Song Lam Nghe An foreign player: What position does Danko Kovacevic play?

(Baonghean.vn)- As a striker, Danko Kovacevic was certainly bought by SLNA's coaching staff to take on the task of scoring goals. But letting the former Montenegro U19 player carry the attack is not a simple matter.

Just a few hours before the V-League 2017 Organizing Committee finalized the list of foreign players, Danko was added to SLNA's list. The fact that he was only present in Vinh for 2 days and was 'judged' may be due to the club's leadership relying more on his personal resume than on-field assessment.

Impressive resume

Growing up in Montenegro's most famous training center, Red Star Belgrade, Danko Kovacevic (Yellow Shirt) mainly plays football in small football leagues in Europe such as: Greece, Serbia, Montenegro. Photo: Hoai Hoan

First of all, foreign player Danko, 1.85m tall, surpassed dozens of other candidates because of his "label" as a former U19 Montenegro player. Before joining SLNA, the player born in 1992 played in the Greek, Serbian, and Montenegrin national championships. Although he grew up in Montenegro's most famous training center, Red Star Belgrade, Danko Kovacevic mainly played in small football leagues in Europe such as Greece, Serbia, and Montenegro.

Accordingly, Danko scored 16 goals for Iskra Danilovgrad Club in the Montenegrin National Championship in the 2015 season. This is a national league that is considered to have a much higher level of expertise than the V-League, Montenegrin players play on the basis of skillful individual techniques. Transfermarkt website values ​​this player at around 100 thousand pounds, belonging to the group of players with low transfer prices in Montenegro.

In fact, the SLNA team is operating quite well in a 4-3-2-1 formation, with striker Phuc Tinh as the center forward. Foreign player Olaha is asked to play low to support the defense. With this style of play, along with better ball control, in the 3 return matches of V-League 2017, the Nghe An team did not lose, but also did not win.

Even in a match leading 2-0 at Tam Ky Stadium, the opponent still took back the point. One of the main reasons is that against teams playing 3 "foreigners", with a domineering style of play, Nghe An players often run out of energy at the end of the match. Even Olaha himself is quite tired when having to move too widely for 90 minutes. Not to mention, if "conceding a foreigner", there will be times when SLNA will have to play 100% domestic players when Olaha is unfortunately injured or receives a card.

What to expect?

The urgent addition of Danko Kovacevic while SLNA is forming a style of playing with only one foreign player is receiving a lot of attention from the public. Not only SLNA but also many other teams such as Hanoi FC, SHB.Da Nang, Long An… all have last-minute additions. The question is, what is SLNA’s specific goal of recruiting foreign players?

With foreign strikers, the main measure is goals, not simply increased defense like Olaha is doing now. The most important thing is whether, after spending money to recruit Danko Kovacevic, this foreign player will score 7-8 goals in the remaining 10 matches in the V-League or not? With Danko Kovacevic, will SLNA reach the final of the National Cup this year or not?

Danko Kovacevic (66) in SLNA shirt. Photo: Hoai Hoan

Danko had 30 minutes on Thong Nhat Stadium, replacing Phuc Tinh as the center forward in front of 10,000 Nghe An fans, but did not leave much of an impression. That was understandable because the two "ball-playing" players, Phi Son and Khac Ngoc, had not had much time to practice with the former Montenegro U19 player. Danko's playing style was not strong in pressing, pressing, sweeping, and creating opportunities for himself, making it even more difficult for SLNA players in his debut match.

What SLNA's coaching staff is having a headache with is how to use Danko Kovacevic effectively. When SLNA uses the foreign pair Danko Kovacevic and Olaha in a 4-4-2 formation, the defense of Ho Chi Minh City Club does not have much trouble because the ability to coordinate between these two foreign players is almost non-existent.

If Olaha continues to play low like in the past matches, only approaching the opponent's goal when attacking, it will be difficult for him to ensure his physical strength for the whole match because he has to move a lot.

If Olaha is released from his defensive duties, SLNA's ability to defend from a distance will face many difficulties. Especially when facing teams with 2 foreign players and 1 naturalized player, using many high balls, the defensive stamina of SLNA players will quickly decline.

In the context that Phi Son will be more dangerous when allowed to play freely, how SLNA's attack will operate when Danko Kovacevic appears is not an easy problem.

While Phuc Tinh is not yet sharp but has left his mark, Tuan Tai has recovered from injury, Danko Kovacevic has made Nghe An audiences have certain comparisons. Ignoring the flashiness in his personal profile, the former U19 Montenegro player has 2 months to integrate into the playing style of the Nghe An team. Only goals are the measure of this striker as well as the assessment level of SLNA's coaching staff!

AT