Young stars help HAGL strong and unpredictable in V-League

HAGL does not change philosophy

Since the famous squad purge in 2015 with a series of top players from the first and second courses of HAGL JMG Academy (Cong Phuong, Xuan Truong, Tuan Anh, Van Toan, Van Thanh...) promoted to the first team, HAGL has persistently pursued the goal of trusting young players, as well as products trained at the football academy.

Mr. Duc has reason to believe in the philosophy of cultivating people. First of all, HAGL owns the best training facilities and "polishing" philosophy in V-League. Most recently, U.21 HAGL won the 2024 National U.21 Championship, then added two valuable faces, Tran Trung Kien and Pham Ly Duc, to the Southeast Asian championship squad of U.23 Vietnam.

Dàn sao trẻ giúp HAGL mạnh mẽ và khó đoán ở V-League- Ảnh 1. — HAGL (orange shirt) finished second at the Thien Long friendly tournament held in July in Da Nang.

At the same time, in the context of not being able to "spend beyond their means" like in the golden period, persistently investing in young people helps HAGL build its own next generation, thereby saving tens of billions of dong in contract fees for stars each season, different from the spending of the V-League giants. What is valuable about HAGL is that although the achievements of the past 10 years are limited, the mountain town team is still steadfast on the chosen path.

Therefore, when a series of talented players such as Minh Vuong, Ngoc Quang, Quang Nho, Ly Duc, Bao Toan, Van Son and young seeds such as Quang Vinh, Di Dan... left the mountain town one after another, causing HAGL's force to be thinned out (not to mention HAGL also sent many young players to Quy Nhon United, the predecessor of Binh Dinh Club), the mountain town team still had a solution to cope.

During the training trip in Thailand, Coach Le Quang Trai created conditions for the new generation, mainly born from 2003 to 2007, to show themselves on the field such as Gia Bao, Moi Se, Hoang Minh, Trung Kien, Quang Kiet, etc. Combined with the new recruits such as Vinh Nguyen (former U.23 Vietnam player who had a period of training at Cadiz Club in Spain), Ryan Ha (overseas Vietnamese who played for Hanoi and PVF-CAND), Gia Huy, Tuan Vu, Duy Tam, HAGL has a mine of "rough gems".

Dàn sao trẻ giúp HAGL mạnh mẽ và khó đoán ở V-League- Ảnh 2. — Overseas Vietnamese Ryan Ha (middle, bottom row) used to play for Hanoi FC

The shift in playing philosophy, focusing on defense, increasing combativeness and pragmatism... is also a shield for HAGL's young force to make history in the V-League.

HAGL needs good foreign players and the right strategy

Although struggling to stay in the league in the final stages of last season, don't forget, HAGL also had moments of success.

That was the beginning of last season, when coach Le Quang Trai and his team defeated Quang Nam (4-0) and SLNA (2-0) to lead the V-League. After the first 5 rounds, HAGL was still in the top 3. Coach Le Quang Trai's team also defeated Hanoi FC, Hanoi Police FC or drew with Nam Dinh FC... This shows the great potential of the young players.

HAGL had a period of decline in the middle of the tournament, because they did not have good foreign players to support them, and also lacked high-class stars to lead the young players. This season, the mountain town team retained 2 of the 3 foreign players from last season, including center back Jairo Rodrigues and striker Marciel da Silva. HAGL also brought in two new Brazilian players, striker Gabriel Conceicao (24 years old) and midfielder Khevin Rodrigo (28 years old). Of these, Rodrigo is 1.92 m tall, which can enhance HAGL's aerial ability.

Dàn sao trẻ giúp HAGL mạnh mẽ và khó đoán ở V-League- Ảnh 3. — HAGL's young stars have potential

At the same time, the strategic ability of the Technical Director duo Vu Tien Thanh and Coach Le Quang Trai can also determine the success or failure of HAGL. When not having a large and star-studded force like the championship candidates, HAGL needs to calculate a playing style that suits the players' abilities, choose the right peak of form, and know how to focus on each stage...

When he was coaching Ho Chi Minh City FC and Saigon FC, Mr. Vu Tien Thanh was good at calculating scores to choose the playing style for each match. Decades of experience in football and his shrewdness will help Mr. Thanh steer HAGL through the "storm". Difficulties can become a springboard for a generation of talent at Pleiku Arena to step into the light.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dan-sao-tre-giup-hagl-manh-me-va-kho-doan-ov-league-185250806193050462.htm