Winning the 2023 National Cup after defeating Viettel Club on penalties is a memorable milestone for Thanh Hoa Club.
If we take into account the past 6 years, the 2023 season is not necessarily the best version of the Thanh team. In 2017, Thanh Hoa Club had an impressive start and competed for the championship until the penultimate stages of the season but ended up only finishing second in the V-League. In 2018, Thanh Hoa Club once again finished second in the V-League, but the most regrettable thing was the 1-3 defeat to Binh Duong Club in the National Cup final due to individual mistakes.
That is, Thanh Hoa Club used to be very good, even better than now, but has no luck in front of the podium. Because in football, no matter how well they play, every team needs a title to be remembered. History does not remember the name of the second-placed team. It was not until last night (August 20), when entering the National Cup final for the second time in 5 years, that Thanh Hoa Club finally touched the championship.
Coach Velizar Popov and his family enjoy the joy of winning the 2023 National Cup
The person who helped Thanh Hoa FC win the championship was coach Velizar Popov. It took the Bulgarian coach only 9 months to bring the Thanh Hoa team to glory. Another noteworthy statistic is that in the past 8 years, only 3 foreign strategists have won the championship title with the Vietnamese team. They are coaches Popov, Chun Jae-ho and Bozidar Bandovic. However, unlike coaches Chun Jae-ho and Bandovic who inherited a good foundation at Hanoi FC, coach Popov inherited a much more modest team.
When the former coach of Myanmar U.23 team took over, Thanh Hoa Club's main force was still veterans like Van Thang and Dinh Tung. Some other pillars like Thanh Long, Tien Dung, Trong Hung, Thanh Diep, Thanh Binh could not reach star level, and the "rough diamond" Thai Son played in V-League for the first time. To compensate, Thanh Hoa team's leadership brought in defender Thai Binh (Hai Phong Club), midfielder Lam Ti Phong (Ho Chi Minh City Club) and the duo Bruno Cunha and Paulo Conrado on the attack line.
Quietly adding forces and molding new ambitions based on the main force of the old factors, the biggest difference of Thanh Hoa Club is the presence of Mr. Popov. The Bulgarian strategist has the "hot blood" of typical Eastern European coaches (which Thanh Hoa players have previously seen in Serbian coach Ljupko Petrovic), but is also very disciplined and meticulous.
Thanh Hoa Club deserved to win
Put on the scale, each individual of Thanh Hoa Club cannot be compared to the top teams such as Hanoi, Viettel or Hanoi Police. However, football is a collective sport. The level of each individual is not equal, but if the players run more, play more fiercely and alertly, play with more reasonable tactics, the team can make a difference.
That is the philosophy Mr. Popov built at Thanh Hoa Club. The Bulgarian coach requires his students to make efforts and dedicate themselves on the training ground first, because everything on the field originates from the training ground. The players are trained more thoroughly physically, with the criteria of having to be strong, fast and willing to move to be able to meet the intensity of the match. Under coach Popov, Thanh Hoa Club maintains discipline and maintains an extremely good formation distance. The Thanh team defends tightly with two clearly divided lines, switching from defense to attack (and vice versa) very quickly, with many diverse wing attacks to take advantage of the fighting power of the duo Bruno and Paulo.
It is not difficult to "read" the playing style of Thanh Hoa Club, but stopping Mr. Popov and his team is not a simple matter. Because besides reasonable tactics, the Bulgarian coach also "breathes fire" into the fighting spirit of his students. Thanh Hoa players are not afraid of collisions, play with determination and passion, but always know how to put their energy in the right place. In the final match of the 2023 National Cup, Thanh Hoa Club locked down the explosives of Viettel team. The persistent and determined playing style, combined with Popov's philosophy of knowing yourself and knowing your opponent, has helped Thanh Hoa Club become a stubborn and unpredictable team.
Thanh Hoa Club is no longer unlucky with titles
Coach Popov's strength lies in the fact that he carefully studies his team and each opponent. Before joining the Thanh Hoa team, the Bulgarian coach sent a plan of more than 100 pages to the club's board of directors, clearly stating the strengths and weaknesses of the club, as well as the strategy to bring Thanh Hoa football back. Throughout the season, the main tone in Coach Popov's working style is professionalism, dedication and progress. He truly loves and "burns" himself out with his work, does not miss a single detail, and always strives to make the team better.
"This is not the first trophy in my coaching career and I hope it will not be the last. But this is definitely the most difficult, painful but also the sweetest trophy for me," coach Popov shared. Sweat, tears and the bitter taste of failure are what Mr. Popov has tasted, to receive the sweet fruit of glory today.
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