Believe in young people.

(Baonghean) - With only about 10 days left until the official start of the 2015 V.League season, following the National Sports Festival and recently a friendly match against Thanh Hoa at Vinh Stadium, coach Ngo Quang Truong is considering his final personnel decisions for the new season. Accordingly, the main force of the SLNA team this season will be young players, with many new players promoted from the U.19 and U.21 teams.

A moment from the friendly match between SLNA and Thanh Hoa at Vinh Stadium on the afternoon of December 19th.

Cong Vinh left due to a failure to reach an agreement regarding finances. Following that, Hong Viet also joined Dong Nai after failing to reach a deal with his hometown team. Currently, the 80s generation of SLNA players remaining are: Minh Duc, Quang Tinh, Dinh Dong, and reserve goalkeeper Duc Cuong.

To date, the SLNA coaching staff has yet to decide who will be the team's captain. This shows that none of the four older players currently in the Nghe An team are truly outstanding enough for the leadership to trust them with the captain's armband. This is a sad reality because, in the past, SLNA has always been strong and, at any given time, they have had a true leader both in the locker room and on the field. First there was Nguyen Huu Thang, then Nguyen Huy Hoang, and even Nguyen Trong Hoang and Le Cong Vinh, who truly inspired confidence when wearing the captain's armband.

Following his success at the Asian Games and recently the AFF Suzuki Cup, Hoang Thinh is making a strong impression and it's highly likely that this warrior-like midfielder will be selected. If Quang Truong places his trust in Hoang Thinh, it would also be an answer to the dominance of youth, which is currently seen as a great hope for SLNA.

Besides players currently in their prime such as Hoang Thinh, Manh Hung, Ngoc Hai, Dinh Bao, Phi Son, Khac Ngoc, Sy Sam…, SLNA has also promoted 9 other players this season. These are all players who had successful performances in youth tournaments in 2014, including: Tuan Tai, Van Khanh, Van Duc, Xuan Thang, Phuc Tinh, Van Toan… A member of the SLNA coaching staff said that in the 2014 season, over 90% of the players from Nghe An were born after 1990 and will be one of the youngest teams in the V.League.

Reportedly, over the past two months, a fierce competition has taken place within SLNA to determine which young players would be trusted to be promoted to the first team. In this intense "battle," players like The Nhat and Van Manh failed to impress, and recently, both requested to join Can Tho as "mercenaries" for the 2015 season.

After the National Sports Congress, SLNA returned and played a friendly match against Thanh Hoa at Vinh Stadium. The purpose of the match was for Quang Truong and his team to assess and select two suitable foreign players for the new season. Currently, there are three players on trial. CEO Ho Van Chiem stated that they will choose two of these three players. It is almost certain that SLNA will sign Koen Bosma, a Dutch player who has previously played for several well-known clubs in Europe.

SLNA is expected to finalize its foreign player roster tomorrow and essentially complete its squad for the new season. Over the next week, after securing all foreign players and the return of three national team players, the SLNA coaching staff will assemble and finalize the team for the upcoming season. Basically, as coach Ngo Quang Truong shared, youth will be the main focus, and SLNA hopes that the players they have promoted this season will perform effectively.

In the past, SLNA successfully nurtured their players to maturity. They are hoping that the past will repeat itself with faith in young talents...

Vinh Liem