Looking back at the journey of U15 Song Lam Nghe An: Failure to grow up

OnionU15 SLNA performance

Right from the group stage,U15 Song Lam Nghe Anfell into a group that was considered quite "tough", when having to face opponents with unpleasant playing styles such as U15 Dak Lak or U15 Hong Linh Ha Tinh. However, with a high spirit of concentration and cohesive play, Coach Le Manh Huy's students excellently won the top spot of the group with an undefeated record.

It is worth mentioning that U15 SLNA won the first place in the group thanks to the Fair Play index, because they did not receive any penalty cards during the group stage. This is not only the result of discipline in the playing style, but also a testament to the positive competitive spirit, towards beautiful football.

In the Quarterfinals, U15 SLNA continued to show stable performance when defeating U15 Kon Tum with a score of 2-0. That victory brought them into the Semifinals with confidence and full of desire.

Facing U15 PVF, although U15 SLNA lost 1-2, it was a defeat that did not make the players feel ashamed. In the stands, many spectators exclaimed: "SLNA lost when they were winning". And indeed, if you only look at the score, you will not be able to see all the effort and desire that U15 SLNA showed throughout the match.

Coach Le Manh Huy did not choose a defensive style of play, was not timid in front of a strong opponent, but played fairly, openly and with great spirit. The fast counter-attacks, energetic and technical play made the PVF defense falter many times. If he had been luckier in finishing, or more delicate in decisive situations, perhaps the result of the match would have been very different.

After the match, there were many comments on social networks saying: "That was a satisfying Semi-final match, U15 Song Lam Nghe An lost in a match but the young players will win in a career. That loss, after all, is not the end but a necessary pause. It is an opportunity for U15 SLNA to look back at themselves, to see what they have done, what is missing on the journey to find success in the future."

At the end of the tournament, U15 Song Lam Nghe An won the Bronze medal. This was not the highest achievement, but it was a worthy reward for the team's hard work. In particular, the team was also awarded the "Style" prize by the Organizing Committee. This is a prize for the team with a beautiful, strong but not brutal playing style.

Mr. Tran Quang Dung - Director of SLNA Youth Football Training Center - said: "In addition to the Bronze medal, the team also received the 'Style' award for fair play. That clearly demonstrates the sportsmanship and football culture that SLNA is aiming for. This tournament, U15 SLNA was very successful, not only in terms of expertise, but also in ethics and sportsmanship."

Not runningaccording toachievements

SLNA is one of the few youth training centers in Vietnam today that dares to face the problem of age fraud frankly. The training center is determined to review and clean up the system. Many young talents have had to say goodbye to their football dreams when they failed to pass the age assessment step. It is a great pain, but a necessary pain to maintain the value of honesty, as a foundation for a sustainable future.

Director of SLNA Youth Football Training Center, Mr. Tran Quang Dung, once shared: “Immediate achievements are not a reason to lose the sustainable development of the whole system”. Indeed, youth football is not only for competing for cups, but also a place to train athletes with ethics and expertise, thereby building a new future for them.

SLNA’s perseverance is even more valuable when they are not a team with great potential and modern facilities like PVF, The Cong Viettel or Hanoi. However, they still stand firm and continue to compete to make all opponents wary.

In the context of youth training centers such as PVF, Hanoi, Viettel or Hoang Anh Gia Lai increasingly developing professionally, SLNA is choosing a different direction for itself. A leader of a famous youth football training center once commented that in terms of expertise, we are not inferior to SLNA, but our athletes do not have the will and enthusiasm of Song Lam Nghe An players. This is SLNA's strength that not every team has.

In addition to promoting strengths in spirit and fighting qualities, recent seasons have also shown that SLNA is gradually re-evaluating the role of achievements in the journey of developing young players. They understand that medals or titles are only a small part. What is more important is how to create people with a solid foundation, with aspirations to rise up, and always maintain integrity in a competitive environment like football.

Although U15 SLNA left the tournament with a Bronze Medal, what they left behind were positive feelings for fans about a generation of young players with strong will. Maturity is not always associated with victory. Sometimes, failure is the strongest medicine for courage and psychological maturity./.