When Vietnamese football gradually 'synchronizes' with the world

The failure of the Vietnamese team to regain the AFF Cup 2022 throne from Thailand will certainly force the professionalization of Vietnamese football to be implemented more actively, more synchronously and more effectively. There is no other way, more professional Vietnamese football means comprehensive integration with regional, continental and world football.

Starting from the 2023 season, all preparations must be completed so that by the end of the year, the V-League will officially synchronize with the world football schedule for the 2023-2024 season. Besides the V-League, of course, all competition and training activities of the teams must comply with the FIFA schedule, which means there will be no Tet or holiday breaks according to Vietnam's long-standing tradition. Of course, within the allowed time frame, the Vietnamese football authority will have to know how to make all football activities comply with the FIFA schedule while also being suitable for Vietnam's reality. Remember, the football season in Europe, for example, is still arranged differently. Except for English football with many long-standing tournaments, a tight schedule, and competitions on holidays, in many other football backgrounds, players still have time off according to the law, such as New Year's Day.

Vietnam team in a training session. Photo: Archive

It is no coincidence that after the AFF Cup 2022, Mr. Park Hang-seo did not extend his contract with the Vietnam Football Federation. It is indisputable that Vietnamese football has been very successful under the Korean coach. However, the fact that the teams are gradually being figured out and cannot surpass the Thais requires a new revolution in playing style and personnel.

Mr. Park Hang-seo leads the team with many scientific and modern methods, combined with promoting the collective spirit, the solidarity of the players' community strength, relying heavily on psychological problems, encouragement, and the close "father-son" relationship. The teams have a long time to concentrate, which has both advantages and disadvantages. If Vietnamese football is truly professional and synchronized with world football, then how can we "break the schedule" to spend time with the teams like before? What "place" will the "father-son" relationship, the teacher and his beloved students have to perform?

Therefore, Mr. Park Hang-seo's stop is the right time for Vietnamese football to turn to a new page, suitable for all new conditions and circumstances. People are talking about a new, famous coach, familiar with Vietnamese football, who will continue his career of bringing Vietnamese football to a new level. This coach will only concentrate the team on certain occasions according to the world, will combine professional players from teams to play friendly matches or official tournaments, then release the players back to the teams. The coach will take turns monitoring the players through the rounds of the V-League or the National Cup, continental and regional tournaments and "check" the players. There is no such thing as recruiting and demonstrating the steps from the beginning like before. There is also no such thing as some players who do not perform well at the club being invited to the national team. That said, the requirements for the coaching team are very high, and for the players even higher, to be able to meet the assigned tasks.

Only when there is a truly good coach can one find, nurture and develop football talents. Mr. Park Hang-seo is a hard-working and dedicated person, but he is also lucky to have a generation of dedicated and talented players. However, if you review the entire 2022 World Cup 3rd Qualifiers campaign and watch the 2 AFF Cups, it is easy to see that this golden generation of players has fully utilized their inherent capacity and enthusiasm and is almost powerless against the top opponents in the continent, including the top opponent in the region, Thailand, and has had difficulty against many other teams.

Hung Dung is a good player, but the defensive midfielder position he is in charge of cannot be said to create peace of mind and the team needs a strong, physical, collision, combative and more powerful player. Hoang Duc is full of confidence, sophistication against any opponent is a rare strength. But this player is not physically abundant, and his creativity is not high. Let's watch Theerathon of Thailand play to see what advantages this player has that we dream of? Let's watch Chanathip play and contribute to see how Quang Hai is gradually losing himself?

Hopefully, the new coach of Vietnamese football will truly synchronize with the current professional development, to know how to search for talented people, discover talented people, and gather talented people to create new strength. The process of training, the process of success and failure will mold talented players like the way Theerathon of Thailand gives us profound lessons, to the point of admiration, recognition, to learn and progress. It will be very worrying if after Quang Hai, there is no new star on the field, even the players of Mr. Park Hang-seo's time have now achieved unexpected breakthroughs.