SLNA: Too many coaches, but too few.

Notably, despite having a strong team of coaches following in their footsteps...SLNAThe team has continued to face difficult seasons, especially the last two, where the direct responsibility has been placed on the head coach and coaching staff. The pressing question now is: will the new investor continue with the same old strategy—using the existing coach—or will they bring in a new figure to restore the team's former glory, or even create a new force to compete with other strong teams?

Coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh. Photo courtesy of a contributor.

In reality, under the control of a wealthy and ambitious "investor-owner," anything is possible. The swift move to retain Van Duc with a "blockbuster" deal, with the undisguised intention of retaining key players, recruiting talented foreign players, and in the long term, bringing back SLNA talents who left during the "talent drain" period, naturally means that those who will occupy the technical positions will be carefully considered for both relegation survival and future acceleration.

Many people know that SLNA has long had many renowned coaches, mainly in youth football, such as Nguyen Van Thinh, Dinh Van Dung, Le Ky Phuong… but at the higher level, in the V. League, besides coaches who have retired or moved on like Nguyen Thanh Vinh, Nguyen Huu Thang, Vu Quang Bao, Nguyen Thanh Cong, Pham Anh Tuan…, have the remaining coaches proven their effectiveness when taking on the job? Some even boldly say something unpleasant: the coaching staff at Song Lam is large, often loaned out, but finding truly talented coaches to help Song Lam perform better is… severely lacking?

Even amidst the solid success of youth training over the years, public opinion is beginning to question the weaknesses in SLNA's technical area, as the younger generations are gradually falling behind other emerging academies, especially those with stronger resources and the ability to recruit full foreign coaching staff. Or consider the case of a coach openly stating that playing against SLNA is easy now because the team is accustomed to operating according to an outdated strategy.

Coach Nguyen Huu Thang. Photo: LDO

Looking at the coaching staff map, it's clear that coaches with roots in SLNA are scattered throughout the country, holding important positions in V.League, First Division, and Second Division teams in various roles. This shows that SLNA's coaching staff is larger than any other Vietnamese football club currently, and they are capable, but their effectiveness still needs time to be proven. Furthermore, the fact that they only have a basic coach specializing in teaching football to young players indicates that SLNA, like most V.League teams, is severely lacking in goalkeeping coaches, fitness coaches, and medical staff. This means they haven't kept up with the demands of professional coaching, and it will be very difficult to achieve high results if they continue with outdated training methods and training plans.

The coaching profession, like the life of a player in general, is very demanding. Success today may be a completely different story tomorrow; conversely, today's failure can fuel the determination to achieve success the day after, and the day after that. Coach Park Hang-seo's example when he came to Vietnam is a great lesson for those who choose the coaching profession: loving and trusting his players unconditionally, yet being extremely strict, knowing how to rise again and seize opportunities after seemingly insurmountable failures.

For Song Lam Nghe An, it seems the opportunity is coming faster than many people think? Will Huy Hoang, Nhu Thuat, Van Quyen… and many other big names know how to seize this opportunity to learn and achieve something as Vietnamese football rises, especially as Song Lam's fortunes improve rapidly…

Chau Phu