Coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh: In theory, SLNA still has a chance to win the championship.

PV: Coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh, after 16 rounds, SLNA is ranked 5th on the V.League 2019 rankings. Does this truly reflect the strength of coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team?

Coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh:There is still a lot of time left, V.League 2019 still has 10 matches left. If we evaluate now, it is a bit difficult. However, it can be said that 5th place is temporarily acceptable. It will take 3-4 more matches to determine which team has a chance to win the championship, which team has a medal, and which team is at risk of relegation.

Everything is still not settled, even in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Some people say that a quiet team like SLNA might win the V.League. In theory, SLNA still has a chance to win the championship, even high if they win 5-6 matches in a row. In football, there must always be faith, there are difficult times. The problem is to recognize what those difficulties are and overcome them.

SLNA currently owns a squad of quite high-quality players. Photo: Duc Anh

PV: So, in your opinion, what is the reason why SLNA did not have any improvement in the first stage of the second leg of V.League 2019?

Coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh:One of the reasons why SLNA cannot promote their current playing style and strengths is because of the field. The field is too poor, too bad. Playing on a hard field, with grass like that, the players cannot develop their skills, easily losing their inspiration to play football.

The stadium organizers should have taken measures early to renovate the grass surface. This is not difficult, but I don't understand why Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City stadiums can do it but Nghe An cannot. Vinh Stadium is just a competition venue, and another stadium should be arranged for practice. We can't continuously work on the competition field like this.

PV: In addition, in your opinion, what is the reason why SLNA's strikers are not playing effectively? How do you evaluate the new player Vinicius?

Coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh:SLNA's players are not that bad. The older players are still able to compete. SLNA was quite hasty in taking player Joel Vinicius. We have to ask why Vinicius scored 6 goals in the first leg but Ho Chi Minh City did not keep him.

From what I heard, he is very lazy in training. In the team, foreign players must be the best in training, energetic, and can even run and practice more. SLNA's coaching staff needs to have strict measures to guide foreign players.

Foreign player Vinicius has only scored 1 goal but on the penalty spot. Photo: Duc Anh

PV: In recent matches, when Vinicius and Olaha were SLNA's strikers, Ho Tuan Tai was also given a chance but played in the midfielder position. What do you think about this?

Coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh:I still think that Ho Tuan Tai will be more effective playing as a striker. He can approach the goal, run well, score goals and is also sensitive in finishing. How he is arranged depends on the coaching staff. But it would be better to arrange Tuan Tai to play up front, to play as a winger requires a different type of player. Even Michael Olaha often plays low as a midfielder. If Tuan Tai and Vinicius play as center forwards and Olaha plays in the middle to support, SLNA's attack will have a strong attacking trio.

PV: Except for the victory against HAGL, SLNA has not won in the last 10 matches. All the responsibility is on coach Duc Thang. What is your assessment of SLNA's head coach at this time?

Coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh:Coach Nguyen Duc Thang is doing very well, I have to say so. The team's performance depends a lot on the organization. For example, Thanh Hoa, when FLC withdrew, the players played very poorly. When Mr. De returned, they played very well, winning continuously. The decisive factor is the organization, salary, bonus, and treatment. If they are well taken care of, the results will improve. Coach Duc Thang and SLNA's coaching staff have discussed and agreed on professional work, planning, and competition organization.

Coach Nguyen Duc Thang has done everything he can for SLNA. Photo: Duc Anh

At least in terms of defense, SLNA is the team with the best defense in the country, with the most draws and the fewest losses. The problem that SLNA has not been able to solve is scoring and finishing up front, in the rest of the time, SLNA's coaching board will find out and have to come up with a solution. If SLNA loses 5-6 matches in a row, it will be dangerous, but I think there is nothing to criticize about SLNA's coaching board at the moment. If they win 1 match now, their position will improve and they will have a great chance of entering the Top 3 again.

PV: So what about the players, they themselves also have to make efforts and strive to overcome difficulties, right?

Coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh:Players need to be encouraged, but many Vietnamese players do not have a sense of professionalism. The players themselves do not understand what professionalism is, do not understand their own value. Do not understand how they are making money. Currently, players are very individualistic and cannot manage themselves or be self-aware in their daily activities. If there is a player on the team who violates discipline, depending on the severity, I am ready to remove him from the game and let another young player replace him.

Center back Nguyen Ba Duc is one of the few young SLNA players promoted to the first team. Photo: Trung Kien

PV: Besides improving performance and position on the rankings, what are the issues and tasks that SLNA needs to improve in the future, sir?

Coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh:If SLNA does not do it in time, next season the team will have a very difficult time. I have warned about this. This year, the older players are the main players, but next year they will not be able to play like that anymore, so who will replace them? We should have let the younger players play now. We can draw, we can lose, the important thing is to stay in the league, next year we will have a young, strong, and ambitious generation. Not being able to do this is very dangerous.

We can understand that the next generation of young players are not up to the mark. But by now, U19 and U20 players should have been tested. In my time, Van Quyen, Cong Vinh, Quoc Vuong, Hai Nam, and Nhu Thuat were promoted at the age of 18 to gradually replace their seniors. It is true that young players are still inexperienced, but they also practice like their seniors, so they should be tested to mature.

PV: In the upcoming round 17, SLNA will have a trip to HAGL. In the first leg, we won 3-0. What do you think about this match?

Coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh:The match between SLNA and HAGL will be very interesting. SLNA is the team with the best defense in V.League (13 goals), capable of resisting the opponent's attack. HAGL is a team with a diverse attack (27 goals), a clearer playing style than SLNA. They have many good attacking players, Van Toan's ability to break through, HAGL's midfield and forward lines are quite good.

HAGL's weakness is the defense, they often make mistakes. That's why HAGL loses a lot and SLNA's offense must improve otherwise the match will lead to a goalless result. Overall, the advantage and opportunity still lean towards the away team SLNA if they play tight and know how to take advantage.

PV: Thank you for sharing!

Decoding Song Lam Nghe An's failure against Thanh Hoa

(Baonghean.vn) - Despite having prepared thoroughly in terms of spirit and force, SLNA's away match at Thanh Hoa Stadium had a result that was not in the prediction of many people. So what is the reason that the Nghe An team had to accept such a defeat?