Will coach Vu Hong Viet have time to wait for Xuan Son?

Coach Vu Hong Viet’s future at Nam Dinh FC is in question. The team has lost 3 of the last 5 matches in all competitions. More than ever, Mr. Viet “do” needs Xuan Son’s luck if he doesn’t want to say goodbye to the V.League champions midway through.

Nam Dinh faces difficulties

It was not surprising that Nam Dinh lost to Gamba Osaka, the strongest opponent in Group F - AFC Champions League Two on the evening of October 22. But besides the objective factors from the field and the strength of the home team, subjective issues have been and are being revealed within the representative of Thanh Nam. Similar to the mid-2024/25 season, Coach Vu Hong Viet is witnessing a series of moderate to severe injuries.

Coach Vu Hong Viet is under pressure as Nam Dinh continues to fail to win.

Njabulo Blom is out for the entire season due to ligament injuries. Caio Cesar and Kevin Pham Ba will have to rest for at least a month due to physical problems. Nguyen Van Toan has just undergone knee surgery. Hong Duy, Duc Huy, and Nguyen Tuan Anh are also not in good enough condition to play for the club at this stage. Not to mention, in the loss to Gamba Osaka, goalkeeper Caique had to endure the pain and played the entire second half with a limping leg.

Lack of force is one thing. The performance of both domestic and foreign players of Nam Dinh has not been high in the past month. Even right after the 1-2 defeat against Becamex TP.HCM, coach Vu Hong Viet spoke directly about the problem of his students. "I really have a headache when the domestic players hit rock bottom. Maybe the fighting spirit of the players after a series of bad performances is decreasing. I also do not understand why this situation is happening. I will have to work with the players more to solve the psychological problem for the students," Mr. Vu said bitterly.

In fact, according to insiders, rumors surrounding the future of Nam Dinh FC have greatly affected the motivation of domestic players to play football. Some false rumors such as the Thien Truong Stadium team transferring its forces to Phu Tho or the management company of the Thanh Nam team facing the risk of dissolution due to financial problems... have caused many Nam Dinh players to waver, lacking the necessary concentration and effort in a season where Vu Hong Viet and his team expect success on many fronts.

Not only the domestic players, the foreign players that cost Nam Dinh's Board of Directors several million USD are not as sharp as expected. Brenner, the player who scored 6 goals and 6 assists in the last 9 matches of V.League last season, played poorly. All the Brazilian striker did for his team was 2 goals and 1 assist, despite playing more than 10 matches from V.League to AFC Champions League.

More broadly, not only Brenner but also Mahmoud Eid, Kyle Hudlin, Romulo, Hansen have not achieved the "damage" that Nam Dinh has treated them with. Therefore, after 10 official matches on the two fronts mentioned above, the attacking line under coach Vu Hong Viet has only scored 11 goals and 6 assists. This number is obviously modest, if this coach puts Nguyen Xuan Son on the scale of comparison.

Missing Xuan Son

Seeing the attack line visibly dull, especially compared to the stages of the last few seasons, coach Vu Hong Viet had a reason to mention Xuan Son in a recent interview. According to this coach, from round 11 of V.League 2025/25, football teams are allowed to replace and add players. "At that time, we will register Xuan Son. He may be eligible to compete in the next round," coach Vu Hong Viet said anxiously, waiting.

Xuan Son has great significance for the head coach position of Mr. Vu Hong Viet.

Remember, despite having a broken leg and having been absent from January 2025 until now, Xuan Son is still the most dangerous striker with the best form that Nam Dinh has. Last season, after 12 appearances in the V.League and AFC Champions League, the naturalized striker scored 11 goals (an average of nearly 1 goal/match). In the 2023/24 season, Xuan Son achieved an even more impressive scoring performance. That is more than 30 goals in just 23 rounds. No player can have as many goals as Xuan Son, if referring to a season.

Obviously, Coach Vu Hong Viet is waiting for Xuan Son every day. The player born in Brazil and naturalized in Vietnam about a year ago has been patiently undergoing treatment and recovery for a ligament-related injury. Nearly 2 weeks ago, he was on the field in the last 15 minutes of the match between Nam Dinh Club and PVF-CAND Youth. That is obviously a positive sign, marking Xuan Son's return in the near future, besides the fact that Nam Dinh Club really needs him to overcome difficult times like the present.

However, whether coach Vu Hong Viet can wait for Xuan Son to return in time is still an open question. Because the schedule for the representative of Thanh Nam from now until November is not easy. They have to face two clubs in the lower group who are struggling in the relegation battle, Da Nang and HAGL. Next, Nam Dinh will rematch Gamba Osaka as well as welcome Hanoi Club. Both are high-level opponents, on the domestic and continental levels.

In case Nam Dinh has positive results in the above 4 matches, the future of coach Vu Hong Viet will still be secure. But if the representative of Thanh Nam has one more misstep like the recent series of matches, the coach who helped the team win the V.League championship twice will also have to say goodbye. Therefore, the story of Xuan Son returning and having good form sooner or later will greatly affect the future of coach Vu.

Xuan Son missed the 2025 Vietnam Golden Ball

The 2025 Vietnam Golden Ball Award will officially launch on November 6. Nguyen Xuan Son is not on the list of candidates for the 2025 Golden Ball, because he was unfortunately injured in early 2025. Therefore, the opportunity to compete for the 2025 Golden Ball cannot happen to Nguyen Xuan Son. This is the first time in 2 years that Xuan Son has not won an award at the Vietnam Golden Ball Gala. He won the Best Foreign Player award in 2023 and 2024.

In 2011, Huynh Kesley Alves won the Bronze Ball. However, after 14 years, no naturalized player has been able to repeat that feat. Nguyen Xuan Son is expected to surpass the above milestone. However, as mentioned, injuries have left him "empty-handed" in the race for individual titles this year.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-vu-hong-viet-co-kip-cho-xuan-son--i785618/