Nghe An football goals in the year of the Rat

Many people think that Coach Quang Truong will face difficulties when returning to SLNA, so the goal of the 2020 V.League season of the Nghe An team is just to stay in the league. The fact that foreign players have not been recruited yet and the team formation is still in the initial stage means that SLNA is really facing difficulties.

Van Duc will lead SLNA's attack this season. Photo SLFC

Should choose money abroad

In fact, SLNA's biggest challenge is still the midfield. Not only this season, but in the past few seasons, the Nghe An team has mainly had to play defensive counter-attacks, even at Vinh Stadium.

It seems that SLNA's coaching board has abused the option of letting Olaha play back, even deep, so with the 4-3-2-1 formation, it only ensures that the Nghe An team does not lose, but cannot get 3 points against the lower-ranked teams.

Now that Khac Ngoc, Ngoc Toan and Van Binh have retired, SLNA should probably find a foreign player to play as a midfielder rather than the two foreign strikers. It seems that the replacements that Coach Quang Truong has tested are unlikely to be able to take on this position.

If there are 2 foreign players playing and the midfield cannot control the ball, it is easy for a striker to fall back to play for the ball. In reality, in modern football, the skills of midfielders, especially central midfielders, are completely different from strikers.

Not to mention, opponents often actively press, not allowing this striker to organize attacks, causing counter-attacks with thin lines of players, not penetrating the 16.5m box.

Top 10 target

Quang Truong refused to talk about SLNA's goals this season to avoid putting pressure on new players in the first team like Ba Sang, Van Lam... But comparing the relative strength of SLNA, they are still better than Nam Dinh, Hong Linh Ha Tinh, Hai Phong and even Thanh Hoa.

Following SHB.Da Nang after the departure of Do Merlo, Coach Le Huynh Duc is switching to 4-1-4-1, facing many difficulties. Thus, SLNA will be in the top 4-5 teams that will have to compete a lot to escape the red light group.

Certainly, SLNA will face difficulties in the first few matches, but if they overcome the challenges, the Nghe An team will cause difficulties for the above teams. The weakness of the players is their mentality, when they have more experience, SLNA will not be an easy opponent.

According to many people, SLNA's top 10 goal this season is reasonable. There is a little pressure for the Nghe An team to complete their professional tasks in the current difficult context.

The role of seniors

Xuan Manh will become the leader of the defense. Photo: Archive

Certainly the role of SLNA warriors will be very important, especially Xuan Manh and Van Duc. Quang Truong has considered the option of pushing Xuan Manh back to play right back when needed to do a good job of defense before thinking about scoring.

Meanwhile, Van Duc will play the leading role in SLNA's attack this season. In counter-attacking football, his runs and shots are effective weapons for SLNA and the national team. If he plays successfully for SLNA, his path back to the national team will be much shorter.

With Ho Tuan Tai in good form, the attacking trio of Van Duc, Tuan Tai and the foreign striker will diversify SLNA's playing style. The other players will have to play satellite roles for this style of play until they can independently take charge of the attack.

With his experience, Van Duc can play well as a winger and an attacking midfielder when needed. The most difficult thing is how Quang Truong will handle the situation when the main players are injured or have cards because it is clear that not all of the 10 young players who have been promoted in the past 2 seasons are ready to fight.