Coach Quang Truong faces difficulties with the 'young force problem'

They are defenders Le Thanh Lam, Ho Trong Vang, Thai Ba Sang, Nguyen Van Son, Ba Duc, along with midfielders Bui Dinh Chau, Tran Ngoc Anh, Thai Bao Trung, Nguyen Van Viet, Tran Dinh Tien and young striker Tran Tien Anh.

Among the names above, only 21-year-old central defender Ba Duc was “named” on the referee’s electronic board at Nha Trang Stadium. In the 90+3 minute when SLNA was leading S.Khanh Hoa 4-1, Ba Duc was put on the field to replace Vo Ngoc Toan and touched the ball… exactly once, seemingly without breaking a sweat. An example of “term thinking” and “ball shyness” of SLNA’s coaching staff!

Extra points, missing "flight time"

The fate of central defender Le Thanh Lam was even more tragic, as he did not get to play a single minute throughout the entire season. The fact that Ba Duc, Thanh Lam, Sy Nam, and The Nhat were constantly locked on the bench, while the pillars left one after another at the end of the season, left SLNA with a huge void that coach Quang Truong had to deal with during the 2 months of preparation for the season.

Even the 28-year-old central defender Thế Nhật, with 6 years of experience in V.League, has only played 7 matches/season in the last 2 years, which is quite confusing. If the coaching board confirms that Thế Nhật cannot develop, they need to give the position to a young player. If they continue to use foreign central defenders to play with Văn Khánh, they will make 5-6 young defenders...sit and wait, not knowing until when.

Lessons on how to use young players from Hanoi need to be studied and applied by SLNA. Photo: VFF

At a lower level, but the Binh Duong coaching board has put Thien Duc (20 years old), Anh Ty, Trong Huy, Anh Vu (all 22 years old) on the field and they have matured early. Striker Viet Cuong is only 19 years old but has been given 3 matches by coach Thanh Son and has scored 1 goal. Striker Tien Linh, 22 years old, has also had 4 seasons playing with 63 matches, scoring 26 goals and has soon become a mainstay of both the club and the national team.

Not being on the brink of relegation, with plenty of points at the end of the season, coach Duc Thang still did not give opportunities to young players. On the contrary, the SLNA coaching board "collected" foreign players, key players until the last minute, before they left Vinh Stadium, which is something to criticize.

Because the coaching staff does not have a professional eye or does not have enough confidence in their players, it is also possible that the "fear of losing" mentality has made the Nghe An coaches hesitate. Foreign players, as long as they are healthy, are obviously allowed to play, even if they buy strikers, they only need to defend so as not to lose.

When SLNA refused to “plant” some young players in the V.League season last year to gain experience, coach Quang Truong is now suffering the consequences when he is forced to put new faces into the match. In football, if young players do not have enough “flight time”, do not expect results.

“The vast void”

The efforts of Bui Dinh Chau, Tran Ngoc Anh, Thai Bao Trung and his young teammates in the friendly match with Thanh Hoa are very commendable. However, such passes cannot give the audience any hope. Looking at the lesson of HAGL when they sent Cong Phuong and Van Toan to play in V.League 4 years ago, many Nghe An fans began to worry.

Xuan Manh will have the responsibility of guiding his juniors. Photo: VFF

Coach Quang Truong still has a few test matches at the Viettel Tournament (expanded) from January 10, 2020 to determine the exact "legs" of the young players to make the final decision. But right now people have seen the "vast gap" in the midfield area of ​​the Nghe An team.

Coach Quang Truong refuses to talk about SLNA’s season goals, which is understandable. But fans are still looking forward to Quang Truong’s “assembly art” at this time!