V.League 2023 temporary break is beneficial for Song Lam Nghe An?

The interests of the national team should be put first.

According to the plan given before the tournament,V.League 2023will take a break after the end of round 4. The break will last from February 20 to April 5. The reason for the V.League 2023 to have such a long break is because the VFF wants to give time for the national teams to concentrate and compete. Specifically, the Vietnam national team under new coach Philippe Troussier will officially gather from March 8 to 12. In addition, U23 Vietnam will also have a gathering period lasting nearly 1 month to prepare for the 32nd Sea Games. According to experts, this period of time is very important for the new head coach of the U23 Vietnam team. Because it will help the French coach to search for and screen new factors and build a suitable playing style for U23 Vietnam.

The V.League break will help coach Philippe Troussier build a suitable playing style for U23 Vietnam. Photo: VFF

Besides, the V.League break will help U20 Vietnam have time to practice and participate in the U20 Asia tournament.

However, this issue is opposed by many clubs. The teams that disagree are all having good results and they want to take advantage of the players' rising form to gain the upper hand in the V.League 2023 rankings.

Sharing about the above issue, Hanoi FC coach - Bozidar Bandovic said: "I have not seen any country have such long breaks as this season's V.League. Players, especially national players, need time to rest, but a long break can have the opposite effect, such as breaking a good streak of form. Thailand has also had two breaks like this, but they were short."

Sharing the same opinion, coach Chu Dinh Nghiem - Hai Phong club shared: "This break is difficult for the clubs, because the players have just caught up with the rhythm of the competition after 4 rounds and then have to take a long break."

However, before the draw for the V.League 2023 schedule, the Organizing Committee of the Tournament proposed a plan for the tournament and sought opinions from the clubs. At that time, all clubs agreed with the above plan of VFF and VPF, but after the tournament had passed 4 rounds, many teams objected because it affected their interests.

Regarding the objections of the teams, coach Kiatisuk said: “When the match schedule has been approved, it means that the clubs have agreed with this. In fact, when the Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company presented the plan to organize the tournaments based on the schedule of the national teams, to the clubs in December 2022, there was no objection.”

The above is to show that when teams have accepted the rules of the game in advance, they should comply, and not give opposing opinions for their own benefit. Besides, implementing the benefits for the National teams is extremely important and is agreed by many fans.

Vietnamese football has been making rapid progress in recent times. This is because we are implementing innovative and breakthrough methods. Therefore, it is unreasonable to base on the organization of football tournaments in other countries and apply them to Vietnamese football. Therefore, football teams should support the VFF's approach when making the schedule for this season.

V.League 2023 temporary break is beneficial for Song Lam Nghe An?

The V.League's temporary break to serve the national teams brings disadvantages to some top teams, but also unintentionally brings benefits to teams with poor results. In particular, Song Lam Nghe An will benefit from this more than 1 month long break.

Young midfielder Tran Nam Hai joined the U20 Vietnam team for the first time. Photo: Chung Le

As known, Song Lam Nghe An has 3 players called up to the Vietnam U20 team, including Dinh Xuan Tien, Tran Nam Hai and Ho Van Cuong. At their home club, all 3 players are regularly trusted by coach Huy Hoang. In 4 rounds of V.League 2023, Tran Nam Hai played in all 4 matches. Meanwhile, Dinh Xuan Tien and Ho Van Cuong also played in 3 matches. When these players are called up to the Vietnam U20 team, they have the opportunity to develop their expertise and contribute to their home club in the future. Most notably, they will be able to compete with many top teams in the continent, learn more knowledge and new ways of playing modern football; young players will mature sooner.

The break helped coach Huy Hoang rebuild the playing style for Song Lam Nghe An. Photo: Duc Anh

Besides, this break is very meaningful for coach Huy Hoang and his team. After 4 rounds, Song Lam Nghe An did not get the desired results, when they only drew and could not win. Therefore, this break helps Song Lam Nghe An regain their spirit, rebuild tactics, increase connection and synchronization of positions, to play better in the remaining journey of the first leg.

In terms of expertise, coach Huy Hoang will have time to help the two new foreign players better integrate into Song Lam Nghe An's playing style. As the audience knows, the two new players of Song Lam Nghe An only have a little over 2 weeks to practice with the Nghe team before taking the field in V.League 2023. Therefore, these new players are still quite unfamiliar with the Vietnamese football environment and cannot adapt immediately. That is the reason why center back Vytas has not been able to support his teammates well and let Song Lam Nghe An lose 4 goals after 4 rounds.

As for striker Soladio, he is often “hungry for the ball”, because his movement ability is not suitable for the attacking style of Nghe An midfielders. Therefore, the above mentioned break is a golden time for coach Huy Hoang to better connect domestic and foreign players of the Vinh team.

Another problem that makes Song Lam Nghe An's strikers not have many options to threaten the opponent's goal is that this team does not have really smooth coordination. During this break, coach Huy Hoang needs to adjust the training program to help Nghe An's strikers have flexibility in moving without the ball and create cohesion in the playing style.

Sharing about what needs to be done during the break of more than 1 month, the captain of Song Lam Nghe An said: "During this break, we will have to work more on the training ground to improve the players' playing style. Song Lam Nghe An will have to learn from the experience after going through the first 4 matches without a win."

Thus, the V.League's temporary break has led to two opposing opinions. However, with the goal of bringing Vietnamese football to catch up with continental football, support from many sides, including positive contributions from domestic clubs, is needed./.