V-League, Vietnam National Team and the story of chasing and catching the ball

The first surprise is that the former champion Hanoi FC lost two consecutive opening matches and is currently at the bottom of the standings. Of course, the two opponents that Duy Manh and his teammates lost to, Cong An Hanoi (the current V.League champion) and Hai Phong FC, a team that has always achieved high rankings in recent seasons, are not easy opponents. But clearly, the capital team's strength is having problems both on the coaching bench and on the field. The stature of Hanoi FC requires a veteran coach, not someone who specializes in youth football like today.

While their city rivals have brought in former U23 Vietnam head coach Gong Oh Kyun, Hanoi FC is still content with a captain who doesn't have much experience in V.League, so it will be difficult for this battle-hardened team to show their best ability in the near future.

The last two positions, Quang Nam and Hoang Anh Gia Lai, are considered… default because a team that has just returned to V.League, a team that mainly uses young internal resources, will find it very difficult to compete with powerful teams with large investments such as Hanoi Police, Nam Dinh, Binh Duong…

A notable detail in the recent round 3 of V.League is that the two youngest teams in the tournament, Song Lam Nghe An and Hoang Anh Gia Lai, both lost 1-3 away from home. Youth is a valuable asset, but experience and experience have never been unnecessary or decisive in a long-term tournament like V.League. The young players of Song Lam Nghe An played quite well in the opening matches against Viettel and Hong Linh Ha Tinh, but in the third match, the immaturity and confusion of Van Viet, Van Thanh, Van Bach and many other players gradually became apparent. Xuan Tien's brilliant play could not "save" a patchwork, constantly changing team, while foreign players in fact could not "shoulder" as many tasks as expected.

In just 3 matches, the domestic central defender position of Song Lam Nghe An has changed 3 people from Van Thanh to Khac Luong to Nguyen Hoang, while Khac Luong was seriously injured, Van Thanh also limped off the field early in the opening match. The defensive midfielder position was assigned to Ba Quyen and this young player did not play badly, but could not handle the task from one match to another. The rotation of the coaching staff made the squad even more inconsistent, but there was really no other way. And the young players played very hard but were not stable, like Van Bach who played well in the first 2 matches, but in the 3rd match he fell apart and had to be replaced early.

The story of Song Lam Nghe An's young players is not much different from the performance of Hoang Anh Gia Lai's young players. The only difference is that they lost 2 matches due to facing strong opponents, while Nhu Thuat's team only lost 1 match. The problem is that with a young force, constantly changing as seen, and poor foreign players, finding a win is considered a distant dream and the upcoming journey will be full of obstacles, which is a reality, not just a prediction.

At the top of the rankings, Nam Dinh is sitting comfortably with 9 points after 3 wins, which is a good thing. But the main thing is that Thanh Nam team has not met a strong opponent, so it will take a long time to know if the horse is good. Hanoi Police is temporarily ranked 2nd, but with a new coach and abundant forces, it is only a matter of time before they take the top spot. Binh Duong is also returning after a disappointing season, although Tien Linh is currently only considered a luxury reserve.

A closely related story is the V.League and the National Team. The fact that Nhu Thuat urged the young players of Song Lam Nghe An to take the initiative to control the ball, play slowly and steadily and succeeded with 2 opening draws shows the shadow of the "ball control attack" style of play that Mr. Philippe Troussier has long taught? The draw of Hoang Anh Gia Lai against the host Hai Phong also has that appearance even though this team is good at controlling the ball but is now much more flexible and versatile?

Today may not bring results, but the fact that most of the young players in the teams have been put on the field one after another such as Dinh Bac, Van Toan, Van Cuong, Tuan Duong, Nam Hai, Manh Quynh, Thai Son, Van Tung… will be a reliable foundation for the long-term goals that Vietnamese football is nurturing. Manh Quynh, Van Bach, Xuan Tien… scoring goals in the V.League is the belief for them to overcome difficulties and gradually grow up.

Youth and experience, individual and team, talent on the coaching bench and unpredictable adaptation on the field... are the important "pairs of cards" to bring V.League to success alongside the success of the national teams. The three recent friendly matches of the Vietnam National Team were to find the initial source for the team. Now the V.League is truly the "main source" and how the pillars perform, how much or how little they play, whether they are successful or not will be the answer to the list of matches according to the FIFA Days schedule of the Vietnam National Team, the step of full integration into the common path of world football. And Mr. Philipe Troussier himself must also keep an eye on how the V.League coaches and teams operate to promote the abilities of each player. It is absolutely not advisable and impossible to stubbornly "control the ball to attack" but it is unclear what style of attack will achieve the desired effect, to avoid a very difficult and ambiguous "ball chase" against a determined and classy opponent in the region and continent who is waiting to "pounce"./.