SLNA dominates the list of U18 Vietnam: The return of a brand

At the end of 2018, Coach Nguyen Duc Thang and the SLNA first team finished 4th on the V.League rankings. SLNA youth football won the national U11, U13 and U15 championships, the SLNA U17 team won the runner-up position and the SLNA U21 team won the bronze medal. With a young team playing well in the V.League, SLNA was recognized by VPF as the team with the best youth training program, surpassing HAGL and Hanoi.

However, there have been certain doubts about SLNA's youth training from U19 to U23 when the U23 Asian Qualifiers held at home did not have a single player from Nghe An. SLNA fans also feel disappointed, even worried because it is very likely that at the U23 Asian Finals in Thailand, the upcoming 30th SEA Games in the Philippines or the 31st SEA Games at home, they will not see their hometown players contribute to the team.

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan is the one who closely follows the young SLNA players. Graphics: Trung Kien

The U19 Vietnam team and U22 Vietnam team also have 3 faces that were called up to the training camp: Thai Ba Sang, Mai Sy Hoang and Dang Van Lam, but currently they are all injured and have little practice. There is no outstanding player to introduce, that is also a misfortune. Of course, we have to say frankly that the last generation of SLNA did not have many excellent players."

According to Mr. Nghia, despite the difficulties in the treatment of young athletes, the club still adds many young players to the first team in V.League, not to mention SLNA players are currently playing in many big teams in Vietnam. We are not too worried, because youth training is a long journey. Currently, the U11, U13, U15 SLNA teams that just won the Championship in 2018 are very promising."

The things that SLNA leaders explained were soon proven. This year, coach Hoang Anh Tuan continues to be the "captain" of the U18 Vietnam team. And in the list of 28 names called up to the national team this time, SLNA has the most faces with 7 young representatives. Meanwhile, Hanoi Club, PVF Center and HAGL each have 4 players selected. Da Nang contributes 3 people, Viettel Center has 2 players.

U19 SLNA has many promising players, expected to win the championship this year but stopped at the semi-finals. Photo: Quoc Viet

The faces that coach Hoang Anh Tuan focused on this time are goalkeeper Nguyen Van Ba, defender Ho Khac Luong, Tran Quoc Thanh, Vuong Van Huy, midfielder Tran Manh Quynh, Nguyen Xuan Binh, Dang Quang Tu. These names are no longer strange to Nghe An fans, goalkeeper Van Ba ​​and Khac Luong have both been focused on U19 Vietnam before. They are factors born in 2001, won the National U13 Championship in 2014 and just won the bronze medal at the National U19 Championship after losing to HAGL regrettably in the semi-finals. Not only that, Tran Quoc Thanh, Nguyen Xuan Binh, Dang Quang Tu and Tran Manh Quynh are the 4 key players with U19 Vietnam defeating both China and Thailand to win the recent International U19 Championship.

According to experts, the current generation of U19 SLNA players has advantages in terms of physique, innate football qualities, physical foundation, and fiery playing style. What they lack is modern football thinking and tactical awareness, which SLNA still lacks. Therefore, having up to 7 young SLNA players on the list of U18 Vietnam under the leadership of Coach Hoang Anh Tuan and Technical Director Jurgen Gede is not only a return, but also a very lucky thing for the young talents of SLNA. Because when concentrating on the national team, the players will mature a lot in the period when they need to compete.

Tran Quoc Thanh, Dang Quang Tu, Tran Manh Quynh and Nguyen Xuan Binh are the players who just won the 2019 International U19 Championship. Photo: FBNV

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan and Technical Director Jurgen Gede are the ones who led U19 Vietnam to win the Asian bronze medal and a ticket to the 2017 U20 World Cup. This time, Vietnamese football expects a new generation of players. And hopefully, SLNA with 7 players will have new factors to bring glory to the Nghe An training center.

Responding on the VFF homepage, Coach Hoang Anh Tuan acknowledged the role of the SLNA training center: “This time, the team has the participation of players from many clubs and SLNA is one of them. The selection does not come from local issues but is decided by the quality of the players. We rely on expertise to make the decision to call up. Two years ago, SLNA had some training problems. They still have good players and wherever there are the best people, the coaching staff will choose, how to have a team of equal quality".

In addition, the head coach from Khanh Hoa also affirmed: "The U18 age group is still in the training process. Therefore, I and the coaching staff will let them try many different playing styles and tactical diagrams. However, the playing style that the national team and U23 Vietnam are applying is still the main one, and the coaching staff will rely on that playing style to guide the players. Everyone knows that the two big teams are successful with the technical coordination and quick ball deployment style. That tactic is reasonable and U18 Vietnam will follow this path. The coaching staff hopes that from there the players will have good preparation and can play for U23 Vietnam as well as the national team in the future."

According to the plan, the 2019 Hong Kong International U18 Tournament will start from April 19 to April 22 with the participation of 4 U18 teams: Host Hong Kong (China), Vietnam, Myanmar and Singapore. The teams will compete in a round-robin format to calculate the ranking points.

This is also the team's warm-up step towards the 2019 Southeast Asian U18 Championship taking place in August and the 2020 Asian U19 qualifiers taking place at the end of 2019. The U18 Vietnam coaching staff also includes former national goalkeeper Nguyen The Anh, a goalkeeper who grew up at SLNA.

List of 28 players gathered for U18 Vietnam

Goalkeeper: Y Eli Nie (Dak Lak),Nguyen Van Ba ​​(SLNA), Tran Lam Hao (PVF), Quan Van Chuan (Hanoi).

Defender: Phan Tuan Tai (Viettel),Tran Quoc Thanh (SLNA), Vuong Van Huy (SLNA), Ho Khac Luong (SLNA), Nguyen Nhat Minh (HAGL), Nguyen Nhi Khang (HAGL), Luong Duy Cuong (SHB DN), Vu Tien Long (Hanoi), Tran Hoang Phuc (PVF).

Midfielder:Dang Quang Tu (SLNA), Tran Manh Quynh (SLNA), Nguyen Xuan Binh (SLNA),Ngo Duc Hoang (Hanoi), Nguyen Thanh Khoi (HAGL), Phan Du Hoc (HAGL), Vo Minh Trong (An Giang), Pham Van Huu (SHB DN).

Forwards: Nguyen Van Tung (Hanoi), Bui Tien Sinh (Viettel), Kha Tan Tai (An Giang), Pham Xuan Tao (SHB DN), Vo Nguyen Hoang (PVF), Nguyen Van Son (Than Quang Ninh).

Coaching staff: Technical Director: Jurgen Gede, Head Coach: Hoang Anh Tuan, Assistant Coaches: Vu Hong Viet and Phan Ba ​​Hung, Goalkeeper Coach Nguyen The Anh.

Coach of U19 Hanoi: U19 SLNA is a championship candidate

(Baonghean.vn) - Head coach of U19 Hanoi and also former coach of U16 Vietnam, Mr. Vu Hong Viet believes that U19 SLNA is a strong candidate for the National U19 Finals championship.