Will Ngoc Hai be elected captain of the Vietnam team?

(Baonghean.vn) -With the return of veterans Anh Duc and Ngoc Hai, will the national team captaincy change hands? Considering the past and present, central defender Ngoc Hai is the player most deserving of the national captaincy title.

Obviously, compared to Thanh Trung (Quang Nam), Van Quyet (Hanoi) - who have just been given the opportunity to wear the captain's armband, Anh Duc and Ngoc Hai have more seniority in the national team. These are also players who have a great influence on their teammates in training and daily life.

Striker Anh Duc is currently the captain of Binh Duong and has one of the oldest and second oldest careers in Vietnam at the moment. Experts say that the captaincy will be difficult to escape from these two veteran players, even if appointed by the coaches or the club's management.

Impressive performance

Both players are in extremely impressive form this season. With 10 goals, striker Anh Duc is the best domestic scorer in V-League 2017 and ranks second after Nsi of XSKT.Can Tho (11 goals).

Anh Duc - captain of B.Binh Duong is in good form. Photo: AT

By calling Anh Duc up to the national team, coach Mai Duc Chung hopes that the strikers will have more aerial combat, sweeping and pressing skills, which Duc Chinh, Cong Phuong and Tuan Tai cannot do. Anh Duc has plenty of experience in encouraging his juniors to overcome difficulties due to his extensive experience wearing the national team jersey.

It must be said that at the beginning of the season, Ngoc Hai's form was not good, because the Nghe An team's style of play put pressure on the defense and they often weakened towards the end of the match. But in the last 4 matches, SLNA won 3, drew 1, scored 7 goals, and only conceded 1 goal, thanks to Que Ngoc Hai.

Along with Dinh Luat of Ho Chi Minh City, Ngoc Hai is the best "anti-Western" central defender in V-League today thanks to his confidence, ability to read the game well, not afraid of collisions, especially in the air. Along with Van Khanh, central defender Ngoc Hai successfully controlled Gramoz, Do Merlo (SHB.Da Nang), Diogo, Hoang Max (B.Binh Duong) and Patrick, Marcelo (Saigon).

Whatever is said, considering the current domestic football scene, Que Ngoc Hai still deserves to be the top central defender of the national team.

When trusted by the coach and doing a good job of psychological work, Que Ngoc Hai is a real "rock" and being chosen as the national captain is also understandable. Compared to Anh Duc, Ngoc Hai has a slight advantage when playing as a center back, can cover the whole team better and is less likely to be replaced for tactical reasons than a striker.

The frame on the field

It is not difficult to recognize the framework of Van Hoan, Ngoc Hai and Van Thanh, the central defender position is contested between Ngoc Thinh and Bui Tien Dung. Obviously, Hai Phong's central defender Ngoc Thinh has more advantages, thanks to playing every week in V.League, which is more professional than the First Division where Tien Dung is playing.

Center back Ngoc Hai (SLNA) deserves to be the team captain. Photo: An Thanh

The midfield, with a steely center-back, playing at home, is likely to see coach Mai Duc Chung consider increasing the technical quality of the midfield. The option of using the muscular central midfielders Huy Hung and Hoang Thinh will be replaced by Hoang Thinh (or Huy Hung) and Xuan Truong.

If Thanh Trung and Quang Hai will be the first choice on the left wing, after Trong Hoang was injured, the opportunity was given to Van Toan.

Under coach Mai Duc Chung, the HAGL+ formula is no longer a priority and the most ideal duo of the current Vietnamese team is Anh Duc and Van Quyet. At that time, Anh Duc played high, strong in one-on-one battles, pressing, and aerial combat with the Cambodian defenders. Van Quyet is more technical, can play low and become a bridge between the midfield and the center forward. Of course, there will still be opportunities for Cong Phuong, if the attack plays deadlocked.

It is true that we cannot repeat the previous 8-0 victory, but with enough preparation time and personnel in hand, Coach Mai Duc Chung will have a different style of play than the first leg in Phnom Penh a few weeks ago. We will attack more, with more variety!

An Thanh