After the "extreme hardship", will Song Lam Nghe An experience a "return to prosperity"?

Through the storm

Lam River Nghe Anwent through the first 10 rounds of V.League 2023 with the worst performance in the team's history. The Vinh home team only won 1 match, drew 6 matches and lost 3 matches. Notably, in the match in round 10, Song Lam Nghe An was defeated by Viettel with a score of 0-3. This forced the leadership of the Nghe team to make a decision to change the "general". Phan Nhu Thuat was chosen to sit on the coaching bench of Song Lam Nghe An. Many public opinions questioned the coaching ability of this young coach. However, anyone who has a thorough understanding of the Nghe team will certainly not be surprised when Nhu Thuat was appointed head coach of Song Lam Nghe An. Because since starting his coaching career, in the youth teams of the Nghe team, Nhu Thuat has been considered a "red seed" and is considered by everyone to be a promising coach of this team in the future.

That was soon confirmed, when coach Nhu Thuat quickly brought Song Lam Nghe An out of the quagmire with 2 wins and 1 draw. The mark of clear tactics and tactics is a positive point that fans can easily see in Song Lam Nghe An under new coach Nhu Thuat.

The Vinh home team is no longer as "fragile" as before, but instead is stubborn, pragmatic, always "knowing yourself and your opponent". In 3 matches against teams with very strong attacks, possessing famous strikers such as Mansaray Victor Nabay, Rafaelson Bezerra Fernandes, Murzaev Mirlan, Jevtovic Milan... the Nghe team still only conceded 1 goal. It is worth mentioning that the goal conceded by the Vinh home team came from a moment of brilliance by Hoang Vu Samson, with a shot from a distance of more than 30m. That was one of the bright spots that the Nghe team showed.

Besides, the attacking ability of this team has also changed a lot. The coordination of Song Lam Nghe An is deployed coherently with flexible and synchronized movements of the whole system. Therefore, the opponent is surprised and cannot control the gaps created by Song Lam Nghe An.

In addition, the mark of the tactics was clearly shown in the match against Hanoi in the final round of the first stage. Song Lam Nghe An knew themselves and their opponents very well, playing cautiously, "putting the opponent to sleep" in the first 45 minutes of the match. Then in the second half, Nhu Thuat made the decisive attack when sending Xuan Tien and Manh Quynh onto the field. Song Lam Nghe An increased the tempo and deployed sharp attacks. That tactic surprised the opponent and they had to accept defeat right on Hang Day Stadium.

However, to achieve these things, the decisive factor is still the people. The players of Song Lam Nghe An have regained their confidence to play football. Players like Nam Hai, Van Lam, Xuan Tien, Dinh Tien, Van Bach are no longer "nervous" like before. Instead, they have played with maturity, side by side with seniors like Ngoc Hai, Trong Hoang, Xuan Manh...

7 points after 3 matches against tough opponents is a commendable achievement for Phan Nhu Thuat and his team. Although we know that this achievement cannot help Song Lam Nghe An enter the group of 8 strongest teams after the end of phase 1, it must be affirmed that this team has overcome the crisis, ready for the campaign to gain points early to stay in the league this season.

There will be a "future" time

With their current strength and form, it is not difficult for Phan Nhu Thuat and his team to quickly gain 7 points to complete their goal of staying in the league this season. In phase 2, Song Lam Nghe An will have 3 matches at home against Ho Chi Minh City, B.Binh Duong and Hoang Anh Gia Lai clubs. These are 3 teams that are quite easy to play for the Nghe An club. Because in the history of confrontations, the Vinh home team always has the advantage and often achieves favorable results. Therefore, it can be affirmed that Song Lam Nghe An will not have too much difficulty to stay in the V.League 2023 soon.

However, if we look further into the next season, it will be difficult for the Vinh Stadium team to transform themselves to become a force in the V.League. Because “no flour can make glue”, in the hands of Nhu Thuat, if he does not have a strong enough squad, no matter how good this young coach is, it will be difficult for Song Lam Nghe An to regain the glory it had in the past.

Looking closely at the foreign players of the Nghe An team at present, this can be clearly seen. Striker Soladio, although playing with great effort, has limited class and professional level. Therefore, Soladio only plays his role well and has not created the difference as the audience expected.

Olaha has regained his excitement in competition, but his scoring efficiency is still not high. This is the weakness of the foreign striker duo that Song Lam Nghe An owns. To change this, money is still the key, but unfortunately, Song Lam Nghe An only has that, so it is difficult to demand foreign players of sufficient caliber.

In terms of domestic quality, Song Lam Nghe An has a young squad of players with fairly even professional skills. However, what the Nghe An team is lacking is a midfielder with the ability to play the ball, a player who can lead the game, a conductor of sufficient caliber. In the past, Song Lam Nghe An used to have such players. However, with limited financial resources, Song Lam Nghe An now only relies on talents like Xuan Tien, Manh Quynh, and Dinh Tien to mature early.

Through the above analysis, it can be said that Song Lam Nghe An has gradually improved under the new coach Phan Nhu Thuat. However, for the Vinh team to reach a "rejuvenation" stage, many other factors are needed, of which the most important is financial investment. Hopefully, the sponsor will have enough capital so that Song Lam Nghe An will no longer have to "cut their coat according to their cloth" as they do now.