At the beginning of the year, 'check' SLNA's V.League 2020 match schedule

With the way they spend money on recruiting players (and the coaching staff) before the season, the medal contenders will have names like TP.HCM, Viettel, Quang Ninh and of course the defending champion Hanoi.

With the situation of "poor family, young children", SLNA will be in the "high risk" group including Nam Dinh, Hai Phong, Hong Linh Ha Tinh.

Thus, in terms of strategy, SLNA must try to get points against the mid-group teams, try to win against the "high-risk" teams, and make the most of home field advantage. In the first leg schedule, SLNA will have 7 away matches against Saigon, Thanh Hoa, Hanoi, Nam Dinh, Quang Nam, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong. 6 home matches will be against B.Binh Duong, SHB.Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Linh Ha Tinh, Viettel, HAGL.

The first bend

Tuan Tai and Xuan Manh, the pillars of this year's season. Photo SLFC

In away matches, the possibility of getting 3 points against Nam Dinh, Quang Nam, Hai Phong is relatively high, the possibility of getting points against Thanh Hoa, Quang Nam is 50/50. But when returning to Vinh Stadium, they will have difficulty facing TP.HCM, Viettel. The possibility of getting 3 points against B.Binh Duong, SHB.Da Nang is only 50/50. Although the team is young, the possibility of winning against Hong Linh Ha Tinh, HAGL is still quite high.

Coach Quang Truong and his team will have their opening match at Thong Nhat Stadium against the Saigon team, which has just changed both the sponsor and the head coach. Up to now, every time they play at Thong Nhat Stadium, SLNA has always been supported by thousands of Southern fans. Many SLNA players even said that playing at Thong Nhat Stadium is easier than playing at Vinh Stadium.

So in theory, SLNA has 3 home matches against Saigon, B.Binh Duong, SHB.Da Nang, all of which are considered equal or better than SLNA. In theory, SLNA can completely win 9 points, but with the way they play and assemble the team, 7 points (or even 5 points) is an acceptable number. But if they earn less than 5 points in the "opening match" of V.League 2020, Quang Truong and his students will have difficulty right from the start.

Because the next 3 matches, Nghe An team will meet Thanh Hoa, Ha Noi (away), Ho Chi Minh City (home), earning 5 points is already difficult. If in the first half of the match, they do not earn about 10 points, the risk of being identified as a "point bank" will be high.

Going out "meet the mountain"

The success or failure of SLNA's football season this year depends largely on the first three matches of the first and second leg. Photo AT

In the return leg of V.League 2020, SLNA will meet the top teams in the medal group Viettel (away), Than Quang Ninh, Hanoi (home), and Ho Chi Minh City (away). This is also the second "turn" of the season that the "captain" born in the year of the Pig must firmly steer with his students to overcome.

Thus, the success or failure of SLNA this season depends largely on the first 3 matches of the first leg and the second leg. Except for last year, with 2 wins and 1 draw in previous seasons, SLNA had a very slow start. The main reason is that SLNA recruited foreign players late, assembled the team in a hurry, so they had to play and adjust as they went.

Up to now, the recruitment of foreign players of Vinh Stadium team is still being implemented. After playing the second friendly match with Hong Linh Ha Tinh at Vinh Stadium on January 4, 2020, the team will go to Hanoi to participate in the Viettel Open Tournament to train the troops, continue to test foreign players and young players.

SLNA is in trouble, Ngo Quang Truong bravely takes the hot seat, this is recognized by many Nghe An fans. Those who know the team well still believe that, despite the small budget, SLNA is still a team with its own character, if it can inspire, the team will overcome.

An Thanh