Concerns about the national team goalkeeper position

AT• May 20, 2019 14:58

(Baonghean.vn) - In the preliminary list of national team members, there are 3 goalkeepers: Dang Van Lam (Muangthong United), Tien Dung (Hanoi) and Van Toan (Hai Phong). Is this the best choice at the present time?

Anxiety

Currently, Dang Van Lam's Muangthong is struggling at the bottom of the Thai League rankings. In the round 11 match withSuphanburi, played with more players for more than 30 minutes, but Muangthong United was still held to a 0-0 draw by the home team Suphanburi in the reverse final, causing Van Lam's team to continue to stay at the bottom of the table.

After 11 matches, they won 2, drew 2 and lost 7, scored 9 goals, conceded 19 goals and ranked 16/16. Van Lam started 10/11 matches, ranked 4th in the list of goalkeepers who conceded the most goals in the Thai League.

Goalkeeper Tien Dung Photo courtesy of Trung Kien

In fact, Van Lam's ability and level have been proven, but in reality, it is very rare for the main goalkeeper for the national team to be on the bottom team of a domestic tournament.

The next hope is "national goalkeeper" Bui Tien Dung, who just had a disappointing match in his debut for the Hanoi team.

Remember, this goalkeeper from Thanh Hoa had to be on the bench for 18 matches before getting a chance to play. Simply in Hanoi, goalkeeper Nguyen Van Cong, born in 1992, has always been the first choice for the capital team for the past 3 seasons.

In his debut match against S.HB.Da Nang, goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung conceded two goals. The most regrettable goal was a wide-angle free kick from 23 meters by midfielder Thanh Hai. This goalkeeper actively moved to anticipate the opponent but was twisted by a Da Nang player.

Obviously, coach Chu Dinh Nghiem wants to give Bui Tien Dung a chance to regain his form to prepare for the national team for the King's Cup 2019. But with such a performance, goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung will hardly be able to start when Hanoi FC will play away against Nam Dinh.

New discovery

Nguyen Manh and his teammates entered the match against S. Khanh Hoa with a relaxed mentality. SLNA is ranked 3rd and has the best defense in V.League. Photo courtesy of Duc Anh

Perhaps surprisingly, goalkeeper Van Toan has been given attention by Mr. Park after his excellent performance in Hai Phong. Returning from the U23 Asian qualifiers, Van Toan was trusted by coach Truong Viet Hoang to be the main goalkeeper in Hai Phong.

Although coach Viet Hoang also has goalkeeper Phan Dinh Vu Hai on loan to SLNA to participate in V.League 2018, he has played in 22/26 matches, Vu Hai's successful blocking rate is on average 77%, quite good.

Goalkeeper Van Toan was born in 1994, 1m83 tall, coming from Hai Phong's training center with a simple, effective playing style and an extremely tough and stable mentality. For many people, goalkeeper Van Toan is a "reserve" and needs to get acquainted with the team to plan for the long term rather than being the main goalkeeper for the national team at this time.

Fans have the right to ask why not call up goalkeeper Van Cong, who is in better form than Tien Dung. Leaving out a player who plays consistently and regularly on the field to choose a goalkeeper who is languishing on the bench and has an unstable playing mentality is unusual.

Tien Dung should only focus on the U.23 team to compete more fairly with his peers like Van Toan and Van Bieu rather than join the national team because of his past impression.

Expanding opportunities?

Coach Park Hang-seo. Photo courtesy

In addition, in V.League 2019, goalkeepers Thanh Thang (HCMC) and Nguyen Manh (SLNA) also played quite impressively. The fact that they only conceded 7 and 5 goals in 10 rounds is one of the important statistics to confirm their ability. Not to mention, in the past, they were called up to the national team, and Nguyen Manh was even at times the team's untouchable goalkeeper.

Mr. Park Hang-seo has repeatedly affirmed: "Only call up the players with the best ability at the present time." Surely, after the goalkeepers' performances, Mr. Park will have to consider a lot.