Coach Kim Sang-sik is too unpredictable, can Mr. Ishii read him?

Coach Kim Sang-sik is not afraid of change

At the AFF Cup 2024, coach Kim Sang-sik used 25 out of 26 players of the Vietnam team. The only one who has not played is goalkeeper number 3 Tran Trung Kien. All the remaining players have had enough playing time to prove themselves. No one was only allowed to enter the field in the last few minutes.

The Vietnamese team has also played 6 matches in the tournament and in no match has coach Kim Sang-sik changed less than 4 positions in the starting lineup. The total number of changes in starting personnel (comparing the following match with the previous match) by the Korean strategist is up to 30 times.

HLV Kim Sang-sik quá khó đoán, ông Ishii liệu có đọc được?- Ảnh 1. — Looking at the results, coach Kim Sang-sik is making the right moves.

Viewers may be surprised by the constant changes that coach Kim Sang-sik is creating. But if we follow the Vietnamese team from the beginning of the "reign" of the former captain of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Club, we will no longer have that feeling. Mr. Kim is a coach who has a habit of changing personnel. For example, in the 3 friendly matches with Russia, Thailand (September) and India (October), his favorite trio of central defenders was Que Ngoc Hai - Nguyen Thanh Chung - Nguyen Thanh Binh, but at the AFF Cup 2024, only players from Hanoi Club remained.

"Safe zones" and "forbidden zones" do not exist under coach Kim Sang-sik. Even veterans like Que Ngoc Hai and Do Hung Dung are not given any exceptions. And there is no such thing as a player being automatically a starter just because he is experienced and famous. Quang Hai, Hoang Duc, Tien Linh... still have to be on the bench for some matches. This creates motivation to strive and a positive competitive environment in the Vietnamese team.

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The mark of coach Kim Sang-sik

There will be many conflicting opinions about whether coach Kim Sang-sik has been able to help the Vietnamese team have a clear and beautiful playing style. And not all of this strategist's decisions are correct, but at least he dares to change, adjust and react flexibly to what happens on the field.

In terms of personnel, the use of Bui Tien Dung and Pham Xuan Manh alongside Thanh Chung is correct. All three players are playing solidly, helping the Vietnamese team have the best defense in the tournament. In particular, Bui Tien Dung impressed thanks to his excellent passing ability. The center back of The Cong Viettel Club had 1 assist and many passes to create opportunities for his teammates right from the home field.

Above, players who do not have much experience playing for the Vietnam team such as Doan Ngoc Tan, Bui Vi Hao, Nguyen Hai Long all performed at a stable level or better. They all scored goals and contributed a lot to the overall play of the team thanks to their tireless movement without the ball.

HLV Kim Sang-sik quá khó đoán, ông Ishii liệu có đọc được?- Ảnh 2. — Coach Ishii had a big smile on his face when he arrived in Vietnam, but behind that there must have been a lot of pressure. In the most recent confrontation in September, Mr. Ishii defeated Kim Sang-sik.

Coach Kim Sang-sik also had some unsuccessful experiments, such as placing Quang Hai in the central midfield pair with Hoang Duc in the first leg of the semi-final against Singapore. With two midfielders with a technical style of play, the Vietnamese team almost did not take the initiative at Jalan Besar Stadium. But then, Mr. Kim knew how to correct his mistakes. He put Ngoc Tan on the field and the game gradually changed positively, and finally, the Vietnamese team scored 2 goals in the extra minutes.

Previously, in the first half of the match against Laos, we used many long balls to exploit the weakness of the opponent's slow response. And as soon as this plan was not effective, coach Kim Sang-sik sent a series of key players onto the field and let the Vietnamese team play more short balls, and we scored consecutive goals.

Except for the second leg of the semi-final, the Vietnamese team mainly scored after coach Kim made tactical and personnel changes. If the "Golden Star Warriors" could do this once or twice, we could call it luck. However, this happened repeatedly and this means that Mr. Kim really reads the game very well.

Against a tough opponent like Thailand, coach Kim Sang-sik needs to continue to make surprising moves to keep Masatada Ishii from reacting. However, the captain of the Thai team is no "rookie". Let's wait and see if the Japanese coach can "read" his Korean counterpart!