Looking back at a happy and sad season of SLNA youth football

Trung Kien• September 28, 2019 19:15

(Baonghean.vn) - Despite the rise of other youth football training centers such as PVF, Hanoi, HAGL, Viettel, the SLNA training center has maintained its position in recent years. Although there are still weaknesses, 2019 is still considered a fairly successful year.

SLNA is currently training nearly 250 young athletes, from U11 to U21 level, and participating in all national youth tournaments. The SLNA U11 championship in 2017 marked a strong return of the training center considered the cradle of football in the country.

In the past 3 years, the Nghe An team won 6 championships in the U11, U13 and U15 age groups, along with the runner-up and bronze medals in the U17 and U19 National Teams. In 2018, SLNA Club was rated by VPF as the team with the best youth training in the V.League.

SLNA U11 team this year. Photo: Duc Anh

In 2019, after defeating U11 Hanoi, U11 SLNA successfully defended the Championship title for the second time and increased the number of crowns to 5. At the Youth Finals, U13 SLNA won the Championship, U12 SLNA team excellently defeated PVF to enter the final match, winning the runner-up position. U15 SLNA team also once again brought glory after dramatically defeating U15 Thanh Hoa in the final match.

However, the paradox is that despite such good youth training, in 2018, the Vietnam U22 team participating in the qualifying round and the 2020 AFC U23 Championship or the upcoming SEA Games will not have a single young face from SLNA.

On the other hand, the SLNA Youth - Children and U15 teams "made waves" at the national youth finals, but at higher levels such as U17, U19 and U21, that achievement was no longer maintained or continued.

The moment U13 SLNA lifted the championship trophy. Photo: Xuan Thuy

Since 2012, SLNA has not won the U17 championship even though it still holds the record for the most championships (7 times). The best achievement of the SLNA U17 team in recent years was the runner-up position in 2018 after losing to Viettel in the final.

Similarly, at the U19 level, SLNA holds the record for the number of championships (5 times), but from 2006 to now, the young team from Nghe An has only won bronze and silver medals. There were even years when the U19 SLNA team could not even pass the qualifying round.

Recently, the U17 SLNA team with a highly rated squad was eliminated from the qualifying round and absent from the final round, which was really a surprise. The opponents of coach Le Manh Huy's students in the qualifying round were only U17 Hue, U17 Nam Dinh, U17 SHB Da Nang and U17 Thanh Hoa, not the top training centers.

In addition, as SLNA’s young players advance to higher levels, their youth achievements decline. In 2018, the SLNA U21 team stopped at the group stage, and this year, the chance of winning a ticket to the finals for coach Nguyen Dinh Dung and his team is gone after 3 consecutive defeats against U21 Cong An Nhan Dan, U21 Pho Hien and Viettel. This next generation of professionals conceded 9 goals and scored only 1 goal.

The moment the championship trophy belonged to U15 SLNA. Photo: Tuan Huu

Losing ground in the next-level football competitions such as U19 and U21 is what makes it even more difficult for SLNA's first team coaching staff to find new players to supplement their squad. In the past 3 years, coach Duc Thang has only selected central defenders Nguyen Ba Duc, Le Thanh Lam, Nguyen Van Duc and Duong Van Cuong for training. Due to limited capacity, the current SLNA U21 core players have little chance to try their hand at V.League and instead drift to First and Second Division teams.

However, the efforts of SLNA in recent years are undeniable. After the national U15 championship, up to 9 young SLNA players were gathered by coach Dinh The Nam to join the Vietnam U15 team to participate in the Southeast Asian Championship. As for the Vietnam U18 team, coach Philippe Troussier also selected 5-6 faces to participate in upcoming important campaigns such as the 2020 U19 Asian qualifiers.

Achievements in youth tournaments do not fully reflect the quality of training. However, the fact that a large number of young SLNA players are selected to participate in regional tournaments is an optimistic signal for the Nghe An team in the future.

It can be predicted that in about 5 years, SLNA can completely reap the sweet fruits from today's efforts. The problem is that today's quality young players need to access a more systematic and scientific training plan in the future so as not to stagnate.

At 8:10 p.m. on October 9, 2019, Nghe An Department of Culture & Sports in coordination with Song Lam Nghe An Club, Nghe An Radio and Television Station (NTV) held a ceremony to honor the SLNA youth football teams that won the 2019 championship.

Trung Kien