V.League 2018: Is Than Quang Ninh too confident?
(Baonghean.vn) - It's quite surprising that despite parting with a series of key players and having less budget for the season, Than Quang Ninh still sets a goal of being in the top 3 of V-League 2018. What is the basis for Coach Phan Thanh Hung to set that goal?
For the past 3 seasons, every year Than Quang Ninh has been a candidate for the V.League championship, but in the end they only finished 4th. The mining team often runs out of steam at the end of the season.
Gutted
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| Minh Tuan, the brightest star of Than Quang Ninh, has joined another team. Photo: Internet |
Last season, Than Quang Ninh only managed a dramatic 4-4 draw with Hanoi FC, ultimately finishing 4th, causing great disappointment to fans in the mining region.
Right after the season, Than Quang Ninh lost a series of pillars: Minh Tuan, Van Hieu, Minh Tung and Duc Thang. Their two most important players Minh Tuan and Minh Tung joined Thanh Hoa Club. Midfielder Ngo Duc Thang joined the reigning champion of V.League 2017. The plan to build Minh Tuan into a symbol of the mining team went bankrupt due to financial problems.
Midfielder Vu Minh Tuan grew up from the youth training center of Than Quang Ninh Club. In 2008, when he was only 18 years old, Tuan was named in the first team of Than Quang Ninh Club to participate in the National First Division that year. In 2011, he was one of the factors that helped U21 Quang Ninh win the bronze medal at the National U21 tournament.
In 2012, Minh Tuan was also voted as the outstanding athlete of the Mining region in 2012. In the 2013 season, Vu Minh Tuan continued to play impressively when he and Than Quang Ninh finished 2nd in the first division, thereby winning a place to play in the V-League.
It seemed like he would re-sign a 3-year contract with his hometown team, with a 2 billion VND signing bonus each year, but at the last minute, he joined FLC Thanh Hoa. For a long time, Than Quang Ninh played with wings Minh Tuan and Xuan Tu moving at full speed on the wing, but now there is only 1. Meanwhile, midfielder Van Hieu is a former student of coach Phan Thanh Hung, following him from Hanoi.T&T but eventually left. When Than Quang Ninh's finances were no longer abundant, they had to let quality players leave the team, such is the cruelty of professional football.
Regarding foreign players, they said goodbye to both the 2015 V.League top scorer Patiyo and the Russian striker Dyachenko, who scored 12 goals last season for the club, and ranked second in the 2017 top scorer list. Coach Phan Thanh Hung said that this duo is too old and no longer suitable for the style of play he built at the team in the mining land. The team brought in striker Eydison, a Brazilian who is not a stranger to the V.League because he previously played for SHB.DN and Long An. Eydison is the type of striker who can operate independently on the attack line and is quite suitable for the 1-striker style of play that Coach Phan Thanh Hung is building at Than QN.
1 star team
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| Coach Phan Thanh Hung: "I am not worried about the team's strength or the way the team is playing. The team is determined to make it into the top 3." Photo: Internet |
It can be said that Than Quang Ninh still has some players worth watching such as central defender Duong Thanh Hao, naturalized player Trung Hieu, but the most important "star" is coach Phan Thanh Hung. The Quang coach has completed the AFC Pro certificate course, the highest degree in the AFC football coach training system.
During his 6 years at Hanoi T&T, Coach Phan Thanh Hung helped the club win the V-League twice and become runner-up 4 times, interspersed with National Cup and Super Cup titles. He was also in charge of the national team at the AFF Cup 2012.
Regarding Than Quang Ninh, Coach Phan Thanh Hung and his colleagues brought home 1 National Cup title and 1 National Super Cup. Entering the season, Coach Phan Than Hung still expressed confidence in the team's strength: "We lost Minh Tuan, Van Hieu, Minh Tung and Duc Thang, but in return, the team will promote a few promising young faces, plus the appearance of Edison who played for SHB Da Nang last season. I am not worried about the strength, nor the way the game is built."
But not many people have the same thoughts as coach Phan Thanh Hung when his team lost its entire attack.
