"Good wood is better than good paint"

1. The day he first came to take over as head coach of the Vietnam national team, seeing Mr. Miura's scholarly appearance, many football experts and sports reporters at that time thought that perhaps we had chosen the wrong person to "steer". Many people quickly went online to search for information about this Japanese coach and immediately criticized the VFF's way of choosing people when they saw his meager achievements and his "unsportsmanlike" physique. When he was present at Vinh Stadium to watch the match between SLNA and SHB.Da Nang in round 16 of the 2014 season, when interviewing him, seeing the small stature of this coach, I still had a feeling of doubt whether he was a sports person or not? But in the end, after a short time, ignoring the gossip and criticism from the media and some Vietnamese football experts, he was still diligent in his work and responded with the first victories of the Vietnam Olympic team with a 4-1 victory over the Iranian Olympic team that created an "earthquake" in Busan, Korea, bringing the Vietnamese Olympic team past the group stage at the 17th Asiad.

Coach Miura (right) and his language assistant watch the match between SLNA and SHB.Da Nang in the 2014 season at Vinh Stadium.

It may be too early to talk about Mr. Miura’s achievements, but the way he selects players and inspires them when they go into battle has given Vietnamese football a new wind, new confidence when facing football teams of higher caliber. Hopefully, with his diligence and determination, Coach Miura will help Vietnamese fans have more joy and sublimation at the Olympics currently taking place in Korea and at the upcoming AFF Suzuki Cup 2014, and further in the SEA Games 2015…

2. When player Cong Phuong shone in recent tournaments, many fans and experts asked: Why was a good player like Cong Phuong rejected by SLNA training center? The answer is very simple: "Back then, he passed all the aptitude tests, even excelled, but in terms of physical standards, he was 3 kg short of the required weight, so he was rejected". One of the weaknesses of Vietnamese football for a long time is physical strength, so when a player is too small, it is difficult to pass the "bicycle parking round" at youth training centers. But why did the HAGL-Arsenal-JMG Academy choose this young player? The reason is that the teachers of this academy saw that Cong Phuong had excellent football talent, so they decided to call Cong Phuong's father, and when they saw that he had a fairly good physique, they decided to accept Cong Phuong. According to the explanation of the experts at the HAGL - Arsenal - JMG Academy, at that time they believed that if he was fed with enough nutrients, Cong Phuong would definitely improve his physique, at least to the same level as his father, and his innate qualities and talents were rare, so they decided not to miss this talent. Thanks to the determination of the teachers at HAGL, Cong Phuong found a place to express his passion and prove his footballing qualities. The shining moments at the recent U19 Southeast Asian Championship were the first steps of Cong Phuong - who is considered the "Vietnamese Messi". And Messi is also one of the models of small players but is a top scorer, having received the title of the best player in the world 3 times.

The initial successes of Coach Miura and Cong Phuong have erased the doubts and even the regrets of those who commented on them based on their appearance!

Duc Dung