What does Nguyen Xuan Son bring to the Vietnam team?

A DIRECT SHOOTER

The Vietnamese national team used to have many very good strikers. In the past, there were Huynh Duc, Viet Thang, then Cong Vinh, Anh Duc, and now Tien Linh. However, the speed of producing good strikers in Vietnamese football is often... uneven. Because most V-League teams prioritize striker slots for foreign players, domestic strikers always lack opportunities to perform. Except for Tien Linh, who was given the "pioneer seal" at Binh Duong Club, strikers who have worn the national team jersey in the past 5 years such as Cong Phuong , Duc Chinh, Tuan Hai, Thanh Binh often had to move to the wing or play behind at their home teams. Therefore, the problem of strikers has caused many generations of coaches in the Vietnamese national team headaches. Mr. Kim Sang-sik is no exception.

Although Mr. Kim has the most complete version of Tien Linh with 7 goals in V-League and increasingly improved skills in playing backward and distributing the ball, the Vietnamese team needs more than that if they want to reach the final of the AFF Cup 2024. That is a striker who not only possesses the instinct to score goals, but also has a direct playing style.

Directness here can be understood as a striker capable of becoming the center of every pass: having the strength and muscles to keep the ball and handle the pressure of the opponent, having the ability to stretch and balance to win in one-on-one duels, and being able to operate independently in the penalty area. In general, this is the type of striker who still depends closely on the system, but can separate from the system when necessary to solve the situation himself. Commentator Vu Quang Huy commented to Thanh Nien: "The Vietnamese team always needs a striker who is willing to "take the hit", meaning he is willing to rush into one-on-one duels, does not avoid collisions, is ready to stretch himself to take the hit to open up space for teammates to move forward". All of the above qualities are present in naturalized striker Nguyen Xuan Son.

Nguyen Xuan Son is the number 1 striker of Nam Dinh Club in V-League.

5 years playing football in Vietnam as a striker has helped Xuan Son prove his ability in all aspects. He is both good at scoring goals (54 goals in the last 49 matches in the V-League) and ready to become a pioneer. Whether playing defensive counter-attacks or dominating the game, the Vietnam team needs such a good striker. Putting faith in big, strong strikers is also a mandatory trend in mid-to-strong teams, such as Thailand trusting naturalized player Patrik Gustavsson (1.87 m), Indonesia has Rafael Struick (1.85 m), or Korea and Japan have always had strong strikers like Cho Gue-sung or Yuya Osako... The Vietnam team needs to catch up with the trend, if they do not want to fall behind.

I admire Mr. Kim's assembly skills .

Nguyen Xuan Son's disadvantage is that he only has very little time to practice (about 2 weeks) before he can play his debut match on December 21. He has never played for the Vietnamese national team. Xuan Son's teammates in Nam Dinh in the national team at this time are only Van Vi and Van Toan. In addition, although Xuan Son is diligent in studying Vietnamese, his communication skills are still limited.

However, his comprehensive playing style and independent combat skills will help Xuan Son integrate quickly. To develop the 27-year-old striker's ability, we must wait for the talent of coach Kim Sang-sik.

Xuan Son is a good striker, but he is not a "master key" to open every defense. He still needs a suitable tactical system to optimize his ability, needs teammates to understand him, and needs the right roadmap to gradually adapt to his teammates and new opponents. At the same time, the Vietnamese team also needs a backup solution in case Xuan Son cannot shine. These problems were solved by Mr. Kim and his assistants during their training in Korea.

Coach Kim Sang-sik has been evaluating and planning to call up Xuan Son for many months. Now is the time for coach Kim to turn this player into the perfect piece for the journey to conquer the AFF Cup 2024.

Nam Dinh FC lost 2-3 to home team Bangkok United in the AFC Champions League Two on the evening of December 4. In the 29th minute, Nguyen Xuan Son shone to put the away team ahead. However, in the 35th minute, Adzic seized the opportunity to score, leveling the score for Bangkok United. Before the first half ended, Nam Dinh conceded a penalty. On the 11m mark, Al Ghassani fooled goalkeeper Liem Dieu to help the home team come back to lead 2-1. In the 83rd minute, Jradi accurately scored to raise the score to 3-1 for Bangkok United. Nam Dinh's efforts only brought a 2-3 equalizer in the final minutes thanks to Nguyen Xuan Son on the 11m mark.

The defeat to Bangkok United pushed Nam Dinh team down to second place in Group G, but the team from Thanh Nam is still present in the round of 16.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nguyen-xuan-son-mang-den-dieu-gi-cho-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-185241204225439868.htm