How did coach Pham Anh Tuan 'patch up' Song Lam Nghe An's defense?
After two matches, with or without central defender Zaracho, Song Lam Nghe An is still facing a crisis in the defense. The reason is because there are too many positions that are injured or have not yet fully recovered.
In Song Lam Nghe An's injury list from the 2023/24 season to this season, most of them come from defenders or defensive midfielders.
The first case is the position of central defender Ho Khac Luong, this player suffered a ligament injury in the early stages of last season when he was in good form. Although this player has returned to training, he is still not 100% fit.
In another position is central defender Le Nguyen Hoang. Returning fromVietnam U23 team, Nguyen Hoang has myositis but still needs a lot of time to treat. The player considered the pillar and most experienced of Song Lam Nghe An, Dinh Hoang, also had a knee problem right before the 2024/25 season and is still in the process of rehabilitation and therapy.
The most unfortunate case is that of Tran Nam Hai and Phan Ba Quyen, as these two players can play both as a central defender and a defensive midfielder, but they have suffered different injuries. Midfielder Ba Quyen has just finished his treatment in Ho Chi Minh City and is still unable to practice according to the team's general training plan. Meanwhile, Nam Hai is expected to need at least 3-4 more weeks to fully recover.
In the last match, Ho Van Cuong was able to play again but only came off the bench because he was not in the best physical condition and energy. This forced head coach Pham Anh Tuan to still use defender Bui Thanh Duc as left-back in the last 2 matches.
Coming up in the Hong Linh Ha Tinh match onVinh StadiumOn September 29, when center-back Zaracho was still suspended for a direct red card in the opening match, Song Lam Nghe An had even more difficulties. In the recent match against Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Song Lam Nghe An had only 2 real center-backs on the registration list, only Le Van Thanh was allowed to play and the remaining center-back was Nguyen Xuan Binh - a central midfielder who was reluctantly pulled back to fill the center-back position. This caused Song Lam Nghe An's defense to make many mistakes and the entire system to malfunction when the midfield also did not have the best names like Ba Quyen and Nam Hai.
In the case of Dinh Xuan Tien, since the National U21 Tournament until now, this player's performance and fitness have not really met the requirements. Although this player is highly expected by Nghe An fans.
With such difficulties, the next match,Coach Pham Anh Tuanmay be forced to use young central defender Phan Van Thanh born in 2006 in combination with Le Van Thanh, Nguyen Xuan Binh. On the wing, Van Cuong and Van Huy may be two players who can temporarily bring peace of mind.
In the midfield, in the absence of Nam Hai and Ba Quyen, Song Lam Nghe An will likely continue to choose midfielders Quang Vinh, Quang Tu and even the newly promoted midfielder Trong Tuan. Obviously, the midfield of the Nghe An team will face many difficulties in the upcoming rounds, but this is unavoidable.
In fact, if there are enough players, head coach Pham Anh Tuan also has many good choices for the defense and midfield. Hopefully, the main players ofLam River Nghe Anwill soon return to relieve the crisis in both defense and midfield. With head coach Pham Anh Tuan, in this storm of injuries, he and his colleagues have also done everything to overcome the difficult period in terms of personnel./.
