Proud of history, what about the future?

(Baonghean) - "Proud history what future?" Those were the banners that Aston Villa fans held up during their team's match with Chelsea on April 2. Suddenly, I thought of the Song Lam Nghe An football team...

SLNA players warm up before the match against Saigon FC on the afternoon of April 10 at Vinh Stadium. Image:Tran Hai

First of all, let me briefly talk about Aston Villa football team. This is the 4th most successful club in England (after Man United, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest) with 1 C1 cup, 1 European Super Cup, 7 national championships, 7 FA Cups, 5 League Cups... A team like that is now struggling at the bottom of the Premier League table. The prospect of playing in the first division next season is clearer than ever, even sinking deeper from the team's crisis. So what has caused a former powerhouse of English football to become so tragic? There are many reasons, but mainly due to finances. Because of lack of money, they cannot keep "stars", cannot recruit quality players... so Aston Villa's performance has become so poor.

From the situation of the Birmingham team, I am really worried about the future of SLNA. Although comparing an English team with a Vietnamese team is quite lame. However, with a "flat world" of Thomas Friedman, success or destruction appears in every corner of the world. Therefore, the lesson of Aston Villa is worth pondering for every team, and SLNA is no exception.

Being the most successful football team in Vietnam with 3 national championships, 2 national cups, 4 super cups... Besides, SLNA owns the most successful training center with: 5 U21 championships (record), 5 U19 championships (record), 7 U17 championships (record) and many titles in other age groups... Yet, year after year, Song Lam Nghe An always has to live in the situation of "measuring every meal".

Each season, the Nghe An football team struggles with the "brain drain". Poverty does not spare even children, when a series of young talents choose centers such as HN.T&T, Viettel, VPF... as training centers because of much higher salaries. A football team considered a "monster" of Vietnam has now become a mid-range team, the most successful training center is constantly empty-handed. Remember, the factors for a healthy football team are finance and youth training, and youth training also requires money.

SLNA fans are always proud of their hometown team's tradition.

It must be admitted that SLNA is the "overcoming difficulties" team of Vietnamese football, even of world football. With the nature of "enduring hardship, hard work, diligence, determination..." deeply ingrained in each player and team. So over the years, the Nghe An team has overcome countless difficulties and challenges to always be worthy of the title "pride of the people of Nghe An". However, life is very harsh, love and pride are not enough. Because in the era of "strong because of rice, bold because of money", non-material factors are necessary but not sufficient conditions for survival.

Look at names like: The Cong, Ho Chi Minh City Police, Hanoi Police, Saigon Port, Customs... and it's clear. They are names that are not inferior to our SLNA, where are they now on the map of Vietnamese football? Looking further into world football - one of the "S7 sisters of Seria" is AC Parma, who had to play in the 3rd division of Italy due to bankruptcy in 2015. Then the number 1 team in Scotland, Glasgow Rangers, was also relegated to the 3rd division of Scotland in 2012 also due to financial reasons. Or the team that made waves in the English Premier League in the late 90s of the last century and early 2000s, Leeds United, is now wandering in the lower divisions of England... Those are the names that those who hold the fate of the SLNA team have to think about.

For a long time, people have been too familiar with the image of "Song Lam Nghe An is a poor student who studies well". They forgot the responsibility of how to become "both good and rich". People say, standing still means falling behind. So the Nghe An football team is visibly "running out of breath". It is time to look at all problems thoroughly with the saying, "Don't be proud of being poor but studying well, ask yourself why you are good but still poor". Let's save "the pride of the people of Nghe An" before it's too late.

As a son of Nghe An, a loyal fan of SLNA, I urge the provincial leaders, the team managers, and the team lovers to build the "Pride" of the homeland to be stronger! The content of the banners on Villa Park is also the heart of SLNA fans.

Le Thanh Hung(Chi Khe, Con Cuong)