Song Lam Nghe An aims for high achievements in the major U teams

Nghe An Newspaper reporter had an interview with Mr. Tran Quang Dung - Director of Song Lam Nghe An Youth Football Training Center to better understand the new direction of the center.

PV: Opening the 2025 season, U19Lam River Nghe Anwon the Silver Medal – an achievement considered beyond expectations. How do you evaluate this result?

Mr. Tran Quang Dung:In the past 2 years, Song Lam Nghe An has had a clear change in thinking in youth training. We determined to focus on investing in older age groups instead of focusing too much on the achievements of the younger U groups. Therefore, the U19 team winning the Silver Medal has met the center's expectations, completely in line with the new direction that the Club is pursuing.

PV: After the success of U19, a series of youth tournaments such as U9, U13, U15, U17 and U21 will start this year. How has the Center prepared for this dense series of tournaments?

Mr. Tran Quang Dung:Except for the U11 team, which cannot participate due to being disciplined by the Vietnam Football Federation, SLNA's U9, U13, U15, U17 and U21 teams will all participate. However, this year we apply a different strategy. In the small groups such as U9, U13 or U15, the goal is not to win medals, but to create conditions for the children to compete, compete and gain experience.

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We focus on investing in the U17 and U21 teams.

Mr. Tran Quang Dung - Director of Song Lam Nghe An Youth Football Training Center

On the contrary, we have focused our investment on the U17 and U21 teams. Experienced and highly qualified coaches have been assigned early, and a systematic training plan has been developed, suitable for the physical condition and level of each player. The center's leaders also regularly urge and closely monitor the training process to ensure the teams are best prepared before entering the tournament.

PV:Can you share more about the difficulties when SLNA firmly "says no to age fraud", especially in building the force?

Mr. Tran Quang Dung:We have thoroughly implemented the spirit of "say no to negativity" in the entire training system. The review and elimination of age fraud has been carried out seriously and thoroughly. Up to this point, it can be affirmed that there are no overage players in SLNA youth teams.

We clearly identify that we cannot trade long-term development for short-term achievements. Youth tournaments should be considered as a “football festival”, where players compete at the right age, at the right strength, and are trained systematically and scientifically.

PV:In fact, Song Lam Nghe An currently no longer uses old, outdated training methods to chase short-term achievements, but instead has a longer-term strategy, aiming to provide quality players for the first team and create effective resources for the national team. So can you share about the new training methods at the SLNA Youth Football Training Center?

Mr. Tran Quang Dung:This is the right direction. SLNA no longer uses harsh training methods such as forcing young players to run long distances, practice strength or play against adults. Those exercises can destroy their physical and mental health.

Currently, we build training programs suitable for each age, even personalizing with separate exercises to ensure comprehensive development. At the same time, instead of only using coaches based on real-life experience, we prioritize well-trained coaches who understand modern sports science. This will help players develop physically in a sustainable way, ready to explode at the age of U17 or U19, instead of shining early and then slowing down like before.

PV:With such a major investment, what are your expectations for the U17 and U21 teams this season?

Mr. Tran Quang Dung:Of the 5 youth tournaments taking place this summer, we have the highest expectations for the U17 and U21. The U21 will compete early and end in July. However, this year's U21 squad faces many difficulties because the players are being distributed to many different clubs from V-League to Second Division, limiting the process of concentration and team bonding.

Not to mention, some key players like Quang Vinh, Long Vu or Cao Van Binh will have to focus on the U22 Vietnam team, leading to a loss of strength. However, we still aim to win medals in the U21 tournament, and at the same time consider this an opportunity to discover new factors for the SLNA first team and the national teams.

For the U17 team, this year the tournament has lowered the age limit to players under 16 years old to serve the selection process for the Vietnam U17 team to participate in the U17 Asia qualifiers at the end of the year. We have planned to invest carefully in this team, with the goal of winning medals and having at least some faces called up to the U17 national team.

PV:So, what is the overall goal of the SLNA Youth Football Training Center in 2025?

Mr. Tran Quang Dung:According to the training contract with the Provincial People's Committee, the center must win a set of medals in national youth competitions. However, this year this will be very difficult because the two teams that used to be strong, U11 and U13, are both at a disadvantage. U11 is banned from competing, and U13 is no longer favored in terms of physical fitness as before.

Therefore, we shifted our target to the big teams. Specifically, U17 and U21 must win medals, and set a target of having at least 4 U17 players called up to the Vietnam U17 team, and 5 U21 players called up to the national U22 team. That is the measure of the training effectiveness of the center this year.

PV:Thanks for sharing!