Three major problems facing Song Lam Nghe An

Tan Long's investment inLam River, Nghe AnWhile it's a breath of fresh air for the players and coaching staff, competing for medals is no easy feat. Simply put, teams like Hanoi FC, Viettel, Binh Dinh, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, and even Hai Phong have made significant investments. Teams like Dong A Thanh Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City, and Binh Dinh have invested hundreds of billions of dong but still only managed to finish as runners-up.

Talking about the coach

Demanding high achievements from coach Huy Hoang immediately is unfair, especially considering the V.League is a highly complex league. After winning the V.League in 2011, the team's greatest achievement was finishing 4th, while they spent six seasons in the bottom half of the table. Therefore, it's impossible to pressure Huy Hoang to achieve immediate success, especially to reach the medal-winning positions.

It is necessary to consider the future of players whose contracts have expired, such as Van Khanh, and other "reserve" players. Photo: VPF

Even whether Huy Hoang is the right coach to lead the Nghe An team back to the top remains a big question. His decision not to choose Rimario, as suggested by his colleagues and players, meant that Song Lam Nghe An missed out on one of the best strikers in the V.League. Despite being a center-back, the Nghe An team's defense has conceded many goals this season, in a way that is unusual and repetitive. His technical skills aren't bad, but to say Huy Hoang can be compared to Chu Dinh Nghiem, Phan Thanh Hung, or some other V.League coaches is premature.

Three problems

Coach Huy Hoang's biggest challenge right now isn't achieving results, but rather giving young players like Nam Hai (18 years old), Dinh Xuan Tien, Xuan Dai, Ho Van Cuong (19 years old), Dinh Tien (23 years old), etc., the opportunity to play and grow. Coach Huy Hoang must balance achieving results with providing opportunities for young players to gain experience in preparation for the next season.

The quality of foreign players: a long-running saga at Vinh Stadium. Photo: VPF

This is an extremely difficult problem, requiring the coach to have the necessary courage and experience. In reality, at Vinh Stadium, a number of players like Dinh Chau, Van Lam, and Ba Duc were promoted to the first team quite early but have shown signs of stagnation.

Next, we need to consider the future of players whose contracts have expired, such as Van Khanh, and plan for "reserve" players – those who need to gain experience. Currently, Song Lam Nghe An has four goalkeepers: Van Hoang (27 years old), Van Hung (30 years old), Van Tien (28 years old), and Van Viet (20 years old), not to mention goalkeeper Canh Tiep from the U19 team, who has performed very impressively and is skilled at saving penalties.

The fact that Van Hoang was honored as the best goalkeeper of the first half of the V.League 2022 season means that the opportunities for Van Hung (30 years old) and Van Tien (28 years old) to play are limited. Many people still remember the lesson of having too many goalkeepers but lacking them in goal, a situation the Song Lam Nghe An coaching staff once faced: having to borrow a goalkeeper from Hai Phong.

The issue of "foreign players" has been a long-standing problem at Vinh Stadium. Now that Tan Long has direct access to FIFA's transfer website, understanding the prices, quality, and market for foreign players, things have become much simpler. However, securing quality signings remains a significant challenge. After the first half of the 2022 V.League season, the dismissal of over a dozen foreign players shows that Song Lam Nghe An is not easily able to find foreign players capable of scoring 8-10 goals per season.

An Thanh