the group, scoring 13 goals, conceding 3 goals, winning 2 and drawing 1.

The end of the pre-SEA Games tournament has made fans expect a generation of quality players. Besides, there are concerns about the attack line and weaknesses in the "goalkeeper" position. "Death" was foretold, after 3 matches in the group stage against weak opponents such as Timor Leste, Cambodia or the Philippines, U22 Vietnam was held to a draw by Indonesia in a winning position and lost painfully 0-3 to Thailand. This result brought U22 Vietnam out of the SEA Games early in the group stage.

Coach Nguyen Huu Thang left certain marks during his time as coach of the national team. Photo: Hoai Hoan

According to statistics, 4/4 domestic coaches leading the U22 team were eliminated from the group stage of the 29th SEA Games. Despite having the best generation of young players in Vietnam, Coach Huu Thang was still unable to lead the U22 Vietnam team past the group stage.

Preliminary statistics through 4 official tournaments and not counting friendly matches, the Vietnam National Team and U23 Team under coach Nguyen Huu Thang have gone through 15 matches, with 9 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses. Of which, the failure at SEA Games 29 was truly a great pain for domestic fans.

Objectively speaking, under coach Nguyen Huu Thang, the physical strength of the Vietnam national team and Vietnam U23 team has improved significantly, and the playing style is rich in attack. However, the strikers’ finishing ability and “fatal” mistakes have not been overcome.

For many football-savvy fans, in addition to the limitations in the ability to read the game, the mark that the Nghe An coach created is a united team with high will and fighting spirit. That is the premise for building a strong national team in the future.

Trung Kien