Song Lam Nghe An is actively preparing for V.League 2022

Since taking over SLNA in June 2021, sponsor Tan Long Group has brought a new breeze to Nghe An football. From the material conditions, working and training spirit. Among them, the people who feel this most clearly are head coach Nguyen Huy Hoang and the players and athletes themselves.

Playing alongside Thai Ba Sang in the center of the defense is Ho Khac Luong. Although he has not been on the first team for long, every time he has the opportunity to show himself, Luong shows the qualities of a steel center back. Photo: Duc Anh

After stabilizing the organization, finding a highly qualified chef and nutritionist, and stabilizing the players' lives, the plan that the SLNA Board of Directors and Coaching Board built was to call the young players back, and move towards establishing a B team, competing in the Third Division.

Some faces such as central defender Nguyen Ba Duc (from Hai Phong), Le Thanh Lam, Tran Ngoc Anh (Dak Lak) or Tran Tien Anh, Ho Khac Luong, Nguyen Xuan Binh, Tran Manh Quynh have all been "tested" at different clubs such as XSKT Can Tho, Phu Dong... Obviously, there will be a competition between veteran players and a team of enthusiastic and equally talented young players such as Dinh Xuan Tien, Ho Van Cuong, Trinh Hoang Canh... who are only 18, 20 years old.

The young players all adapted very quickly to the training plans set out by SLNA's coaching staff. Photo: Duc Anh

The establishment of a team starting in the Third Division is considered a reasonable decision, because for a long time, young SLNA players aged under 21 have lacked a playground to compete. In fact, this is not a new way of doing things in Vietnam because many clubs have chosen this method, instead of just letting players play outside on loan.

According to Head Coach Nguyen Huy Hoang: “If the Third Division team improves in training and playing, we will promote them to the main team to participate in the V.League. On the contrary, if the players in Team 1 do not meet the requirements, we will push them down to the lower division to create opportunities for young talents. This creates fairness, healthy competition and the players need to make an effort in every training session.”

Regarding the transfer policy, it is not as noisy as other clubs, but according to research, SLNA has finalized the list of domestic players and all contract extensions and new signings will be announced at the end of this year (November). Because most of the players that SLNA works with are currently focusing on the national team. The rest are players who have grown up from SLNA to have the best cohesion in playing style when they understand each other very well.

Regarding foreign players, in addition to having Michael Olaha, SLNA is looking for two more foreign players in the positions of central midfielder and striker to pair with Olaha. The method is considered to be "using offense to compensate for defense". However, in the 2011 V.League championship, the previous coach Nguyen Huu Thang also succeeded with this calculation. The time from now until the V.League 2022 kicks off, expected in March, is enough for coach Nguyen Huy Hoang to have the best foreign players from within the country and abroad.

Foreign player Michael Olaha will return to SLNA to train at the end of October. Photo: Duc Anh

As a former captain of the national team and wearing the captain's armband for many years, and assistant coach since 2018, captain Nguyen Huy Hoang is the one who understands best what SLNA needs to do to change and become stronger. At the same time, maintaining traditional identity is a fiery style of play. With the assistance of two of Vietnam's most talented former players, Nhu Thuat and Van Quyen, SLNA's style of play next season is also expected to be smoother and more beautiful.

With such thorough preparation, Nghe An fans are expecting coach Nguyen Huy Hoang and his team to set a high goal in V.League 2022. At least a position in the top 5 or 3 teams. However, the most important thing is still a style of play that is enough to please the audience and fans of Nghe An.

According to the investigation, foreign player Michael Olaha will return to SLNA to train this October. The Nigerian striker returned to his homeland after the V.League 2021 did not continue. This time, the player born in 1996 went to Vietnam with a number of African foreign players selected by SLNA's coaching staff for a trial.