Goalkeeper Nguyen The Anh: 'SLNA is lacking a leader on the field'

(Baonghean.vn) – Although he has retired and devoted himself to business and coaching, Nguyen The Anh still spends time watching his hometown team's matches. According to the former SLNA goalkeeper, the past 3 matches in the V.League of the Nghe An team do not say much and are just accidents.

“First of all, I want to say that SLNA is a very good training cradle. After a period of dedication to their homeland, when their training contracts end, the players leave to find a new environment and SLNA immediately has the next generation to replace them, without having to bring athletes from other places. In the past two years, SLNA has mostly used young players, so the problem of lacking playing experience is inevitable,” Nguyen The Anh said.

Goalkeeper Nguyen The Anh grew up at SLNA training center and used to be the goalkeeper for the national team. Photo: Internet

Commenting on the past 3 matches of SLNA, the assistant coach of the U22 Vietnam team said: “In the first match of this season, SLNA faced FLC Thanh Hoa, who have invested heavily and are rated higher, a loss was predictable. When returning home to meet XSKT Can Tho, SLNA was unlucky because of an own goal in extra time. Until the recent match against Khanh Hoa, after leading the opponent 2-0, almost everyone thought that this would be SLNA's first win in V.League 2017. However, the opponent team got 1 equalizer, psychological pressure started to appear in the last minutes, leading to a draw. It can be said that these were all unexpected accidents. But it must also be said that SLNA's strikers missed too many opportunities and revealed their limited experience in battle.”

However, the former goalkeeper born in 1981 still pointed out the advantages of SLNA that need to be promoted by the Nghe An team: “SLNA is a very good team. Although most of them are young, they are all well-trained athletes. They all grew up from the same training center, so they have a high level of solidarity. However, it is clear that at this time SLNA is lacking a leader like Huy Hoang before.

SLNA is a team with many young players so they lack battle experience. Photo: Trung Kien

Goalkeeper Nguyen Manh is currently the captain, his expertise and talent are unquestionable. But it is true that Manh is too gentle, so he is at a disadvantage when it comes to inspiring his teammates. A leader must always have a strong personality. Because the role of a leader on the field is very important. I think that in addition to good expertise and good character, Nguyen Manh also needs to show his personality to lift the spirit of the whole team."

“After 3 matches, SLNA still has not won any and the defense has continuously revealed mistakes with 2 own goals and 1 penalty, making Nghe An fans feel uneasy. Nguyen The Anh is still optimistic about the challenges ahead for coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team: “The season has only 3 rounds, not much can be said, so SLNA players do not need to think too much but focus more on promoting their strengths. As young athletes, Nguyen Manh and his teammates should fight with all their might because your future is still long, overcoming difficulties is a brave person.

Furthermore, Coach Nguyen Duc Thang has just taken the hot seat so he cannot do well right away. He needs time. I think, in life, he is very popular with his players so I believe this will be an advantage that will help him a lot in his professional work," The Anh concluded.

Trung Kien