Coach Pham Anh Tuan and the difficult problems before the new season of Song Lam Nghe An

In recent years, Song Lam Nghe An often used the 3-5-2, 3-4-3 or 4-4-2 formations and these will probably also be the main formations used by coach Pham Anh Tuan in the new season.

Along with that, there will be a tight defensive style of play with quick counterattacks. Because, the Nghe An team will have to know themselves and their opponents in the new season. Especially when the majority of Song Lam Nghe An's players are still very young, foreign players have not dared to confirm their quality, so defensive counterattacks are the safest option.

However, this will also be a difficult problem for coach Pham Anh Tuan. To defend firmly, the Nghe An team's defense must be a unified block. This is certainly not easy when center-back Sebastián Zaracho has just joined the club, while young defender Ho Van Cuong has just returned after a year on loan at Hanoi Police.

Besides, the physique of Song Lam Nghe An defenders is not ideal. Except for Paraguayan central defenders Tran Nam Hai and Pham Van Thanh, the other players are all under 1m80 tall. This will cause many difficulties for the Nghe team in defending against high balls, especially set pieces.

Another worrying point in the defense of the Nghe An team is the immaturity of the players. This leads to a lack of restraint in conflict situations, leading to unnecessary penalties. Even rookie Sebastián Zaracho is a person who has some pretty harsh tackles. The number of 3 yellow cards after 4 matches in the Primera Division Apertura 2024 (Paraguay) is an alarming number.

Therefore, coach Pham Anh Tuan will still have a lot of work to do to strengthen a satisfactory defense before the new season begins.

Tight defense is difficult, quick counterattacks are even more difficult. The advantage for this 54-year-old coach is having a quality foreign player in Benjamin Kuku. Along with that, the return of Ho Van Cuong will also help improve the quality of the wing attacks.

However, to be dangerous in counter-attacks, there must be quick transitions. Escaping pressing and passing well are requirements for players in midfield.

Currently, there are not many players of the Nghe An team that meet those requirements. With young midfielder Nguyen Quang Vinh and Dinh Xuan Tien - These will probably be the core players that coach Pham Anh Tuan builds in the new season. However, to help Dinh Xuan Tien regain his best form will be a difficult problem for this coach born in 1970.

Another equally important issue is improving the effectiveness of set-piece attacks. In the 2023/2024 season, the number of goals that Song Lam Nghe An scored from set-pieces can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Therefore, this will be something that coach Pham Anh Tuan needs to improve before the new season begins.

Luckily for the Nghe An team, the new duo Benjamin Kuku and Sebastián Zaracho are both good at aerial combat and quite talented in set pieces. Therefore, if they can make good use of the danger of this duo, set pieces will be a powerful weapon for Song Lam Nghe An in the new season.

In the near future, the Nghe An team will have 6 friendly matches to test the players' abilities. And these friendly matches will also be an opportunity for the coaching staff of Song Lam Nghe An to find the most suitable lineup and tactics before the new season begins.