SLNA needs to change to adapt to V.League 2022

V.League 2022 regulations require teams to compete in a round-robin format twice, but unlike last year, VPF has learned from experience and prepared scenarios to deal with the complicated developments of the Covid-19 pandemic. Accordingly, VPF has complied with FIFA's recommendations and learned from the organizational experience of European national championships.

Multiple scenarios

Accordingly, atV.League 2022and the 2022 First Division, all members participating in the 3 professional tournaments in 2022, including members of the organizing committee, referees, coaching staff, and players, will have to test for Covid-19 before each round. Only when the result is negative will they be allowed to perform their duties on the field. In the spirit of adapting to the epidemic, players who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus will have to be quarantined, but the remaining players in the team with negative test results will still be allowed to play normally. This requires SLNA to prepare a good reserve force, in case the worst situation can happen.

SLNA V.League 2021 season. Photo courtesy

In response to the emergence of the new Omicron variant, the V.League 2022 Organizing Committee has also prepared contingency plans for the worst-case scenario. Accordingly, if the Covid-19 epidemic continues to break out and cannot open in February and March 2022, the three tournaments will be postponed to July. At that time, the V.League 2022 and the First Division 2022 will switch to the split-group format like the 2020 season, with only 20 and 16 rounds left.

In case the 2022 V.League and 2022 First Division tournaments have completed the first leg and have to stop competing due to the epidemic, the teams will be separated into groups to compete in phase 2 according to the normal format. However, if the tournament has to be postponed before the first leg is completed, the scores and rankings of the clubs up to that point will be used to determine the 2 groups to compete in phase 2. The scores of the teams at that time are only for reference and will not be accumulated to phase 2 - competing in a knockout format, not a round-robin to reduce the number of matches.

Accelerate from the start

Obviously, with such regulations, V.League and First Division teams will be at a disadvantage if they start slowly if the tournament changes according to scenario 2. In recent seasons, due to lack of funds, SLNA only finalized foreign players on the opening day, not having time to assemble the squad, so they had to play and adjust at the same time. The expertise of Nghe An coaches is also average, so SLNA always encountered difficulties in the first rounds. In V.League 2021, SLNA drew with Binh Dinh (1-1), lost to HAGL (2-1), and Saigon (0-1), in which Binh Dinh was just a rookie in the tournament.

Que Ngoc Hai is SLNA's most valuable contract this season. Photo: VFF

This year, the schedule of the first 3 rounds, respectively against Binh Duong (away), Binh Dinh, HAGL (home), is considered quite difficult when Binh Dinh and HAGL have many positive changes in players. For many people who understand V.League, getting points on Binh Duong's field is sometimes easier than when facing Binh Dinh and HAGL on Vinh field. In addition to the quality of the players, Coach Duc Thang and Kiatisak are still rated much higher than Coach Huy Hoang of SLNA.

The goal of 5 points in the first 3 matches of the season is considered reasonable when SLNA has the addition of Que Ngoc Hai, Trong Hoang and Dinh Hoang. Nghe An fans are looking forward to the change of SLNA under the management of sponsor Tan Long. Surely, the boss Truong really wants to see a new look, new results after spending tens of billions of dong to change SLNA.