Coach Huu Thang's player selection techniques

(Baonghean) - With two narrow victories in their opening two matches at the 2016 AFF Cup, Coach Huu Thang's team has already secured a place in the semi-finals. These two victories have sparked mixed reviews regarding the coaching style of the Nghe An strategist. However, overall, there is praise for Coach Huu Thang's player selection, his ability to "know himself and his opponent" in each match, and the confidence he has instilled in each player on the field.

The players from Nghe An province are proving themselves worthy of a place in the national team. Photo: Internet

While some online forums suggest that "Huu Thang is a respected figure in Nghe An province and the 'big boss' of most of his younger teammates at SLNA Club, so when he becomes head coach of the Vietnamese national team, he will certainly recruit a large number of young players from Nghe An to manage them easily," Coach Phan Thanh Hung commented, "I think Thang is a practical person. He is also very good at motivating players with passion, just as he did at SLNA. Huu Thang understands what the Vietnamese national team and the Vietnamese people need, and what kind of playing style suits the Vietnamese people." Previously, in one of his first statements about leading the national team, Coach Huu Thang said that he would not favor any club or individual player, but would choose the best and most suitable players for his football philosophy.

This was most clearly demonstrated in the two matches against host nation Myanmar and their arch-rival Malaysia. It was players from Nghe An province, such as Cong Vinh and Trong Hoang, who scored the decisive goals in both games. In the first match against Myanmar, when it seemed the team would settle for a 1-1 draw, veteran Cong Vinh quickly scored to make it 2-1. And in the match against Malaysia, after several missed opportunities he himself created, Trong Hoang executed a Messi-like dribble to beat two opposing defenders before scoring the only goal of the match, securing Vietnam's early qualification for the semi-finals.

From a professional standpoint, both Cong Vinh and Trong Hoang were past their prime at Binh Duong FC, a club that dismissed them on the very day they joined the national team training camp. The fact that the owner of "Vietnam's Chelsea" didn't utilize Cong Vinh and Trong Hoang is understandable, as their impact on the club in the 2016 season was minimal; their appearances could be counted on one hand.

Therefore, many believe that if a different coach had taken charge of the national team, Cong Vinh, and especially Trong Hoang, would have had very little chance of being included in the squad for the AFF Cup. But with Coach Huu Thang, who knows the players from Nghe An province down to the smallest detail, he decided to call them up. He was also the one who placed his complete trust in them, deciding to field them. In the match against Malaysia, if Huu Thang had been impatient with Trong Hoang's missed opportunities and substituted him, would the Vietnamese team have secured the victory? Because they didn't want to disappoint their coach, the players put in their best effort, igniting a fighting spirit to achieve the best possible result. This is precisely Coach Huu Thang's art of personnel management: when he selects players, he places his complete trust in them!

Duc Dung