When Song Lam Nghe An suffered a defeat in Nam Dinh.
The opening goal scored by Nam Dinh Steel against Song Lam Nghe An at Thien Truong Stadium was both concrete evidence of the individual strength of their foreign players and a typical image of a "big spender" team that can easily stifle any struggling team in the current V.League.
The break during the FIFA Days in October allowed Song Lam Nghe An the opportunity to wait for injured players like Nam Hai, for foreign center-back Zaracho to finish his suspension, and for additional training time afterward to improve coordination. Song Lam Nghe An's absence from the national team made training and internal testing easier. Nam Dinh Steel Green, on the other hand, faced more internal turmoil and slightly more difficulties due to players called up to the national team.
But generally speaking, if a team has a strong squad like Nam Dinh Steel Green, the coaching staff will find it easier to maneuver, and things will go more smoothly, especially when the defending champions are playing at home and striker Nguyen Xuan Son is eager to score against a weaker team. The opening goal for Nam Dinh Steel Green didn't involve Nguyen Xuan Son, but the subsequent goals saw the naturalized player score the second (penalty) and third with his signature headers, not to mention the fourth goal which he missed and fell to Van Vu, who easily beat Van Viet.
It's impossible to blame the visiting team's weak defense or the immature long-range defending of players like Xuan Tien, Quang Vinh, and Quang Tu… In his second match for Song Lam Nghe An in the V.League, foreign center-back Zaracho received a yellow card and gifted a penalty to the opponent, showing that he is one of the worst foreign center-backs to have played for the Vinh-based team to date. But ultimately, he shouldn't be blamed, because "you get what you pay for," because he hasn't played in the V.League to test himself, and you can't make something out of nothing. We need to be patient and wait for him to gradually get used to it and mature in future matches.
Against a wealthy team like Nam Dinh Steel, all the indicators of Song Lam Nghe An's youth, local training, and cheap foreign players were answered by a crushing 4-1 defeat, only adding to the heartbreak and sorrow of the many fans in Nghe An. Lacking resources and the ability to invest, they had to let key players leave and bring in mediocre foreign players. As a result, they couldn't harbor ambitions of progressing further or achieving a respectable ranking.
Despite the lessons learned from Da Nang and Hoang Anh Gia Lai about "forcing" young players to mature prematurely, leading to rapid decline in rankings, Song Lam Nghe An continues for the second consecutive season to "persistently promote young players" and remains "immune" to all opinions and public criticism, resulting in an approach that couldn't be more impoverished: low salaries, low bonuses, low goals, and languishing at the bottom of the rankings.
It was thought that the U17 generation of Xuan Tien and Van Cuong, who won the national championship years ago, would be a worthy successor as they successively played for the Song Lam Nghe An first team. Unfortunately, both Xuan Tien and Van Cuong faded into obscurity before they could shine, following incidents of indiscipline, controversial loan transfers, and injuries… And it's not just that U17 generation; promising players like Quang Vinh and Thanh Duc, constantly being "forced to mature" as they have been for so long, after this humiliating defeat, will they be able to maintain their motivation and develop, or will the opposite happen?
In a disastrous afternoon at Thien Truong Stadium, with no hope of recovery, no one could see a glimmer of hope for the young players from Nghe An and the determination of a team that had grown on extraordinary resilience. Frankly, to achieve a spectacular victory, the team needs a leader (but who is that?), key players in each position (who are they?), and a star player who can turn the tide of the game (it's difficult to name a specific person). And even though Kuku scored in 2 out of 4 matches, this number is just a drop in the ocean when the team has conceded 7 goals and scored only 2 in those 4 games.
Just look at the classy passes from Hendrio and Silva, or the unstoppable finishes from Silva and Nguyen Xuan Son of Nam Dinh Steel Green; it would be surprising if Song Lam Nghe An didn't collapse. Perhaps in the past, Song Lam Nghe An knew how to trouble the Nam Dinh team, but now they can't, and will never be able to, replicate that success. The gap between these two football powerhouses is now incredibly wide, one at the top and the other at the bottom, one at the professional level and the other at the semi-professional level.
Indeed, it was a game that revealed many things, bringing optimists back to reality and helping them learn how to adapt to and confront the undesirable, often forgettable, realities that lie ahead.
