The role of 'warrior' Pham Xuan Manh at Song Lam Nghe An

2022 is a difficult year forLam River Nghe Anbecause the foreign players of the Nghe An team did not live up to expectations. On the offensive line, Michael Olaha could not fully demonstrate his ability for the attacking front when he only had 6 assists, 3 goals in the home win over Ho Chi Minh City, the 1-2 loss to Hanoi Club at Hang Day Stadium and the win over Hoang Anh Gia Lai at Pleiku Stadium.

Foreign player Oseni scored 6 goals in 6 matches but only in 2 of those matches, Song Lam Nghe An won all 3 points against Hong Linh Ha Tinh and Becamex Binh Duong. The rest were draws against Saigon, lost to SHB Da Nang away, drew at Hong Linh Ha Tinh and lost to Saigon at home.

If Michael Olaha is SLNA's most important foreign player, Pham Xuan Manh is truly SLNA's most important domestic player at the moment. Photo: Chung Le

And the most outstanding player in the attack of Song Lam Nghe An last season was none other than Phan Van Duc. The midfielder born in 1996, although not playing in the highest position, scored 7 goals and 3 assists. In terms of attack, Van Duc plays an important role, but if Song Lam Nghe An has a quality foreign striker, the goal-scoring problem can be completely solved.

Statistics from Instat software show that the players with the highest index of Song Lam Nghe An last season were Tran Dinh Hoang (201 points), Que Ngoc Hai (196 points), Pham Xuan Manh (195 points). While Mark O'jong was injured, Mario Arques (432 minutes) was not physically fit to play, in the midfield, Pham Xuan Manh was truly a boss in the midfield of Song Lam Nghe An in the 2022 season.

In V.League 2022, Xuan Manh played 2,140 minutes, the player with the most minutes of Song Lam Nghe An. If he had not been sick in the last match against Nam Dinh, Xuan Manh would have played 24/24 matches. And "23 super classic matches" is the admiration of Que Ngoc Hai for his junior. Coach Nguyen Huy Hoang's decision to "patch" the midfield when foreign player Mark was injured was really the right decision as the player from Yen Thanh did his job very well.

Pham Xuan Manh's amazing statistics at V.League 2022. Graphics: Chung Le

Passing statistics have shown that Xuan Manh is the player who made the most passes for Song Lam Nghe An. In total, Manh “Kalou” made 1,122 passes with 84% accuracy. The second most accurate passer was Que Ngoc Hai with a total of 1,058 passes, with 85% accuracy.

Song Lam Nghe An's defensive ability this season is also highly appreciated in terms of competition index. Specifically, Xuan Manh ranked first in the team with a total of 196 defensive duels. In terms of ball-winning ability, Xuan Manh also ranked first in the team with a total of 73 ball-winning phases, reaching a rate of 52%. And with his aggressiveness and good interception, Xuan Manh is also the player who is fouled the most by opponents in the team with a total of 50 fouls.

In terms of dribbling ability, Phan Van Duc had a total of 74 dribbles and a success rate of 53%, while Olaha had 73 dribbles and a success rate of 58. Xuan Manh also had a successful dribble rate of up to 78% with a total of 63 dribbles. The presence of Xuan Manh clearly helped the attacking players above to minimize the "ball hunger" situation.

If mentionedPham Xuan ManhIn terms of attacking ability, forgetting about situations where he can participate in heading corners is a shortcoming. Although he only scored 1 goal with his head, the player born in 1996 had 11 high jump headers. And after such corner kicks, Xuan Manh had 7/10 shots on target, 1 goal coming from such high moves.

While supporting the defense, Xuan Manh also scored 3 goals for Song Lam Nghe An, helping his team win 2 important victories and 1 draw. To get these 3 goals, he had a total of 30 shots, 37% on target. This index is only lower than Phan Van Duc and Michael Olaha.

This season, Song Lam Nghe An scored 29 goals, mainly from the coordination between Olaha - Van Duc and Van Duc - Xuan Manh. However, there were also 9 players who scored for Song Lam Nghe An this season. Phan Van Duc is the player who scored the most goals for Song Lam Nghe An, but that does not mean that Song Lam Nghe An's playing style and style are dependent on a star player in the attack.

Modern football increasingly requires players to be more versatile. Pham Xuan Manh is one of those players and not only from the statistics, everyone understands that finding a foreign player to take on the responsibility of scoring and attacking instead of Van Duc at Song Lam Nghe An is not difficult. However, finding a player who attacks and defends rhythmically, carries the midfield and always plays with enthusiasm like Xuan Manh in V.League is not easy.

Entering the 2023 season, with the importance of Xuan Manh increasingly affirmed, the guidance of Que Ngoc Hai, Tran Dinh Hoang in the defense and the daily growth of young players Tran Dinh Tien, Dinh Xuan Tien, Ho Van Cuong, Tran Manh Quynh..., Nghe An fans can completely rest assured about the domestic force of the Nghe An team in the new season./.

Yen Thanh