Vietnam's Olympic Team: Small Goals, Big Stage

The team will face Mongolia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia in the group stage, and the modest goal is to try to get past this round, although deep down, everyone hopes that this young and ambitious team will go further in the continental tournament.

It's worth remembering that previously, Coach Hoang Anh Tuan was tasked with leading the Vietnam U23 team to defend their title at the Southeast Asian U23 Championship, primarily with U20 players, and they successfully completed the mission. This time, still with a squad mainly composed of U20 players, plus two players over 23 years old, Sy Huy and Manh Dung, the Vietnam Olympic team, under the guidance of Philippe Troussier, will certainly not be able to achieve anything extraordinary against opponents superior in every aspect. However, there is still hope that this "big stage" will help the young players quickly mature through experience, learning from real-world situations and the caliber of their opponents.

Before announcing the squad, Coach Hoang Anh Tuan reiterated his high demands on his players: loyalty to the "attacking ball control" style of play that Coach Troussier is building in the Vietnamese national football teams as they aim for continental success. Of course, the young coach couldn't deviate from the "path" he'd been following for months, especially in the two campaigns he's been in charge of. But reality will show that the stated strategy is one thing, while the actual game against opponents is something entirely different.

In the Southeast Asian U23 Championship, U23 Malaysia and U23 Indonesia sometimes conceded possession to U23 Vietnam, but it was clear they were always waiting for the right moment to launch a counter-attack to finish off their opponent. Coach Troussier himself was helpless against U23 Indonesia's powerful throw-ins that resulted in goals, and also against U23 Vietnam in a bitter counter-attack while playing with ten men in the semi-final, when they unexpectedly lost 2-3 in extra time. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan later encountered similar throw-ins that had caused heartbreak for U23 Thailand and even U23 Vietnam, not just a couple of times, in the final. Fortunately, his players learned from their mistakes and found a way to neutralize this tactic, depriving U23 Indonesia of a very troublesome "trump card" and leading to their defeat in the penalty shootout, leaving them bitter and resentful, leading to complaints and demands...

Therefore, in the upcoming group stage, the Vietnamese Olympic team will likely adopt a proactive "attacking ball control" style against the Mongolian Olympic team—a manageable opponent. Meanwhile, opponents like the Iranian or Saudi Arabian Olympic teams, with their superior physique and stamina, will certainly be the ones to play an "attacking ball control" style against the Vietnamese Olympic team. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan believes that the Vietnamese Olympic team will try their best to implement the tactics requested by the French coach, because the ultimate goal is not to win at all costs right now, but rather to train and develop the young players to become suitable for the Vietnamese national team's playing style for a higher, more distant goal.

This also means that the Vietnamese Olympic team isn't being targeted or having any specific goals in mind; they should just play confidently and comfortably, with winning or losing not being the most important thing. Therefore, perhaps this very requirement will lead Coach Hoang Anh Tuan, no matter what he says, to set a goal for himself and his players: to strive to get through the group stage, and then treat every match as a final. Who would have dreamed of the U23 Vietnam team winning one victory after another during the Changzhou tournament, yet they still managed it?

With Vietnamese football in the process of improvement, the French coach is making all the decisions, big and small. But don't say that Vietnamese coaches have no role or can't do anything. Furthermore, some players who were not trusted by Coach Troussier in the U23 Asian Qualifiers and "only" had the opportunity to play for the Vietnamese Olympic team will certainly not back down under any circumstances to prove their abilities. The 2023 Asian Games is the perfect opportunity for them to indirectly prove themselves to Coach Troussier, such as Xuan Tien, Nam Hai, Duc Viet, Nguyen Hoang… for example. These silent motivations of the Vietnamese Olympic team and their coach will make the upcoming race both interesting and unpredictable, which is both natural and special.

The 2023 Asian Games is a major continental competition, but the Vietnamese Olympic team setting a "small goal" is inevitable, reflecting the far-sighted and innovative vision that Vietnamese football is pursuing. It's an opportunity for young talents to strive and grow. This is also a fundamental step and a long-term plan for Vietnamese football, which deserves support, encouragement, and further development to achieve future successes.

Bui Hoa