As a follower of Southeast Asian football, were you surprised to see the Vietnamese team lose 0-4 to Malaysia on June 10, especially when the Vietnamese team is the current AFF Cup champion?
- Honestly, I am not surprised. This is an issue that I have openly spoken about many times. I have been worried about this for a long time. The problem is that when mentioning the shortcomings of the national team, many people do not want to listen, because they mistake it as criticism of Vietnam, which is completely wrong.
I love Vietnam, please don't doubt this. It is because I love Vietnam that I ask difficult questions and say things that many people avoid. For example, the recent AFF Cup championship, to me, is just a thin layer covering a big and smoldering disease.
Now, we're seeing the symptoms clearly. And I'm not the only one who's seen it before.
How do you evaluate the formation and tactics of the Vietnamese team in the last match? Was the reason for the defeat only due to the injuries to the central defenders?
- If we say that the failure was due to the injury in the center back, that is too light-hearted and somewhat naive of Mr. Kim Sang Sik. The Vietnamese team played too deep, creating pressure for themselves in areas they knew were weak, and did not make much effort to develop the ball through the middle or the wings.
They failed to find a way to get the ball to key players, failed to create space, and were completely incapable of changing the game to relieve pressure. Some have argued that coach Kim Sang Sik’s tactics collapsed when both Nguyen Thanh Chung and Bui Tien Dung left the field due to injury, but in my opinion, that was just delaying a foregone conclusion.
It is true that the Vietnamese team is missing 8 key players due to injuries, but is that the reason to blame for the defeat? I don't think so.
Do you think the Vietnamese team lacks a clear style of play, especially when facing opponents with good pressing ability?
- Totally agree. I think the Vietnamese team, in general, has lacked identity for a long time. The period under coach Park Hang Seo was a rare time when people saw some signs of a tactical identity.
Coach Philippe Troussier also tried to build that, but he did it too quickly, too hastily, with unsuitable players and without being given the conditions to adapt.
V-League, in my opinion, must take a big responsibility. The level of expertise in V-League, along with many other factors off the pitch, is still far from top-level football. This gap is often overlooked, but is very clear to anyone who truly understands the demands of international professional football.
There have been opinions from within the Vietnamese team that they were not prepared for the situation of conceding an early goal. What do you think that reflects about their tactical thinking or competitive spirit?
- In fact, the Vietnamese team conceded a goal in the second half, so it cannot be said that they "lost early". But what is worth mentioning is that after conceding a goal, they completely lost their composure and did not know how to pull themselves out of that situation - a situation that was largely created by themselves.
I don't blame coach Kim Sang Sik or the players. They still have chances, although they are very rare. But the deeper problem is that many players no longer want to receive the ball, do not dare to face it and almost "hide" on the field.
Why is that? I don’t blame them. I think it’s a sign of more serious problems in the way Vietnamese football is organized and run.
When a team concedes 4 goals without any response, is the fault on the coaching staff?
- I don't want to criticize a colleague like Mr. Kim Sang Sik. It's clear that he tried to play counter-attack in the second half, took risks and failed. After that, he was probably thinking about preserving the goal difference to compete for a ticket to the next round, instead of focusing on what was happening on the field.
But he can’t do it all alone. He needs a comprehensive support system, from preparation, planning to execution. Even the world’s top coaches can’t do it without a solid team behind them.
I think the players and the coaching staff are doing the best they can. If there was a better support system, the results could have been different. I leave the conclusion to your readers, but I think the answer is clear to everyone.
After the match, a Malaysian newspaper used the word "swallow" to describe their victory. In your opinion, is the position of the Vietnamese team in Southeast Asia being shaken?
- Absolutely right and this has been warned for a long time. This is not Mr. Kim Sang Sik's fault. While the Malaysian media is celebrating properly, some reactions from the Vietnamese media are excessive, ignorant and show arrogance, lacking both humility and honesty.
If we don't change direction, do you think Vietnamese football will enter a period of recession?
- I think that has happened and has been happening for a while. I have said this in previous interviews. While other countries are developing comprehensively, Vietnamese football is standing still, even regressing in many aspects.
In the current context, if you were a technical advisor for Vietnamese football, what would you prioritize: changing the coach, reforming training or changing tactical thinking?
- With all due respect to readers and football people in Vietnam, this is not an easy question to answer, not because I don't have the answer, but because the truth is often not accepted.
I don’t see a clear plan, a clear structure, or a specific goal. I just see a complacency, a “this is good enough” mentality. But no, that’s not okay.
Instead of criticizing, I would like to make it clear that if I were in charge, I would build a long-term plan for the next three World Cups. Tournaments like the AFF Cup or Asian Cup should only be intermediate milestones to verify progress.
That plan must include dialogue, transparency, close cooperation with VPF and V-League, focusing on training coaches, analysts, fitness experts, nutritionists, facilities and school sportseducation .
I want to create a generation of Vietnamese experts with enough capacity to lead Vietnamese football, instead of always depending on "short-term solutions" from foreign coaches who are not really attached to this country.
As for the naturalization trend, how do you think Vietnamese football should approach it?
- I completely oppose it. Naturalization is not the solution. It is just a band-aid on a deep wound. The Vietnam team is not the Singapore table tennis team. This is the national football team, representing the identity of a nation.
Worse, I see many people (including the media) calling the Malaysian squad “all naturalized players”. That is a wrong, ignorant and even racist statement.
There is not a single player in the current Malaysian squad who is a naturalized player. All of them are Malaysian by blood or parentage. Meanwhile, Nguyen Xuan Son of Vietnam is a naturalized case.
Failure to distinguish between “heritage” and “naturalisation” is a serious mistake. World football has long accepted that players play for the country of their origin.
If my children were born in Vietnam, I would be proud if they played for the Vietnamese national team and that would be completely legal under FIFA rules. It's not about who plays for who, it's about how we perceive them.
Vietnamese football still has many quality young players, but very few can stay at the top. What do you think is the reason?
- I think you know the answer, it is a combination of weak competitive environment and lack of a real long-term development plan. PVF or Hoang Anh Gia Lai is not enough.
European academies are essentially just money-making tools, soulless and do not contribute significantly to this football. I even consider them a form of “modern colonialism” and should not exist in Vietnamese football.
So, in your opinion, is it time for Vietnamese football to undergo a comprehensive restructuring, not only in the national team but also in the national championship?
- Absolutely agree. But who will do that? If it is still those who only serve personal interests and do not represent the common development of Vietnamese football, then everything will just be… rearranging the chairs on the sinking Titanic.
We can't keep saying “everything is fine” when the water is up to our ankles.
Thank you for the conversation!
Content: Ngoc Trung
Design: Duc Binh
06/24/2025 - 06:38
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/chuyen-gia-chau-au-can-benh-cua-bong-da-viet-nam-bi-che-giau-qua-lau-20250618202137426.htm
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