What direction should Vietnamese football take?

The sadness of inadequate infrastructure.

Former Japanese Technical Director of the Club – Hideaki ShojiLam River, Nghe AnFrom the very first day of his involvement with Vietnamese football, he had to admit that infrastructure was the biggest obstacle preventing Vietnamese football from developing to its full potential. Only then came factors such as professional skills and discipline…

Another coach, Velizar Popov, also frankly shared with the media: "Everything has to start from the infrastructure, that's the first basic foundation, just like building a house, you have to start from the foundation, not the roof."

These are heartfelt and not new suggestions. A football system is not only reflected in the achievements of the National Team, but also in the quality of the national league, youth training, and the internal strength of the domestic clubs…

To develop youth football, besides the issues of nutrition, physical fitness, and discipline that have not received adequate attention, the biggest shortcoming is...Vietnamese footballIt's the training ground. You can't train football without a training ground. Even many professional teams in the V.League don't have standard training grounds; 2-3 clubs share one pitch. Clearly, that's a major paradox and a significant shortcoming.

Without adequate infrastructure, it is naturally impossible to develop school football, community football, and grassroots football to nurture and discover young talents in a region or on a national scale. Youth football in clubs and localities will develop unevenly.

Due to a lack of facilities, youth tournaments also face difficulties in finding hosts. There are too few venues for young players to develop their talents. Adequate facilities are also essential for players to develop comprehensively in terms of skills, tactics, and other important factors in becoming a professional player.

What direction should Vietnamese football take?

Following defeats against Indonesia and Malaysia, Vietnamese public opinion and fans are questioning whether Vietnamese football should follow the "naturalization" path of other countries or the path of Japan, South Korea, and Uzbekistan...? Let's not forget that Indonesia not only naturalized players, but their U17 team also recently qualified for the World Cup.

Certainly, the Vietnam Football Federation will continue to focus on recruiting overseas Vietnamese players in the future. However, this is only a temporary and short-term solution, and it requires significant funding from the clubs.

The current state of Vietnamese football is that many clubs are not focusing on youth development, and some clubs don't even have youth training centers. Instead of searching for and training young football talents, teams like Hanoi Police, Nam Dinh Green Steel, and Binh Dinh Quy Nhon are prioritizing buying players who can bring them early success.

Football nations like South Korea and Japan have adopted the German and European models for decades. Following this path, Vietnamese football would need to be extremely patient and accept a decline in performance over a considerable period. It might even require sacrificing success in regional tournaments like the ASEAN Cup and the SEA Games.

This is very difficult to achieve, as the pressure to perform in regional youth tournaments like the U23 Southeast Asian Championship or the SEA Games is immense. Clubs themselves, due to this pressure, prioritize signing foreign players and recruiting players instead of developing young talent.

Vietnamese football needs not only a "revolution" but also a change in the perception and expectations of each fan. Without improving infrastructure, focusing on training and developing clubs, and prioritizing the development of the national league, Vietnamese football will be left far behind by its regional rivals.