IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT ACHIEVEMENTS
Coach Kim Sang-sik has two important goals in 2025. The first goal is to play with the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. The second goal is to lead the U.23 Vietnam team to compete in the Southeast Asian U.23 tournament (August), the 2026 Asian U.23 qualifiers (September) and the 33rd SEA Games (December).
The U.23 team is a stepping stone for young talents to step up to the Vietnamese national team.
Photo: VFF
For the Vietnamese national team, achievement is the ultimate goal, but for the U.23 Vietnam team, it is different. Results are very important, for example, in the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament, the goal is to defend the title. Or at the SEA Games, the Vietnamese youth team will aim to reach the final. However, there is a more important goal, which is to use the youth tournament as a springboard to bring U.23 players to the national team.
After many years of strong rejuvenation, with the golden generation that matured from the 2018 U.23 Asian Cup (also known as the "Changzhou miracle") gradually participating and becoming the pillars of the Vietnamese team, or the next period with the appearance of a series of young players born from 2001 to 2003 wearing the national team jersey under coach Philippe Troussier, up to now the Vietnamese team no longer has room for young people.
In the most recent match against Malaysia, no U.23 Vietnam player had a starting position. All were on the bench, and then only central defender Pham Ly Duc entered the field, as a last resort when coach Kim
Sang-sik lost two veteran central defenders. This detail paints a bleak picture of young Vietnamese players under Mr. Kim. Most of the young players who were called up to the national team were only on the bench, some were even eliminated before the match.
But it is hard to blame coach Kim, because the quality of young Vietnamese players is only that. Most of them are struggling to find a place in V-League teams, their professional ability and physique are not outstanding. The time spent coaching U.23 will help coach Kim Sang-sik understand the potential of the young generation. He wants to build the next generation for the team and that needs to be done right now.
Coach Kim Sang-sik will let U.23 play with BALL CONTROL AND PROACTIVE PRESSING
Although taking charge of both the Vietnam national team and the U.23 team creates a huge workload for the head coaches, there are also positive aspects. The coach can build a similar playing style and philosophy in both teams, so that young players can easily adapt when they are promoted to the national team.
That is the path that coaches Park Hang-seo and Philippe Troussier have taken. Mr. Park built the 3-4-3 formula for U.23 Vietnam, achieved success in youth tournaments, and then applied this formation to the Vietnam national team (when the key players of U.23 all played important roles in the team). The later generations of U.23 Vietnam also played according to the 3-4-3 formation, with a philosophy that emphasizes tightness, sustainability in defense structure and lightning speed in counterattacks. The teams that Mr. Park coached all played this way, whether big or young, helping Vietnamese football have a stable period from 2018 to 2022 in many playgrounds.
Although coach Troussier was not successful, we need to acknowledge his dedication in building a controlling style of play, encouraging players to confidently hold the ball and coordinate to create an active game for the U.23 team, then applying it to the Vietnam national team.
To give the younger generation more confidence in following in the footsteps of their seniors, coach Kim Sang-sik will likely choose a similar style of play to the Vietnam national team for the U.23s: emphasizing tight defense, but pushing the formation higher to press more, proactively holding the ball and passing to open up space, combining quick counterattacks thanks to the midfield and two mobile wings.
Somewhat worrying for Mr. Kim is that the young generation may not be able to meet this philosophy (because most of them are inexperienced and physically weak due to sitting on the bench too much). At that time, Mr. Kim needs to be flexible and sensitive in adjusting tactics.
However, the pieces and colors of the two teams should still be the same, with continuity and inheritance to facilitate the young generation to join the national team later.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-kim-sang-sik-xay-mang-mieng-nao-cho-u23-viet-nam-18525061822362236.htm
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