Goalkeeper coach Vo Van Hanh recommends Nguyen Manh to replace Dang Van Lam.

Recently, the Thai League organizing committee decided to reschedule the Thai national league due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, the Thai League will run from September 2020 to May 2021. This coincides with the 2020 AFF Cup, and Dang Van Lam will need the approval of his club, Muangthong United, if he wishes to return to join the national team.

Furthermore, the 2020 AFF Cup, the Southeast Asian Championship, is not part of the FIFA Days system. According to the rules, Muangthong United FC has the full right to decide whether goalkeeper Dang Van Lam can return to the Vietnamese national team or not.

The Thai team currently has four goalkeepers, with Dang Van Lam having played two matches this season, and Yos Somporn being the starting goalkeeper. In the worst-case scenario, coach Park Hang-seo and his assistants will be forced to find a replacement.

Goalkeeper Dang Van Lam is facing difficulties in Thailand. Photo: FAT.

In the most recent training camp preparing for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers against UAE and Thailand, Coach Park called up four goalkeepers: Dang Van Lam, Nguyen Tuan Manh, Pham Van Cuong, and Tran Nguyen Manh. However, only three goalkeepers were retained, as Nguyen Manh suffered an elbow injury and was absent.

According to experts, among the goalkeepers mentioned above, Tran Nguyen Manh is the most deserving candidate. The goalkeeper, currently playing for Viettel FC, has made a strong comeback since the 2019 V.League season and has contributed significantly to making SLNA's defense the most solid.

Former national team goalkeeper Vo Van Hanh – winner of the 2001 Vietnamese Golden Ball – stated: “If the national team cannot have Dang Van Lam, in my opinion, Nguyen Manh is the most deserving candidate. Nguyen Manh's expertise and ability are undeniable; he is currently number one in the V.League. In terms of match experience, Nguyen Manh already has it all.”

Goalkeeper Nguyen Manh is highly regarded by coach Vo Van Hanh. Photo: TK

Goalkeeper Nguyen Manh is currently in his 9th season playing in the V.League with a total of 145 matches. For the national team, Nguyen Manh has played 17 matches and was the first-choice goalkeeper under coach Toshiya Miura and former coach Nguyen Huu Thang from 2014-2016.

According to VPF data, Nguyen Manh is currently 1.78m tall. Coach Vo Van Hanh believes this is not a major issue: "Height is not a weakness for Nguyen Manh; he is relatively tall. The most important thing is his mindset and desire to play for the national team. I believe he will be valued by Coach Park Hang-seo."

Furthermore, the former national team assistant coach analyzed: "In recent years, goalkeeper Nguyen Tuan Manh of Khanh Hoa has also been a good goalkeeper, but his team has just been relegated and doesn't get to play regularly, so I'm afraid his mentality might be affected."

Besides Nguyen Manh, I think we should give opportunities to other goalkeepers who are performing well, such as Van Cong (Hanoi) and Van Toan (Hai Phong). Goalkeeper Van Toan is no longer young; he is quite experienced, confident, and very promising. Goalkeepers like Van Toan need to be given opportunities to develop early on.”

Coach Vo Van Hanh also recommended goalkeeper Van Cong (Hanoi) and Van Toan (Hai Phong) for the national team. Photo: VFF

If Muangthong United agrees to release Dang Van Lam to the national team, then the Thai League will not be playing from now until the 2022 World Cup qualifiers resume and the 2020 AFF Cup begins. This would further jeopardize Van Lam's playing time, as he would lose his starting position to the Thai goalkeeper.

Even if Văn Lâm returns to the starting lineup, he will only be training for 5 months without playing matches. This will affect his form. In the coming period, this will be a problem that coach Park Hang-seo must pay attention to, because goalkeeper Bùi Tiến Dũng of the Vietnam U23 team is also in poor form.

From now until the end of the year, if goalkeeper Filip Nguyen can complete the naturalization process, coach Park Hang-seo will have another ideal option. Filip Nguyen, born in 1992, is a Vietnamese-Czech goalkeeper, 1.91m tall and weighing 85kg, currently the number one goalkeeper for Slovan Liberec in the Czech national league.

Nguyen Manh and Khac Ngoc helped their new team defeat Hong Linh Ha Tinh.

(Baonghean.vn) - Despite having to play away at Hong Linh Ha Tinh at 3:00 PM, Viettel Club had a relatively smooth start in V.League 2020 thanks to the strong impression of two new signings, Khac Ngoc and Nguyen Manh.