V.League 2021 postponed and SLNA's problem

It seems like fateV.League 2021It will be difficult to change, it must be postponed to next year. Surely the new boss of SLNA must consider his own path to successfully stay in the league.

Possible solutions

Although the plan to postpone V-League to February 2022 must wait for the VFF Executive Committee to decide, it is difficult to make another decision. People cannot find a minimum of 23 days to play the remaining 8 rounds. Dividing into packages to play "guerrilla" style is not suitable because the 13th round must be played at the same time, the life-and-death nature of phase 2 cannot be organized like that.

The story of SLNA having to participate in the relegation race is no longer debatable. Photo: Duc Anh

In the context of the complicated developments of the Covid-19 epidemic, while the competition schedule of U23 and the Vietnam team is almost full or has been suspended or postponed. At this time, any decision on organizing the competition, even if the stadium is empty, is considered inappropriate.

Even the proposal from VPF to VFF to allow round 13 of V-League 2021 to be held on February 12, 2022; phase 2 of LS V-League 2021 to be played from February 16 to March 12, 2022 with 2 championship groups (6 teams) and relegation groups (8 teams) is just a distant forecast. At this time, the authority to organize sports activities no longer depends on VPF and VFF, according to the law it belongs to local authorities.

At this time, talking about the championship or the relegation race of V.League 2021 is still too early, although HAGL, the team at the top of the rankings, and SLNA, the team at the bottom, are both 3 points away from the closest team. But the story of SLNA having to participate in the relegation race is no longer debatable. The problem is how to make SLNA stay in the league successfully in the next 7 months?

Four problems of SLNA

The first problem is to avoid the ridiculous optimism that Tan Long’s timely “rescue” ensured SLNA’s successful relegation. Tan Long arrived in time, with new financial resources, SLNA was able to withstand the direct hit called “finance”, the premise for SLNA to be able to successfully relegate.

Next, do not be subjective in thinking that SLNA is the team with the advantage when V.League 2021 is postponed. "Easy for us, easy for others" and the preparation process of the teams that are direct opponents in the relegation race of Hai Phong, Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, they also do not waste time.

Phan Van Duc and SLNA teammates in a recent training session. Photo: Duc Anh

7 months is a completely different preparation period that SLNA's coaching staff must prepare a new lesson plan. The story of foreign players must also be recalculated because surely the opponents know how to take advantage of this opportunity to recruit quality players for the relegation race. Looking at the list of foreign players, even Olaha is only rated as average in the V.League, not at the level of "carrying the team" as many people expect. It is known that the teams participating in the relegation race have all considered changing foreign players, considering this an important solution.

After Hai Phong's recruitment, using many HAGL players for the relegation race, there will certainly be many unexpected and secret "borrowing" of players. The problem for SLNA is whether the domestic force after promoting 5 U21 players to the first team is strong enough for the sprint race? Does SLNA have to participate in the game using only players trained by themselves?

The final issue is that SLNA’s coaching staff must have a training plan to ensure the excitement of the young players in the condition of having to practice alone for 7 months. Since Tan Long appeared, he has created a new atmosphere for SLNA’s coaching staff and players in a positive direction and they need to maintain this feeling for a long time to come.