Feelings when watching Vlog: 'Be careful, SLNA is 'dying'

(Baonghean.vn) - In recent days, many Nghe An fans have been quite interested in the Vlog: "Be careful, SLNA is "dying"" by sports journalist Minh Hai. It's not that Nghe An people don't know that, in fact, since the end of last season, Vinh Stadium has "lost its fire". But when listening to the analysis and synthesis of this journalist, many Nghe An fans are still sad.

In fact, what journalist Minh Hai said is not new. In February 2017, when visiting and working, Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh emphasized: “SLNA should not be proud of the past. We must continue to maintain the youth training system, because this is the main human resource of the club”. Too accurate, for the past 4-5 years, even if they wanted to, SLNA has nothing to be “proud of”… a harsh truth.

Cause and effect

Looking at SLNA's matches at Vinh Stadium with only about 1,000 spectators, I remember 2 years ago when CEO Ho Van Chiem wished "I wish Vinh Stadium could hold 100,000 people" and felt regretful.

How to get spectators to the stadium is still a big question for SLNA Club's Board of Directors. Photo: DN

Being a poor land, suffering from many natural disasters, Nghe An people still say to each other "When the harvest is good, don't neglect corn and potatoes/When the harvest fails, who will be your friend?" That saying applies to SLNA, up to now the club has signed a series of free invitations for students from schools in the city but at most only 20% of the seats are filled.

For a long time, the “fire pan” of Thong Nhat Stadium has cooled down when the match was only halfway through the second half… From the team with the largest fan base in Vietnam, now the number of spectators coming to the stadium has dropped to 8th out of 14 and shows no signs of stopping.

Perhaps even Mr. Ho Van Chiem, the CEO, did not expect that there would be a time when he made a comparison saying “in a land where people’s hearts treat football like a normal meal…” and then the fans all together “quit eating”. Is it because the rice has grit in it that they can’t swallow it?

I agree with journalist Minh Hai’s assessment of the three reasons why audiences turn their backs on football and their hometown teams. They are “the drain of talent, increasingly poor foreign players, and ineffective youth training” but I disagree with the assessment that “poverty is the cause of all causes” and “SLNA is the poorest team in V-League”.

If journalist Minh Hai had the investment figures for Dong Thap last year or S.Khanh Hoa, XSKT.Can Tho and even B.Binh Duong this year, he would probably have a different opinion.

The brake

I agree with journalist Minh Hai and many Nghe An fans, if there is no “brake”, SLNA will continue to decline, not just stop at empty-handed youth tournaments, the first team is often at the bottom of the rankings. As Quoc Vuong wondered “where SLNA’s soul has gone”, because besides 30 Nghe An players leaving Vinh Stadium in the past 6 years, the remaining players are “Truong Ba’s soul, butcher’s skin”.

About 30 SLNA players have left Vinh Stadium in the past 6 years. Photo: DN

The story of the past is that striker Cong Vinh accepted to lose the signing bonus, even owed SLNA the signing bonus but still could not get his contract renewed. Captain Quang Tinh, when he joined Can Tho, still wondered: "I wonder why some people do not want me to stay?" while SLNA is in dire need of someone to lead the way of playing.

Then, later, when they spent a lot of money on foreign players but still did not achieve results, Nghe An audiences will forever regret the Nghe An players who had to leave their homeland for many reasons. Nghe An audiences are wondering: "If Phi Son, Nguyen Manh and Que Ngoc Hai are no longer there, how many spectators will still come to the stadium?" If the matches continue without spectators, will the sponsors still want to spend money?

It is not easy to immediately find a “brake” to stop SLNA’s decline. But it is clear that Cong Vinh, 14 years ago, was the guy who was first called up to play for SLNA’s first team, and today, he returns to Vinh Stadium as the manager of Ho Chi Minh City Club, while SLNA’s apparatus remains the same, it is true that the management personnel is a big problem.

Unlike Quoc Vuong, I share the same opinion with Minh Hai, not only economic issues, SLNA is lacking a leader who knows how to do professional football. Being a football manager now is not just simply about professional issues on the field.

Just like Quoc Vuong, Mr. Thanh wants to do professional football but the people around him do not have the qualities to do that, even too old compared to the demands of the times. To be more precise, they are the obstacles to the innovation process of SLNA now and in the future. Who will have to "sacrifice" for the development of Nghe An football?

N@T