Sport

Limitations that make SLNA's 'big U's' not as expected

Duc Anh • August 31, 2024 15:28

In recent seasons, classes such as U11, U13 Song Lam Nghe An still maintain their dominance in the national U11, U13 tournaments. However, the U17, U19, U21 teams have not achieved the expected success. Regarding this issue, Nghe An Newspaper had an interview with Mr. Tran Quang Dung - Director of the Song Lam Nghe An Youth Football Training Center.

PV:Can you review the outstanding achievements of Song Lam Nghe An when participating in youth tournaments in 2024 organized by the Vietnam Football Federation?

Mr. Tran Quang Dung:In the 2024 season, Song Lam Nghe An Youth Football Training Center participated in all youth tournaments organized by the Vietnam Football Federation. In which, U11, U13 Song Lam Nghe An convincingly won the championship in the 2024 National Children's and 2024 National Youth Tournaments.

Besides, U19 Song Lam Nghe An also won Bronze Medal. Only U17 and U21 Song Lam Nghe An have not achieved the desired results.

PV:It can be affirmed that this season, the small U classes of Song Lam Nghe An continue to affirm their strength when winning 2 championships at the National U11 and U13 Tournaments. So what is the reason that Song Lam Nghe An always maintains that success?

Mr. Tran Quang Dung:To achieve that success, Song Lam Nghe An Youth Football Training Center always focuses on the input source for the U11 and U13 classes. The center has proactively selected athletes when they are only 9 to 10 years old. After a period of living and practicing professionally, the children will have a remarkable growth. Meanwhile, other large youth football training centers often select athletes later (from 11 years old and up), so they do not have the same achievements as Song Lam Nghe An.

In addition to careful preparation of input and expertise, training conditions and nutrition for players are very necessary. At Song Lam Nghe An, currently with the support of the province, the field conditions and competition equipment are very good for the training of U11 or U13 age groups.

Regarding nutrition, each athlete will receive a daily meal allowance from the provincial budget of 150,000 VND and the sponsor will provide an additional 30,000 VND for milk. With a daily allowance of 180,000 VND/person, the necessary nutrition is guaranteed for athletes from U10 to U13.

In terms of expertise, the center aims to arrange young, enthusiastic coaches with full qualifications, regularly updating new knowledge, and always eager to participate in training in small classes.

With the above factors, it is understandable that U Nho of Song Lam Nghe An has been successful in all youth tournaments organized by the Vietnam Football Federation.

PV:So the question is, why do the small U teams of Song Lam Nghe An always achieve high results, but the large U teams have not had the success as expected?

Mr. Tran Quang Dung:This year, U17 and U21 Song Lam Nghe An have not achieved the expected results, there are many reasons such as: Many participating players are younger than the tournament's regulations; many talented players have to focus on the national team; many players have lost their form;...

However, those are just subjective reasons. Deep down, I think that the big U of Song Lam Nghe An have not achieved the expected results due to the following reasons:

First of all, the nutritional regime for athletes aged U15 and above has not met the actual needs. Currently, according to Nghe An province's regulations, each player is entitled to 150,000 VND/day for meals. This regime has ensured good results for players aged U13 and below, but is not suitable for the nutritional needs of players aged 15 and above. This is clearly seen in the physique of Song Lam Nghe An players. Nghe An players aged 16 and above often do not have good physique and physical strength like athletes from other major training centers. Players often get exhausted before the competition and speed racing.

Second, Song Lam Nghe An currently has only one natural grass field that is suitable for the 11-man team to practice. However, this secondary field is mainly for the Song Lam Nghe An Team 1 to practice. Classes from U15 and above can only practice when the field is free, and most of them have to practice on an artificial grass field that is not large enough. This has affected the coach's lesson plan for technical and tactical exercises.

Third, in terms of expertise, the center has not yet built a consistent playing style for players from small U to large U. Each coach has his own philosophy, so players are often confused when moving up to larger U classes.

Those are the limitations that make the achievements of the big U teams not as expected.

PV:So faced with these shortcomings, what solutions has Song Lam Nghe An had to overcome them?

Mr. Tran Quang Dung:To solve this problem thoroughly, Song Lam Nghe An Youth Football Training Center really needs the attention and support of Nghe An province and sponsors. In the immediate future, the club has solutions to overcome the limitations, specifically:

Regarding nutrition, Song Lam Nghe An has signed a cooperation agreement with Nikkokutrust Group (specializing in nutrition) from Japan. This group will develop a scientific diet to improve the physical strength of athletes.

In terms of expertise, since this season, the center has had many solutions to improve the quality of athlete training. In particular, in 2024, the center sent 3 coaches to study for the A certificate of the Asian Football Confederation, 4 coaches to study for the B certificate organized by the Vietnam Football Federation. I think that after this season, athlete training at the center will have many positive changes. In addition, we will also re-evaluate the professional capacity of each coach to assign appropriate tasks, in order to improve the quality of training, helping the youth teams achieve better results.

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We will also re-evaluate the professional capacity of each coach to assign appropriate tasks, in order to improve training quality, helping youth teams achieve better results.

Mr. Tran Quang Dung - Director of SLNA Youth Football Training Center

In parallel, Song Lam Nghe An has invited a technical director from Japan. This is a key factor that helps the coaches at the Song Lam Nghe An youth team to have unity in building lesson plans, updating new coaching knowledge, thereby creating a consistent playing philosophy from the youth team to the first team level.

With the above moves, we believe that the youth teams of Song Lam Nghe An will have more success in the following seasons. And especially, the Song Lam Nghe An Youth Football Training Center will train many talents for the province's football, as well as contribute many quality players to the national teams.

PV:Thank you for this conversation!