(Dan Tri Newspaper) – Sharing his views with Dan Tri Newspaper, former Thailand national team coach Mano Polking believes that the Vietnam national team has many opportunities to win the AFF Cup 2024, with striker Xuan Son playing a decisive role in the match.
The second leg of the 2024 AFF Cup final will take place at 8 PM tonight (Sunday, January 5th) at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok (Thailand). Dan Tri will be live streaming this match. The last coach to win this tournament was Mano Polking (a German of Brazilian origin).
Coach Mano Polking is currently managing Hanoi Police Football Club (CAHN). Prior to that, this coach, who holds both German and Brazilian citizenship, twice defeated the Vietnamese national team, in the semi-finals of the 2020 AFF Cup and the final of the 2022 AFF Cup. In both instances, Coach Mano Polking was coaching the Thai national team.
Mr. Polking is the most recent coach to lead Thailand to victory in the AFF Cup, not just once, but twice. Therefore, Coach Mano Polking understands Thai football and Thai players very well. This morning (January 5th), just a few hours before the second leg of the 2024 AFF Cup final, Mr. Mano Polking spoke with a reporter from Dan Tri newspaper.
Coach Mano Polking has won the AFF Cup twice in the most recent tournaments, 2020 and 2022, while leading the Thai national team (Photo: Manh Quan).
What is your assessment of the second leg of the 2024 AFF Cup final, which will take place tonight between the Vietnamese and Thai national teams? Will there be any changes compared to the first leg a few days ago?
– The Thai team will make changes; their starting lineup will likely be different from the first leg. They lost to Vietnam a few days ago, so they will likely use a different lineup to aim for a different result.
I believe the Thai team will be stronger in this second leg than they were in the first leg, mainly because they have learned from the mistakes they made a few days ago.
Thailand will change their starting lineup compared to the first leg (Photo: Tien Tuan).
Let's not forget that Thailand has the home advantage at the Rajamangala Stadium. Playing at this stadium always attracts a large number of supporters (Rajamangala Stadium has a capacity of nearly 52,000 people). Therefore, the second leg of the final will be a very difficult match for the Vietnamese team.
And how will the Vietnamese team cope with a Thai team that is both strong and has the added advantage of playing at home in the second leg of the final?
– If the Vietnamese team plays like they did in the first leg of the final at Viet Tri Stadium ( Phu Tho ), Coach Kim Sang Sik's team (from South Korea) could win.
It was a tight but not overly passive style of play, quick in attacking situations, and good use of the opportunities created by the Vietnamese team, just like in the first leg.
The Vietnamese team needs to play similarly to how they did in the first leg of the final (Photo: Tien Tuan).
Does this mean that a defensive counter-attacking strategy isn't necessarily the best way for the Vietnamese team to achieve victory against Thailand?
– Certainly, counter-attacking defense is also a good way for the Vietnamese team to control this match. However, this style of play should only be used at specific times, depending on the course of the game.
Don't just play defensively, and don't just play offensively against Thailand. You need to defend well, but you should also attack when necessary, even if your attacking time is limited.
If the Vietnamese team focuses solely on defense, if they drop deep into their own half, it will be very dangerous for them against the Thai team, which possesses many talented midfielders and forwards. Of course, that's just my personal opinion.
Thailand will send someone to "kill" Xuan Son (Photo: Manh Quan).
Another likely scenario in the second leg of the final is that Thailand will try to neutralize Vietnam's striker Nguyen Xuan Son. How do you assess Xuan Son, whom you've long known by the name Rafaelson in the V-League?
– He's a great striker, both technically skilled and powerful. To be honest, it's very difficult to "neutralize" Nguyen Xuan Son at the moment.
It's very difficult to contain him when Nguyen Xuan Son is in top form, for the reasons I've already mentioned. A striker who is both physically strong and technically gifted, and is in peak form, always causes a lot of trouble for opposing defenses.
He asked which player Thailand would assign to neutralize Xuan Son in tonight's second leg of the final.
– I think the Thai team will assign the task of "marking" Xuan Son to center-back Jonathan Khemdee. He is a center-back with a good physique (1.90m) and is strong in tackles. Jonathan Khemdee did not play in the first leg of the final a few days ago.
The Thai team will assign Khemdee the task of closely marking Xuan Son. This is also one of the notable changes in Thailand's starting lineup for the second leg of the final at Rajamangala Stadium tonight.
Thank you for the interview, and we wish you a successful journey with your team in the 2024-2025 season!
Coach Hoang Anh Tuan: “Be proactive in controlling the ball and avoid mistakes in defense.”
“I believe that coach Kim Sang Sik has a suitable strategy against Thailand in the second leg of the final. Coach Kim will instruct the entire team to play carefully and tightly. Don't forget, time is on Vietnam's side. At the very least, coach Kim Sang Sik will not let Vietnam concede a goal first.”
The Vietnamese team must minimize mistakes in simple situations. Mistakes like the header that sent the ball straight into their own penalty area, a mistake Khuất Văn Khang made in the match against the Philippines in the group stage, are particularly dangerous. If such errors occur against Thailand, the Vietnamese goal will be severely threatened, as Thailand is known for its excellent finishing ability.
The Vietnamese national team's defense is improving. We now have a very good central defensive pairing in Nguyen Thanh Chung and Bui Tien Dung. They play calmly and composedly, read situations quickly, compete well, and provide good support for their teammates.”
Dantri.com.vn
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-mano-polking-thai-lan-khong-de-dang-khoa-chat-xuan-son-20250105124440661.htm
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