National Super Cup: Battle between acquaintances

Because the Nghe An team is facing a "storm of injuries", the defending champion Quang Nam has more advantages in terms of personnel. In return, there will be many Nghe An people cheering for their hometown team in the stands, with an estimated 3,000 students and workers coming to Hang Day Stadium.

Center of the match

Not Van Duc, Xuan Manh or the foreign players, but midfielder Dinh Thanh Trung, the 2017 Golden Ball, is the center of the match. It is not an exaggeration to say that if Thanh Trung shines, Quang Nam will surely win the cup and vice versa.

With 10 goals and 10 assists, the midfielder from Ha Tinh contributed greatly to Quang Nam's 2017 V-League championship and also won the 2017 Golden Ball award. Up to now, Thanh Trung is considered the king of assists on the Vietnamese football field, with the ability to kick free kicks, break through and harass, play the ball and score directly, a fairly comprehensive winger.

Dinh Thanh Trung was the center of attention in the Super Cup match. Photo: AT

Thanh Trung usually plays on the left, where Xuan Manh is likely to be arranged by SLNA's coaching staff to replace Manh Hung, who is withdrawn to play as a central defender. The audience will see an interesting confrontation between the player who has played quite successfully for the U23 Vietnam team and the best midfielder in Vietnam today.

The attack of the Quang Nam team is quite strong, in addition to Thanh Trung, coach Hoang Van Phuc also has midfielder Phan Thanh Hung who plays with a lot of tricks. Foreign players Wander Luiz (from Long An to Tam Ky stadium) to replace striker Claudecir Junior, Thiago and naturalized player Nguyen Trung Dai Duong in this National Super Cup match have all fought for many years on Vietnamese football fields.

Certainly, in addition to the central midfielder pair Khac Ngoc and Ngoc Hai, coach Duc Thang, as usual, will arrange Olaha to play lower to participate in defense from a distance. The battle between the familiar players in the midfield area will be uncompromising. In terms of physical strength, Thiago and Dai Duong are considered superior because of their tall physique and hard-hitting playing style.

Question marks

Besides losing Ngoc Toan and goalkeeper Nguyen Manh being injured, how right-back Dinh Hoang will play after more than a year of injury is still a big question. Thanh Trung may exploit the left side if Dinh Hoang shows signs of weakness in marking.

Another big question mark is for goalkeeper Van Hung, although he is 25 years old, his career is still too young, he only got to wear the gloves twice in the whole V-League season last year. The ability to coordinate between Van Hung and the central defenders Van Khanh and Manh Hung is what makes many Nghe An audiences confused. In the match against Tampines, people saw a certain confusion in the "general" times of this goalkeeper, hopefully things will improve.

Defender Xuan Manh is ready for the Super Cup match. Photo: AT

SLNA's lineup was quite good when facing Tampines Rovers (Singapore), but in the Super Cup, they only relied on Van Duc's disruption, along with free kicks and long shots from Khac Ngoc and Ngoc Hai. After Phi Son's departure, Khac Ngoc played better and better in organizing the match, Phuc Tinh also showed his luck when facing the Quang team.

Last year, in 4 matches, there were 23 goals scored, which predicts that the match at Hang Day Stadium will be very exciting. With a shortage of force and being in a "Western handicap" situation, SLNA will be the team that wants to bring the match to penalty kicks.

With the 4-6-0 formation, will captain Que Ngoc Hai be able to lift the 39th cup? That depends largely on whether the Nghe An team can “kill” Thanh Trung?