Vietnam Team: Old bottle, but new wine

OLD FORCE, NEW SPIRIT

Cong Phuong, 30 years old, has spent 8 years training with the national team, playing under 5 head coaches. The promotion to the national team that Mr. Kim gave Cong Phuong can be considered a reward for the efforts of the Binh Phuoc Club player after 2 consecutive years as a reserve in Japan, rather than the fact that the Nghe An striker has truly broken through. Cong Phuong is no longer at the peak of his form and it is not easy for him to create a new feature for the Vietnam national team. As for Cao Pendant Quang Vinh, the defender born in 1997 brings a new breeze to improve both defense and attack for the team thanks to his versatile playing style and abundant physical strength. However, Quang Vinh has just joined the Vietnam national team, and it is not easy for him to immediately make an impression. Like overseas Vietnamese players like Nguyen Filip or Dang Van Lam before, Quang Vinh needs time.

Cong Phuong returns to Vietnam national team after 2 years

Photo: MINH TU

The rest of the Vietnamese team are old faces, with at least 1 to 2 training sessions under coach Kim Sang-sik. The success at the AFF Cup 2024, as well as a smooth start in the first match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers (a 5-0 win over Laos), has given Mr. Kim more confidence in the personnel he has chosen. When you are winning, there is no reason to change, at least in terms of personnel. However, the Vietnamese team needs a new breath of life, first of all in terms of spirit. Many of coach Kim Sang-sik's players have reached the peak of their careers at both the national team and club level: winning the AFF Cup, playing in the Asian Cup, World Cup qualifiers, and having a stable position at their home team. At the same time, with the pillars at the age of 27 - 30, when there is not much room for development and their physical strength will decline in a few years, Mr. Kim needs a specific method to motivate the players.

"Sometimes I think I'm a bit gentle. I want to be like a tiger so that the players will be more afraid of me," coach Kim Sang-sik once confided to Thanh Nien reporter. When he cannot create competition with new factors, the Korean coach needs to clearly orient the goal, tighten discipline and "inspire" the Vietnamese team to make efforts. More importantly, the Vietnamese team needs to upgrade its playing style. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team won the Southeast Asian championship, but that was a tournament in which the Indonesian team did not use most of their naturalized players, Malaysia was in crisis, and Thailand was still at a higher level. Nguyen Xuan Son's mark has overshadowed the weaknesses of the Vietnamese team, but it is only temporary. In the long term, the Vietnamese team needs to change to withstand opponents who are willing to "renew" the entire squad, like the Malaysian team.

The team needs to control the tempo of play better.

The Vietnamese team will gather from May 29, meaning they have 12 days to prepare for the match against Malaysia. The Malaysian team is changing, as coach Peter Cklamovski has called up many naturalized players, notably Hector Hevel (playing in the Portuguese league) and Gabriel Palermo, who is playing in Tenerife B (Spanish fourth division). Along with faces with some Malaysian blood such as LaVere Corbin-Ong, Matthew Davies, Dion Cools... Malaysia will turn the decisive match against Vietnam into a physical contest, as the "Tigers" have agile, strong players with good physiques.

The Malaysian team will no longer be a pale team like in the AFF Cup 2024. Opponents change and the Vietnamese team cannot stand still. Besides the familiar counter-attacking defense combined with lightning attacks, the Vietnamese team needs to hold the ball more proactively, control the rhythm of play better, and avoid being caught up in Malaysia's intensity. The role of the midfield is especially important. The absence of midfielder Doan Ngoc Tan needs to be replaced appropriately, where Mr. Kim has Vo Hoang Minh Khoa or Nguyen Duc Chien ready to take his place. Similarly, how will the attack line operate without Xuan Son when Tien Linh is in decline, and Cong Phuong has just returned...

The Vietnamese team has to make many adjustments, but coach Kim has not changed too much in terms of squad. Finding something new from the old players is a difficult problem for coach Kim Sang-sik. Motivating the players and adjusting every little detail to gradually perfect the playing style is a thorny path, but it can also be considered the only choice for the Korean coach.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-binh-cu-nhung-ruou-phai-moi-185250523235914639.htm