Coach Huu Thang and the confusion of tiki-taka

“Today, right now, if he recovers 100%, Cong Phuong will definitely be here. Cong Phuong is the person I regret the most because I cannot summon him.” That was the original answer of head coach Nguyen Huu Thang during the first team training session.

Huu Thang faces a difficult problem for the players under HAGL's management. Photo by Thanh Ha

That statement is a summary of Huu Thang’s philosophy in the Vietnam national team and Vietnam U23 team in the next two years. HAGL players and HAGL’s style of play will be at the center of the team’s plan. Regardless of everything, they will play an irreplaceable role.

Nearly 3 months after that announcement, the Vietnam national team will enter the second training session. Many things have changed but not the HAGL players. Cong Phuong has just recovered from injury and has just played his first 7 minutes of official football at Mito Hollyhock. I would like to emphasize, 7 minutes after 4 months.

Xuan Truong had two starting matches in the reserve team while Tuan Anh was almost missing in Yokohama. Their home team HAGL was floundering in the bottom half of the V-League standings. If the classic rule “domestic performance is the measure of a player’s evaluation” was respected, Cong Phuong, Tuan Anh, and Xuan Truong would not have been called up.

But Huu Thang did not follow that rule. The latest announcement from VFF confirmed that the Federation has worked privately with Mito Hollyhock, Yokohama and Incheon United to create conditions for the HAGL trio to join the national team. That is a special favor for players whose total official playing minutes have not reached double digits in the past 4 months. But those players are also the most suitable factors for Huu Thang to build tiki-taka in the Vietnam national team. Huu Thang wants to play controlling, he must find people suitable for that style of play. In Vietnam, no one is more suitable than the HAGL players.

In the previous training session, to keep a place for the HAGL players, Huu Thang had taken the initiative to eliminate a series of names. Strong, disciplined players were replaced by technical, creative names. Duy Manh and Hoang Thinh were two rare central midfielders who took turns playing alongside Tuan Anh and Xuan Truong. Other organizers of V-League had no chance.

In the wing positions, Van Toan and Van Thanh occupy two positions. The campaign to “HAGLize” the Vietnamese team will be even stronger when Cong Phuong returns in this training session.

No one opposes Huu Thang. Historically, it is not new for a national team to depend on the philosophy and personnel of a club. But with the Vietnam team, there is a big difference. Because that core group of players are not necessarily the players with the highest level and certainly not the names with the best performance.

Even if they are injured for 4 months, have to sit on the bench, even if their team is ranked 11th on the table, they are still allowed to play? That fact will be a huge blow to the other players - those who are striving every day for the sacred shirt of the national team. What is the point of trying when all efforts will become meaningless? What is the point of trying when a philosophy, a way of playing has been molded for others.

As if to make things more difficult for Huu Thang, many national players and new names are appearing. Hai Phong and Saigon FC have introduced a young, fresh, and high-quality domestic squad. Cong Vinh, Anh Duc, Hoang Thinh... shine with Binh Duong and Thanh Hoa. Their very high performance puts Huu Thang in front of two choices.

Continue to be loyal to the old philosophy and personality or change because of the players who are playing well? Each approach has its pros and cons. But if Huu Thang finds a compromise solution, his Vietnam team will be worth waiting for.

According to Thethaovanhoa