U17 Song Lam Nghe An: More matches to grow

The recently concluded 2023 National U17 Championship Finals are showing promise for a solid and highly competitive youth training foundation. The organization of the qualifying rounds with two legs (home and away) and the final match will increase the number of matches played for young players compared to before. Furthermore, many players called up to the National U17 team will have the opportunity to train domestically and internationally, play against foreign teams, and in some cases even be promoted early to the U19 and U20 teams… helping them mature quickly and succeed the older generation when needed.

This is clearly evident in U17 Song Lam Nghe An – the most traditional team in the U17 age group with 7 National Championship titles and a 7-0 opening victory against Khanh Hoa in this year's final round. In the recent U17 qualifying round, U17 Song Lam Nghe An faced strong opponents Hanoi and Thanh Hoa, and weaker opponents Phu Tho and Hung Yen in 2 rounds, totaling 8 matches. Coach Phan Tien Hoai's players performed well in the two most important matches against Thanh Hoa and Hanoi, struggled slightly in the return match against Hung Yen, and secured qualification early, allowing them to field reserve players for the final formality matches.

U17 Song Lam Nghe An shared points with U17 Phu Tho in a match that was essentially a formality. Photo: Sy Hieu

In the final round, U17 Song Lam Nghe An will face U17 Khanh Hoa, Dong Thap, and Hue in succession. This means they will go through 3 group stage matches, and if everything goes well, they will play 3 more matches including the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final, for a total of 6 matches in the final round. Thus, in this year's national championship alone, the U17 Song Lam Nghe An players have honed their skills through 14 official matches, not including training matches and friendly games…

Furthermore, it's worth mentioning that the U17 Song Lam Nghe An team has just added 5 U15 players to their squad for the final round. This U15 team recently won the gold cup, meaning they have competed in an entire national tournament, from the qualifying rounds to the finals. Now, if they continue to play, the number of matches they've played will naturally increase, which is very beneficial for their training and development. The U17 Song Lam Nghe An players who were part of the Vietnam U17 team and went to train in Germany in 2022, such as Van Binh, Long Vu, Nguyen Hoang, and Quang Vinh, or recently Van Binh and Nguyen Hoang who were promoted to the U20 team to compete in the 2023 Asian Cup, have been further honed and demonstrated remarkable maturity.

Through the aforementioned qualifying campaign and the first match in the 2023 U17 finals, it's clear that key players like Minh Hoi, Trong Tuan, Quoc Hoa, Long Vu, etc., will have the opportunity to showcase their skills and will be the successors to their predecessors Xuan Tien, Van Cuong, etc., who won the championship in 2020. It's worth remembering that just two years later, these senior players were called up to the Song Lam Nghe An first team and are now highly valued young talents in the 2023 V-League. It's very possible that these outstanding players from the current U17 Song Lam Nghe An team will soon be considered for the U19, U21, and even the Song Lam Nghe An first team and national youth teams if they perform well in this final round.

Of course, nowadays, not only the Song Lam Nghe An academy maintains its youth teams well, but the Viettel, PVF, and other academies are also closely following, and even accelerating to surpass, the youth training achievements of the Vinh football academy. U17 Song Lam Nghe An wants to reclaim the title of "Breaking the Horns of the Buffalo" generation, and needs to overcome obstacles from U17 PVF, Viettel, and Hanoi. In the upcoming group stage matches, Coach Tien Hoai's team cannot afford to be complacent against U17 Hue, especially U17 Dong Thap, which has a tradition no less impressive than Song Lam. This means they must be extremely professional, treating each match as a final, avoiding a repeat of the qualifying round where, after securing enough points, they only managed draws…

It should also be remembered and hoped that young talents are receiving a great deal of attention and care, especially since Mr. P. Troussier is simultaneously in charge of both the Vietnam U23 team and the Vietnam national team, and he has called up quite a few U20 players to train with the U23 team, as was the honor and responsibility of his seniors Van Binh, Nguyen Hoang, and Xuan Tien recently.

There will come a time when the coach will set his sights on the U17, U19... and everyone will have a chance to rise and contribute. Of course, to turn that opportunity into reality, they first need to play more and they themselves must contribute and showcase their talent more. The U17 players of Song Lam Nghe An are actually playing and showing themselves, but compared to the requirements, it cannot be said that it is enough, because at least compared to the youth teams of Hanoi FC, for example, they have never had the opportunity to compete or train abroad...