Why have overseas Vietnamese players not created a 'strong wind'?

From there, it is easy to understand why this season the "wave" of overseas Vietnamese players coming to play in the V-League has become more exciting, attracting more attention from experts, media and fans near and far.

Overseas Vietnamese center back Adriano Schmidt (Bui Duc Duy) whose father is Vietnamese and mother is German has affirmed his position in Vietnam after 5 years of fighting in V. League. Photo: VOV

Implementing the consistent policy of our Party and State that “overseas Vietnamese are an inseparable part of the Vietnamese nation”, in all socio-economic activities, including sports, overseas Vietnamese resources play an important role in the development and advancement of each industry and force. Although football was early in attracting overseas Vietnamese players, it is actually not as fast and strong as basketball or tennis, for example.

Remember at the 31st SEA Games, the basketball and tennis teams achieved success mainly thanks to the national championship tournament with many overseas Vietnamese and naturalized players participating, they are the backbone of the national teams competing in the region and continent. Until the 2023 season, football will open the door for overseas Vietnamese players to participate (previously considered foreign players) is correct and timely, especially in the context of striving to win tickets to the World Cup as soon as possible, 2026 or 2030.

According to Wikipedia, the list of Vietnamese-American football players discovered is currently 75 people, of which the first name is Lee Nguyen (Nguyen The Anh) playing for Hoang Anh Gia Lai from the 2009-2010 season, most recently playing for Ho Chi Minh City, 2022 season. However, the latest name that has just been mentioned by Mr. Popov, head coach of Dong A Thanh Hoa and the press is the 17-year-old talent Do Nguyen Chung (Do Nguyen Chung), currently playing for Slavia Sofia (Bulgaria), who is being targeted by Barcelona, ​​has not been updated, proving that the number of Vietnamese-American football players is truly an abundant "open source" and cannot be fully calculated.

In recent years, Hai Phong, Binh Dinh and Pho Hien have been teams that have shown a "good hand" with overseas Vietnamese players, especially when Van Lam and Adriao Schmidt (Bui Duc Duy) played well at their clubs, were called up to the Vietnam national team and stayed strong, or Mac Hong Quan and Martin Lo were called up to the Vietnam U23 team... This 2023 season, Binh Dinh is home to many overseas Vietnamese players and some of them have shone, making great contributions to the team's achievements. Van Lam, Mac Hong Quan, Schmidt and Viktor Le in Binh Dinh have contributed greatly to the top position of the martial arts team after the last 4 rounds, proving that.

People talk about the beautiful combination of Binh Dinh in the victory over Khanh Hoa with the participation of Viktor Le and the fact that he was put on the field in 2/4 of the first matches were not too bad initial results for this Vietnamese-American player. Another case that is making a strong impression is Ryan Ha in Khanh Hoa when he scored a goal for the home team in the victory over Ho Chi Minh City away, not to mention an assist in the match against Dong A Thanh Hoa before that. In addition, the debut of Patrik Le Giang in Cong An Ha Noi is also very noticeable after Bui Tien Dung returned with high determination but did not get the desired results...

However, if we look at the most objective and accurate way among the overseas Vietnamese players who have played in the past, only Van Lam has shown the best of his professional ability and required professionalism, the rest are just "average" or weak average. When Van Lam went to Thailand or Japan and did not have the opportunity to compete, he still maintained a state of concentration and stability, not losing his form when he returned to Binh Dinh or the Vietnam National Team. Meanwhile, Adriano Schmidt was once called up to the national team by Mr. Park Hang-seo, and was able to stay on the final list but was still only a reserve in the major campaigns of the National Team.

Viktor Le or Ryan Ha did something at first, but it seems that the deeper they go into the V-League, the more difficult it becomes. We clearly see how difficult it is for Viktor Le to face Van Hau or Ryan Ha, and similarly when they met the players of Song Lam Nghe An recently... Indeed, V-League 2023 hopes that overseas Vietnamese players will create a "strong wind" but it seems that there is only a "gentle wind"?

It seems that the best players like Philipp Nguyen or recently Do Nguyen Chung are still aiming for a big team in Europe to develop their careers and Vietnamese football is not strong enough to attract these talents? The latest story about Mr. Troussier and the Vietnamese-French player Jason Quang Vinh Pendant "flirting" with each other can open up one of the countless opportunities that Vietnamese football needs to aim for to attract significant resources from abroad. But in general, basically, V-League must rise to the highest quality in the region and then reach the continental level, then only then can we hope for "good wine needs no bush", then "rich people seek out the mountains and forests" as everyone has known for a long time,.,