What path should Vietnamese men's volleyball take?

While the Vietnamese women's volleyball team continues to assert its position with an impressive series of successes, maintaining its status as a top-tier Asian team, the men's team faces a harsh reality: inconsistent performance and missed opportunities.

This contrast is not just a gap in achievements, but also a lesson in investment strategy. While the "long-legged girls" have turned challenges into motivation, the "tall cranes" are unable to change on their own.

Following a dramatic and emotional final match against Thailand at the 33rd SEA Games, the Vietnamese women's volleyball team promises another explosive 2026 with a series of continental-level tournaments. Coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet's players have been given the opportunity to participate in two top tournaments: the AVC Cup, where they are the defending champions, the Asian Championship (currently ranked 4th), and the 20th Asian Games (ranked 4th). While the results remain to be seen, the schedule suggests that the team's skill level will continue to improve significantly.

And that's the biggest problem for the men's team. With a FIVB ranking of only 4th in Southeast Asia after the 33rd SEA Games, the men's team will not be participating in the AVC Cup and the Asian Championship. Even the chance to participate in the Asian Games is uncertain, as it depends on the financial capacity of the Vietnam Volleyball Federation after the organization agrees to send teams to participate through socialized funding. At the 19th Asian Games, only the women's team participated because the chances of achieving a good result were quite high; conversely, the men's team's ranking in Asia was outside the top 10, so the hopes were not high.

Within the same domestic volleyball competition system, the development of the men's and women's teams is quite contrasting. The biggest reason for this lies in the level of international competition, as is expected in 2026. The higher the women's team's skill level, the more opportunities they will have to play at the highest level, while the men's team, without revolutionary changes, will continue to stagnate.

Objectively speaking, while the women's volleyball team has to face a world-class Thailand team right here in Southeast Asia, for the men's volleyball team, our goals are temporarily limited to the regional level.

Men's volleyball is clearly lagging behind women's volleyball. Photo: HT

Men's teams in Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, are only in the middle group, around the 50th in the world. While not under the pressure to reach Asian or world-class levels like the women's team, men's volleyball has yet to win a SEA Games or Southeast Asian championship. Their performance in the last three SEA Games has been a decline, ranging from runner-up to bronze medal, and ultimately a complete failure at the 33rd SEA Games.

The 33rd SEA Games served as a clear wake-up call. From a position of making a mark in regional competitions, the men's team has now fallen into an unprecedented slump. A lack of identity in their playing style, inconsistent fighting spirit, and disappointing results have caused the team to lose the image it once had of being a "tough rival" to Thailand and Indonesia. These consecutive defeats not only disappointed fans but also raised the question: why can't a volleyball system with such depth produce a strong team?

The answer, for the most part, lies in the operational structure and vision. While women's volleyball has stability in personnel, strategy, and a league system that guides development, men's volleyball completely lacks a "backbone," from the national team to the clubs. Short training camps, constantly changing lineups, and the lack of a competent coach to lead them have meant that this team has never truly formed a clear playing identity.

The immediate solution is for the Vietnam Volleyball Federation to soon find a foreign coach to replace the current domestic coaching staff. The goal is to bring a more modern and systematic coaching philosophy, especially in terms of tactical control and mental game management, two inherent weaknesses of the national team in recent years.

However, the issue isn't just about the coach's position. The men's national team needs a continuous development strategy, replacing the training camp and competition model that is no different from previous decades.

Not to mention that the level of professionalism in men's volleyball clubs is also lower than that of women's clubs, making the problem of raising the level of men's volleyball impossible to solve with a single measure.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/loi-di-nao-cho-bong-chuyen-nam-viet-nam-20260209093900385.htm