Is there still a chance for young players at SLNA?

(Baonghean.vn) - Although the 2017 season is still quite far away, young SLNA players without V.League experience have reason to worry about their chances of making it into the first team.

At the beginning of the 2016 season, because they could not find a place in the first team, a series of young players of SLNA were accepted by their home team to be recruited by teams in the V.League and the First Division on loan. And now it is time for them to return with the hope of playing in the V.League 2017. However, the opportunity will be even more limited as they will have to face fierce competition from veterans as well as foreign players.

One of the teams that recruited many players from SLNA is Hai Phong - the runner-up of V.League last season. While the prominent players here such as defender Anh Hung, midfielder Quoc Trung and striker Dinh Bao no longer have contracts with SLNA and are retained by the port city team, the other 3 players who received clearance papers from Hai Phong are midfielder Nguyen Hong Viet, striker Nguyen Dinh Hiep and Nguyen Van Duc.

Defender Nguyen Van Duc is one of the players returning to SLNA after a period playing for Hai Phong.

Of these, only defender Van Duc is still on the payroll of the Nghe An team while Hong Viet and Dinh Hiep are free agents.

Although not often playing as a starter at Lach Tray Stadium, midfielder Hong Viet is still highly appreciated for his sophisticated, technical playing style and 6 years of experience playing at the highest level of Vietnamese football. In terms of physical strength, the midfielder born in 1989 cannot compete with the younger players, but in a year when SLNA's domestic players are too inexperienced, the opportunity for Hong Viet to continue contributing to the Nghe An team is not small.

During the entire 2016 season, Hong Viet only played 7 matches with 353 minutes, while Dinh Hiep played only 1 match. As for defender Nguyen Van Duc, he will have to make a lot of effort if he wants to be retained by SLNA's coaching staff. Because compared to Dinh Hoang and Ngoc Duc, the mark of the player born in 1993 in Hai Phong Club's shirt is quite faint when he only played 3 matches, 185 minutes.

Defender Nguyen Sy Nam, after his achievements with Ho Chi Minh City, is eager to play for SLNA in V.League 2017.

It can be said that in the next season's defense, the "competition rate" is considered the highest when there is also the return of defender Nguyen Sy Nam from Ho Chi Minh City Club. In the past season, the English defender Son was always in the official lineup and was considered a hero in the promotion achievement of coach Lu Dinh Tuan and his team. The fierceness of the full-back position increased after the 2016 season when midfielders such as Xuan Manh, Xuan Thang, Sy Sam were all ready to replace Dinh Hoang and Ngoc Duc when they were injured.

Last season's First Division teams such as Dong Nai and Phu Yen also had SLNA "army" in the majority. After 1 year of playing in Dong Nai, defenders Van Manh, Manh Dung and striker Phuc Tinh will also be called back by SLNA.

If Van Manh is known to everyone thanks to his achievements with XSKT Can Tho promoted in the 2015 season and was called by coach Toshiya Miura to prepare for ASIAD 17, Ho Phuc Tinh is no longer a stranger to Nghe An fans. Due to injury and the appearance of 2 foreign players Odah and Salia, the "Top scorer" of 2014 had to miss the return leg of V.League 2016. Nothing more, the time playing regularly in the First Division in the return leg is a valuable accumulation for this striker.

At Phu Yen Club, there are also promising young faces of Nghe An football such as Hoang Vu Dat, Bui Dinh Chau and Ngo Xuan Toan. Among them, the midfielder pair who won the U.17 tournament in 2012 with coach Ngo Quang Truong, Vu Dat and Dinh Chau, are the hope of coach Nguyen Van Thinh before the U.21 qualifying round taking place in Thanh Hoa. This tournament is considered the best opportunity for young talents born in 1997 such as Hoang Vu Dat and Bui Dinh Chau to show themselves if they want to get through the door to step into the SLNA first team.

Although the 2017 season is still quite far away, the young SLNA players who have never tried their hand at V.League have reason to worry about their ability to be included in the first team list when the talented generation of players born in 1989 such as Trong Hoang, Hong Viet and Dinh Hiep are still free agents or about to expire their contracts, still waiting for the "call" of the Nghe team. In addition, if the Nghe team clearly defines its ambitions in the new season, the opportunities will be even more limited for the above young players, because SLNA really needs experience and tenacity - something the team lacked in the last season./.

Trung Kien