V-League and the story of good coaches

Powerful teams with significant investment… achieving results quickly, like Hanoi FC, has become a common practice, something everyone knows. Dong A Thanh Hoa's rise to second place in the standings, surpassing even Binh Dinh, is ultimately thanks to acquiring a good coach and quality foreign players, and they are simply repeating their previous success.

The question is, why did Hanoi Police FC attract almost all the stars from Binh Duong, Song Lam Nghe An, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Binh Dinh, PVF… but only had a resounding victory in their opening match, while subsequently losing and drawing four matches? This led to much speculation, with many believing the team patched up one weakness only to have another exposed, and that the fundamental cause lay with the coaching staff.

Why did Binh Duong, despite acquiring four top-quality foreign players at once—including a naturalized player, two renowned foreign players like Moses and Rimario, fielding the most formidable strike partnership in the V-League (Rimario-Tien Linh), and possessing one of the best young talents in Vy Hao-Anh Khoa—perform so poorly and dismally?

Although they couldn't secure all three points, Song Lam Nghe An put on a fairly good performance against Binh Duong. (Photo: Chung Le)

Nam Dinh Green Steel rose from poverty to wealth unexpectedly, spending money to revamp almost the entire squad, leaving only a few familiar faces from Nam Dinh – a surprising turn of events that even caused fans to turn their backs on the team. The team performed reasonably well in the early matches, but by round 5, they began to struggle against opponents, even playing at their home ground, Thien Truong Stadium. The young coach began to understand the difficulties of the V-League; what seemed easy turned out to be anything but.

What can be said when Hoang Anh Gia Lai, with its once-famous U19 squad that rose to prominence in Changzhou and made a name for itself in the Vietnamese national team, plays disjointedly in the V-League, only to see most of them leave the mountain town, bringing back players who had been loaned out like Ngoc Quang and Quang Nho, along with young talents like Quoc Viet, Duc Viet, and Thanh Nhan… who then played brilliantly in every way, overwhelming Viettel right on their home ground at Hang Day Stadium? Now, people see how experienced Kitisuk was when facing the brand-new Thach Bao Khanh in the V-League, yet taking risks with his playing style.

Strong teams rise to prominence, while teams that seem strong but are actually weak, as mentioned above, is understandable given the practical experience. However, there are teams that are theoretically strong but in reality are not, leading to a situation where they can't win, but at least they haven't lost to anyone in 5 rounds. That's Song Lam Nghe An. Their squad includes 3 regular foreign players, at least national team players like Van Hoang, Ngoc Hai, Trong Hoang, and Xuan Manh, a promising young squad, and opportunities to win by taking the lead… yet they draw, and only draw?

Match schedule for Round 6 - V-League 1-2023. Photo: VFF

With Dong A Thanh Hoa performing well now, and Hoang Anh Gia Lai having smoothly overcome their difficult period, people recognize the contributions of talented foreign coaches like Popov (former head coach of the Myanmar national team) and Kiatisuk (former head coach of the Thailand national team). It turns out that, in football as in life, the timeless proverb "Without a teacher, you can't achieve anything" always holds true. In the English Premier League, anyone who followed Chelsea's poor performance this season knows the number one reason is the lack of a coach of sufficient caliber to guide their stars, who cost hundreds of millions of euros in transfer fees.

And those who follow footballLam River, Nghe AnFor a long time, especially from the U17, U19, U21, and first team levels, it's been clear why, as they progress to higher levels, championships, runner-up finishes, and top 3 spots seem to slip further and further away from the renowned team from Vinh. The reason cited is that the coaching staff lacks the necessary skills to lead young talents. More accurately, Song Lam Nghe An doesn't lack talented and dedicated coaches, but they haven't been utilized in the right place at the right time, or they've been moved to more suitable places where they're more valued and their talents can be fully developed.

In this year's U17 national final, the presence of many veteran coaches from Nghe An in the U17 Hong Linh Ha Tinh technical area is a prime example. Hong Linh Ha Tinh doesn't have as many advantages as Song Lam Nghe An, but they are performing better than their neighbor due to several reasons, but we cannot ignore the talent of coach Nguyen Thanh Cong, as we all know.

HAGL secured an impressive victory against Viettel. Photo: VNA

For a long time, the "brand" of the Vinh City football team has been that both the coach and players originate from the famous Dao Tan Street; anyone else who joins finds it very difficult to succeed. Now, they still follow that approach, but for a long time, it hasn't brought any success. On the contrary, the team has become fragmented, with those who are capable being sidelined and those who aren't ready being used, and the consequences are immediately apparent. Unfortunately, countless professional practices are not being accompanied by the desired quality of play. And in any case, there must be a worthy person to take responsibility, but as things stand now, it's very difficult; it's hard to know what to say, how to plead, or how to trust.

So, Ngoc Hai and his teammates ran tirelessly, their performance was clearly exceptional, they took 20 shots but only one was successful. This deadlock and lack of luck has an internal cause, a cumulative effect. Don't blame it on "bad luck." The reason is as clear as day right there in the technical area; it's not about luck or misfortune. Everyone knows that just one adjustment from the coach can turn a losing team into a winning one, and that's why sports produce masters who inspire awe and admiration—and Song Lam Nghe An is severely lacking in that very quality.