Expectations for Xuan Truong's return at AFF Cup 2018
Xuan Truong is expected to regain his form at the AFF Cup 2018. The midfielder of HA Gia Lai Club himself also wants to forget the disappointment at the Asian Games that ended not long ago. With his class, people still believe that Xuan Truong will be like himself at the U23 Asian Cup.
The belief that Xuan Truong will shine again at the AFF Cup 2018 is based on the fact that he has more support in recovering the ball in midfield.
The presence of defensive midfielder Nguyen Huy Hung, as well as the return of Do Hung Dung, solves the problem of needing someone to defend from a distance for the Vietnamese team at the upcoming Southeast Asian Football Championship.
Remember, after Hung Dung's injury at the 2018 Asiad, the Vietnamese Olympic team struggled for the rest of the tournament due to a lack of long-range interceptors.
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| Xuan Truong is expected to shine at AFF Cup 2018 (photo: Gia Hung) |
Because of the lack of this type of midfielder, the Vietnamese Olympic team in the decisive matches at the Asian Games, such as the match against Korea in the semi-finals and against UAE in the bronze medal match, we continuously lost goals from the opponents' coordination in the middle, then rushed straight into the 16m50 area.
At that time, Xuan Truong could not do well in the task of defending from a distance, because Xuan Truong was originally trained as an attacking midfielder, from the HA Gia Lai JMG training center of Mr. Duc, which specializes in training players for the attacking line.
Not familiar with the defensive support task, Xuan Truong was overloaded, before being unable to carry out the task of organizing the play for the Vietnam Olympic team, then fading at the 2018 Asiad.
Learning from his team's weaknesses and shortcomings at the Asiad, coach Park Hang Seo has added a defensive midfielder to the Vietnamese team, ahead of the AFF Cup campaign.
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| Xuan Truong and Huy Hung (29) hope to be an effective central midfield pair for the Vietnam national team (photo: Gia Hung) |
Adding a defensive specialist from the second line also shares the burden for Xuan Truong, completely freeing this star, giving him more time to perform creative tasks.
Xuan Truong himself is also a player of class and tactical awareness. After an unsuccessful tournament, the midfielder currently playing for HA Gia Lai will certainly learn lessons for himself, so as not to take on too many tasks beyond his capacity, but to focus on showing his strengths on the field.
Helping Xuan Truong regain his form is also beneficial for the Vietnamese team in general, because he is still the top playmaker in the country, since the talented midfielder Minh Phuong retired from the field.
Minh Phuong is also the most recent organizer of the game, helping the Vietnamese team win the AFF Cup exactly 10 years ago. Now, people expect the same from Xuan Truong, in a tournament where Vietnamese football has set very high determination. Expect the same from a player with similar talent to Minh Phuong./.
