SLNA and the pain of 'cutting your coat according to your cloth' when choosing foreign players
(Baonghean.vn) - Responding to press opinions about whether the quality of foreign players is the reason for SLNA's unimpressive performances, the team's CEO Ho Van Chiem made some frank statements.
- Regarding the quality of foreign players, public opinion is currently very interested in the selection process and signing of contracts with foreign players. Can you share about this issue?
Mr. Ho Van Chiem:For a foreign player to wear the SLNA shirt, we have specific procedures. First, we will submit to the board of directors to establish a selection committee to negotiate with the player, including me as the CEO, the company's chief accountant, an interpreter and members of the coaching board to select the player.
Each department is assigned a specific task, from the initial contact with the player to the entire trial period, the selection board will closely monitor and have specific reports.
After the coaching board and the head coach personally propose the player, then we will negotiate the conditions to sign the contract (transfer fee, salary, bonus, airfare... - PV).
- The selection process is quite strict and thorough, so what is the reason that leads to the situation where SLNA has to sign poor quality foreign player contracts?
Mr. Ho Van Chiem:When negotiating, we will also report to the sponsor, Bac A Bank, to balance the finances. In fact, there are foreign players who are very good during the trial period, meeting the requirements of the coaching board, but SLNA cannot sign them because the cost they require is too high, exceeding the amount that SLNA and the sponsor can pay.
There are also cases where players almost agreed to the negotiation conditions but then refused because they thought the club’s facilities were not good; they even criticized the living environment of Vinh city for not being vibrant and bustling. Therefore, SLNA players who signed contracts all had to “cut their coat according to their cloth”.
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| Some of SLNA's foreign trial players (in yellow shirts) had to return home because they couldn't show much. Photo: Archive |
The selection is difficult, the retention of foreign players is even more difficult. Fans ask why SLNA didn't retain good foreign players last year and the year before? I would like to clarify that SLNA's financial resources do not allow them to sign long-term contracts with foreign players, most of them sign one-year contracts.
Sponsor Bac A Bank pours 30 billion VND/season into the club every year, but has to pay for the entire first team from competition to training, and player salaries. The biggest burden is still choosing foreign players and retaining quality domestic players, so we are not allowed to sign long-term contracts with any foreign players.
Furthermore, for many years we have encountered situations where foreign players who were playing well were “colluded” by other clubs to break their contracts at a higher price. For example, in the case of foreign player Nguyen Hoang Helio, SLNA paid the naturalization fees to play as a domestic player, but after only half a season, another team “broke” his contract. Therefore, we had to start the selection again from the beginning.
- Besides the limited financial factor, there must be other reasons leading to the poor quality of foreign players, causing "domestic players to have to bear the burden of foreign players"?
Mr. Ho Van Chiem:Anyone who has ever played football can understand that selecting players depends on many factors, including luck.
Every year, we spend money to invite about 20-25 foreign players to Vietnam for a trial. Many foreign players are "approved" by the coaching council and head coach but cannot negotiate financial terms; or when they are on trial, they meet the requirements, but when they enter the tournament, they do not perform well. There are many reasons for this situation, such as the impact of the weather and not understanding the Vietnamese football environment, so players need time to adapt.
The two foreign players of SLNA are currently in that situation. They are players who have played professionally and performed well during their trials. Even Danko has played for many teams in Europe but has not yet met the requirements immediately after coming to Vietnam. I think they need time.
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| Foreign player Danko is causing great disappointment to fans. Photo: Archive |
Sharing the same opinion with Mr. Ho Van Chiem, Coach Nguyen Duc Thang added: “The selection of foreign players at SLNA is very methodical. We carefully select each player who comes to try out. But many times it depends on many factors, that is, many players are good but cannot be signed because the requirements are too high, or have many medical histories. Many players during the trial period met the requirements of the coaching staff, but when they entered the tournament, they could not perform because they had not yet adapted to the Vietnamese football environment. As the head coach, I always say that I take responsibility for every decision at SLNA and will try my best to do my job. What we need is your support.”./. |
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