Finding "Art" for U23 Vietnam?

(Baonghean) - In the 5th round of the V.League National Professional Championship that took place last Sunday afternoon, Coach Miura chose Nha Trang Stadium to watch the match between Khatoco Khanh Hoa and SLNA instead of going to watch the "key" matches such as: B.Binh Duong - Than Quang Ninh or HAGL - SHB.DN... to find personnel for the Vietnam U23 team. Before that, the Japanese coach also went to watch the match between the home team GDT.LA and SLNA in the 3rd round of V.League. Thus, in the 4 times watching the competitions in V.League to find good players, 2 times Mr. Miura chose the match with the SLNA team.

This is not a coincidence, because according to information from some national players, Coach Miura was very impressed with the strong but equally technical playing style of the players who grew up from the SLNA training center. At the first Congress of the Nghe An Youth Football Association (term 2015 - 2020), former national player, Coach Nguyen Huu Thang shared: "I remember once a foreign coach, when he first came to take over the position of head coach of the Vietnam National Team, his first question was: How many players from Nghe An are there in the current team list? Then he explained that, I know that the players from Nghe An, in addition to studying at the Song Lam training center since childhood, have been trained in good basic techniques and have a very high fighting spirit. This is a very necessary factor for a national team...".

Player Hoang Thinh (right) during a training session. Photo from the internet

In fact, the Vietnamese football team participating in the recent AFF Suzuki Cup 2014 under the leadership of coach Miura had many players from Nghe An, such as: Le Cong Vinh, Tran Nguyen Manh, Ngo Hoang Thinh, Que Ngoc Hai... These players who grew up from the SLNA training center were often trusted by the Japanese coach to play as starters and had many contributions that left an impression on the fans. Perhaps the high fighting spirit of the Nghe An players in the AFF Suzuki Cup had similarities with the spirit of the Japanese Samurai warriors, causing Mr. Miura to nurture the idea of ​​building a Vietnam U23 team based on the fiery playing style of the factors coming from the Song Lam training center instead of using a young team of players with a rich playing style but lacking strength as the core as the opinion of the VFF leaders. Therefore, Mr. Miura persistently watched the 2 away matches of SLNA to test the mettle of the young players from Nghe An?

In the SLNA squad participating in the 2015 V.League season, there are many young faces who have made an impression and are still at the age to participate in the 28th SEA Games such as: Ngo Hoang Thinh, Tran Phi Son, Ho Khac Ngoc (born in 1992), Pham Manh Hung, Que Ngoc Hai, Ho Sy Sam, Vo Ngoc Duc, Cao Xuan Thang (born in 1993), Vo Ngoc Toan, Ho Phuc Tinh (born in 1994), Ho Tuan Tai, Hoang Van Khanh (born in 1995). Certainly, through the 2 matches at Long An and Khanh Hoa stadiums, the above names have more or less made an impression and caught the eye of the Japanese coach.

Looking back at the achievements of Vietnamese football over the past 20 years, we can see the mark of SLNA players very clearly: In the period 1995 - 1999 when Vietnamese football first integrated into the regional playground and emerged as a phenomenon, SLNA contributed prominent names such as Huu Thang, Van Sy Hung; In the period 2000 - 2005, SLNA always had the majority of players in the National team, with stars such as Van Quyen, Quoc Vuong, Minh Duc, Duong Hong Son, Nhu Thuat, Hai Nam, Cong Vinh...; During the period 2005 - 2010, SLNA encountered many storms but Nghe An football still contributed many key players to the National Team such as: Minh Duc, Cong Vinh, Duong Hong Son, Trong Hoang, Au Van Hoan,... in which the first Southeast Asian championship of Vietnamese football had the strong mark of 3 stars of SLNA: striker Le Cong Vinh, center back Minh Duc and goalkeeper Duong Hong Son; From 2010 to now, Song Lam training center continues to prove its number 1 position in the country when contributing the most players to the National Team as well as U23, U21 and international youth tournaments.

At the 27th SEA Games (held in Myanmar in 2013), the U23 Vietnam squad had 5 players who grew up from the SLNA academy such as: Tran Nguyen Manh, Tran Phi Son, Que Ngoc Hai, Tran Dinh Hoang, Pham Manh Hung. In early 2014, when coach Miura was invited to lead the U23 Vietnam and the national team to replace coach Hoang Van Phuc, the Japanese coach always trusted the players from the SLNA academy and the results were very positive: U23 Vietnam reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 Asiad after defeating the continent's top team Iran 3-0; the national team reached the semi-finals of the AFF Suzuki Cup...

Coach Miura is a person with personality and good expertise, knows how to use people appropriately, so if the list of the National U23 team that Mr. Miura called up to prepare for the 28th SEA Games taking place in June this year in Singapore is not the core of the young HAGL players as desired by the VFF leaders but the young SLNA players, it is not a strange thing. However, if the Japanese coach knows how to blend the two playing styles of the two current SLNA and HAGL teams, in addition to the addition of good factors from other clubs, it will create a diverse U23 Vietnam team, with a more varied playing style and we have the right to dream of a SEA Games men's football gold medal for the first time in history.

Hoang Hao