Vietnam's playing style is becoming more and more unpredictable.

First of all, it must be said that "Coach Park's strategy" is unchanging, based on the principle of having to control the game well, at a reasonable distance to ensure not losing before thinking about scoring. Coach Park can still use long, high balls like Anh Duc's goal in Bacolod (Philippines), maybe from a split like Trong Hoang - Van Duc or a solo like Cong Phuong.

The difference of Coach Park Hang-seo is the precise calculation of the opponent's strengths and weaknesses to divide the match, calculating the playing style to force the opponent to follow him. Mr. Park also uses "deceptive moves", the pinnacle of the art of leading the football field that only a certain level can achieve.

Unpredictable changes

Coach Park has an unpredictable playing style, based on the principle of having to control the game well, and having a reasonable formation to ensure not losing before thinking about scoring. Photo: AFF

VFF is quite fortunate to have a diligent, far-sighted and very quiet coach. I agree with the opinion of businessman Nguyen Hoai Nam, the man who is currently a member of the Board of Directors of two European football teams, KV Kortrijk (Belgium) and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), who affirmed:

“If we want football to have a great reputation, we need to have a great coach. After the AFF Cup ends, if the Vietnamese team reaches the final, in case I am elected, the first thing I will do is convince the VFF to extend the contract with coach Park Hang-seo. We need to have great coaches like this to dream of attending the World Cup.”

As of now,Coach Park Hang-seo used 5 different tactical formations with 20/23 players on the field. The constant adjustments to the squad and playing tactics show that Vietnam is the team with the most diverse and flexible playing style in this year's AFF Cup.

Coach Park Hang-seo is “unchangeable” with his 3-defender style of play, but “versatile” when constantly “rotating” during the match (3-4-3), (5-4-1), (3-5-2), (4-1-4-1) and (5-3-2). In addition to changing the formation, the Korean coach also changed personnel, especially in the midfield and forward lines, thereby making it impossible for opponents to “predict” Vietnam.

Only the goalkeeper and 5 defenders are fixed, the 5 midfield and forward positions are constantly rotated in each match, even using 2-3 different formations in one match.

The pinnacle of "false trick"

There are 3 matches at this AFF Cup, Mr.Park Hang-seo reached the pinnacle of his coaching art, which was the confrontation with Malaysia at My Dinh Stadium and the two semi-final matches against the Philippines. Many V-League coaches said that they learned a lot from the Korean coach when watching these matches over and over again.

Initially, coach Tan Cheng Hoe was determined to “defend to the death” by leaving out captain Mohamad Zaqua and midfielder Safawi bin Rasid - his best attacking players - in order to earn 1 point. But coach Park Hang-seo “accidentally exposed” his colleague to see the weakness of the Vietnamese team when he used the “attacking, not defensive” midfielder duo Quang Hai, Xuan Truong and left wing Van Duc to replace the “trump card” Van Quyet.

No one thought the Vietnamese players would grit their teeth and play an offensive game against the tall Filipino players. Photo: AFF

The Malaysian players were engrossed in attacking from the beginning to the end of the match, always feeling like they were about to score against the home team. Only when the referee blew the final whistle did they realize that they had fallen for the “lure the tiger away from the mountain” trick and bitterly conceded two goals at My Dinh Stadium.

Facing the experienced coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, Mr. Park Hang-seo was different, accepting to use "weakness to fight strength". The reason Anh Duc was able to score was because no Filipino player thought that Vietnam would use long-range play to approach their goal. They also did not expect Trong Hoang to split the ball with his foot from the middle of the field for Van Duc to score.

Mr. Eriksson is right to ask his students to “kill” the most dangerous explosive of the Vietnamese team and play pressing to break the home team’s strength. In theory, the physical strength of the squad of 10/11 players born and raised in Europe can completely crush the Vietnamese players to deliver the decisive punch at the end of the match.

But in the 2 semi-final matches, Mr. Park Hang-seo still instructed the Vietnamese players to accept "grabbing the opponent's belt and hitting" instead of "dodging attacks", fighting for each confrontation situation, waiting for the opponent to be exhausted to strike.

The home advantage “exposed” the Philippines’ starting lineup, he balanced the left forward and central midfielder positions, the two personnel changes also showed how meticulous this coach was. Even when Quang Hai scored, he still decided to send in Cong Phuong instead of any other defender, as if he had foreseen the next goal. That’s right!