Coach Kim Sang-sik should be careful about the 'chopsticks bundle' in U.22 Vietnam!

The story of U.22 Vietnam's chopsticks

Vietnam U.22 ended the international friendly tournament in China with a commendable result, although they only finished third overall. The students of acting head coach Dinh Hong Vinh tied with Korea U.22 and China U.22 in the lead, as well as sharing points with Uzbekistan U.22.

If the referee had been more impartial in the match against U.22 China, Nguyen Quoc Viet and his teammates could have taken all 3 points and won the championship.

HLV Kim Sang-sik nên cẩn thận chuyện 'bó đũa' ở U.22 Việt Nam!- Ảnh 1. — U.22 Vietnam ended the friendly tournament in China with 3 draws.

Acting head coach Dinh Hong Vinh affirmed that U.22 Vietnam has improved in mentality, along with the ability to organize tactics, maintain team distance and control the tempo of the game. This is a good stepping stone for the 2026 U.23 Asian qualifiers and the 33rd SEA Games, taking place at the end of this year.

But, there are still traps waiting for U.22 Vietnam.

The story of a bundle of chopsticks tells that individual chopsticks can be easily broken, but when forming a bundle of chopsticks, it cannot be broken. U.22 Vietnam is (or is aiming to become) a bundle of chopsticks, meaning a team that is difficult to defeat.

However, it is important to understand that U.22 Vietnam is not only built to become a bundle of chopsticks, but also to find quality chopsticks. Because U.22 Vietnam is not a team established just to "hunt" for achievements, but also to provide good factors for the national team.

The past has proven that U.22 Vietnam can become a strong team even without many good players. Reasonable tactics can partly make up for individual shortcomings. For example, in the 2022 U.23 Asian Cup finals, young Vietnamese players drew 1-1 with Korea, then won a ticket to the quarterfinals. 2 years later, U.23 Vietnam continued to reach the quarterfinals of the U.23 Asian Cup.

HLV Kim Sang-sik nên cẩn thận chuyện 'bó đũa' ở U.22 Việt Nam!- Ảnh 2.

HLV Kim Sang-sik nên cẩn thận chuyện 'bó đũa' ở U.22 Việt Nam!- Ảnh 3. — Vietnam U.22 players have potential, but need opportunities

But, with achievements... what next? The most important goal of U.22 Vietnam is still to hone the best players for the Vietnam national team. The achievements of the national team are the most important thing, and youth tournaments are simply games for players to "get exposure".

The U.22 Vietnam team from 4 years ago almost disappeared from the national team. Tuan Tai, Manh Dung, Tien Long, Van Chuan, Van Tung... struggled to find a place in the V-League and were out of the "green eyes" of coach Kim Sang-sik, even though this group of players were 24, 25 years old, at the peak of their careers. So, can we praise the generation of players who drew with Korea as a successful generation?

What about the current U.22 Vietnam generation? Despite drawing with Korea and Uzbekistan, in reality, only 4 players from this generation were called up to the national team by Mr. Kim Sang-sik (Thai Son, Ly Duc, Trung Kien, Vi Hao). And among them, only Vi Hao has ever been a starter.

Narrow competition opportunities

"Don't call them young players," Quang Hai briefly shared about the U.22 players in the Vietnam national team. Coach Park Hang-seo also shared this opinion.

Perhaps only in Asia, people define U.22 as "young". This is the age when any really good player has already joined the Vietnam national team and has a place in the V-League to compete with their seniors, instead of still competing with each other.

But in the squad that acting head coach Dinh Hong Vinh brought to China, how many players have made their mark in the V-League? The answer is... no one. Most of them play in the second division, or play for weak and average teams in the V-League, with the number of matches counted on the fingers.

"Young Vietnamese players have very few opportunities to play," coach Kim Sang-sik emphasized. A former national team player also suggested that there should be a mechanism to encourage clubs to give U.21 players a chance to play. Otherwise, even the most precious gems will turn to stone.

HLV Kim Sang-sik nên cẩn thận chuyện 'bó đũa' ở U.22 Việt Nam!- Ảnh 4. — Viktor Le impresses

Why is it that at the age of 16 to 21, Vietnamese players are not much inferior to their counterparts in Korea, Uzbekistan or Australia. But from the age of 22 onwards, the gap is like heaven and earth?

The answer lies in the playing environment, training methods and opportunities. Sometimes, we focus on youth tournament results, forgetting that how players develop is more important.

The good matches in China have proven that acting head coach Dinh Hong Vinh has a bundle of chopsticks in his hands. However, the U.22 Vietnam players will not play together forever. They will have to separate like individual chopsticks.

How to make those chopsticks not easily broken is a long way that Vietnamese football has to go.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-kim-sang-sik-nen-can-than-chuyen-bo-dua-o-u22-viet-nam-185250330123043127.htm