What does coach Park Hang-seo do when his opponent knows all his 'playbook'?

Of particular interest is the fact that from head coach Li Tie to captain Wu Lei of the Chinese national team, they all reassured themselves that they had fully grasped the playing style and abilities of each Vietnamese national team player to "predict" and definitely bring home a victory?

So are these statements expressing confidence based on a full understanding of the opponent as is often seen in top football and are they obvious facts that must be accepted, making the opponent gradually tremble? Or are they just/still the usual "bullying" statements, regardless of whether they are the truth or are they just loud words to cover up the anxiety of a certain faltering step?

The Vietnam team is ready. Photo: Baotintuc

First of all, nowadays, researching and understanding opponents is a "daily routine" job for those who hold sand tables.Vietnam National TeamHow to play, with which pillars, how to transform against opponents... have all the answers for anyone who needs to know, including coach Li Tie and his colleagues. It is not difficult for Mr. Li Tie to assign tasks to the person accompanying Tien Linh or Quang Hai, to cover the two wings to block the rush of Van Thanh or Hong Duy and most especially to find a way to neutralize Cong Phuong...

But the problem is whether coach Li Tie and his colleagues can grasp all the "wizard's" moves.Park Hang-seoAnd in the next match, is it certain that the Korean coach's piston duo will be Van Thanh - Hong Duy as predicted? And who knows, maybe the appearance of Tan Tai, the trigger of the 2 goals scored by Tien Linh in the match where U22 VN won U22 China, will still leave an indelible mark in the hearts of the Chinese coaches and young players? It even seems that Mr. Park has practiced another option on the wing behind Tan Tai with a completely unexpected factor. Does Mr. Li know for sure which option is number 1, number 2, number 3 to improvise right now?

Dinh Trong and other players who have just returned from injury all completed the first training session of the Vietnamese team in the UAE. Photo: VFF.

That is to say, it is not difficult for 2 head coaches to have enough information about the opponent, but the prediction of the upcoming match has a 50/50 chance of being right/wrong, meaning no one has an absolute advantage in terms of information or predicting something. That is, each coach must still have for himself the best, most surprising plan possible, in addition to backups, reserves 1, 2; in addition to "reading" the match well, predicting well... to have flexible, timely plans.

Even if the opponent knows every nook and cranny of the Vietnam team "clear as day", does that mean the opponent will immediately impose, block and successfully destroy the playing style of Mr. Park Hang-seo and his team? Simply, Mr. Park does not have only one combat plan in his hands, and not every plan has only 1-2 players to carry out the task. Not to mention that in football, knowing everything but not being able to do anything, or knowing when the ball has already rolled into the net is a common occurrence for countless different reasons. And then even the best person on the table, the person who thinks too much, knows too much, gets confused, cannot "manage" and leads to defeat as usual!

Vietnam team in the first training session on the UAE field. Photo: VFF

But to face the Chinese national team, which is in a corner in many aspects, Mr. Park Hang-seo and his team clearly cannot rely on will and ability like in previous matches, but must know how to create surprises and breakthroughs in playing style, in tactical operations, and in human resources that have never been seen before.

Which players are still the core of the team, like an “open card” that no one knows and there is no reason to change, which positions will make the opponent go from surprise to helplessness… must be carefully hidden and calculated when entering the battle to hope to achieve the set goal.

Of course, the opponent will take advantage of the physical strength and stamina to compete for the ball in the air? They will have to focus on the right wing of star Wu Lei but also not leave other positions vacant in a cohesive and rhythmic team, ensuring the formation distance, tight cover that makes the opponent helpless and hesitant... is a lesson to be learned by heart for every golden star warrior, along with countless other lessons and plays that only each player knows clearly...

In short, when both the Vietnamese and Chinese teams “know themselves and their opponents”, and are determined to do their best, the story will begin with the extraordinary calculations of the coach to both make his “secret card” be used at the right time and place, and to exploit even the smallest mistake of the opponent. The consensus of the team, the usual brilliance of Tien Linh as recently commented by AFC, or some new factor will be a solid guarantee for the Vietnamese team to be confident and self-determined in the upcoming match.

Hopefully, the “wizard” Park Hang-seo will once again show his talent in the matches against big opponents. And, “no matter what anyone says” about understanding and predicting the Vietnam team, “our hearts are still as steady as a tripod” as an obvious, unchangeable, unchangeable truth in all circumstances./.