In just the first three weeks of November, from the 1st to the 20th, four rounds of the V-League will take place, from round 6 to round 9. Coach Kim Sang-sik will have to closely monitor these rounds in order to select players for the Vietnamese national team.
Furthermore, alongside the V-League matches, there will be six rounds of the First Division taking place in November, from round 2 to round 7 (from November 2nd to 24th). This year, coach Kim Sang-sik needs to monitor the First Division because it features several bright stars of domestic football. Notable among them are midfielder Hoang Duc, goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, young talent Nguyen Quoc Viet, striker Dinh Thanh Binh of Ninh Binh FC, and especially striker Nguyen Cong Phuong of Binh Phuoc FC.
Coach Kim Sang-sik will have a lot of work to do in the latter part of 2024.
Fans and some experts are looking forward to Cong Phuong's reunion with the national team, as he is still considered a rather special talent in Vietnamese football over the past few years. However, the difficulty for Cong Phuong lies in the fact that only when he regains his form can he fully utilize his special qualities. Conversely, if Cong Phuong has not yet overcome his psychological barriers and the inertia after a two-year hiatus from playing for Yokohama FC (Japan), he will remain no different from other ordinary players.
The current predicament of Cong Phuong leads to a dilemma for coach Kim Sang-sik: the South Korean coach cannot call up a player whose form is inconsistent and whose potential for a successful reunion with the national team is uncertain. However, Coach Kim cannot easily drop a player like Cong Phuong, given the pressure from public opinion. Furthermore, dropping Cong Phuong now risks discarding the special qualities this player possesses during moments of brilliance.
Cong Phuong needs to show better form if he wants to be called up by coach Kim Sang-sik.
Coach Kim Sang-sik's tasks from now until the 2024 AFF Cup don't end there. Not only does he have to monitor his own players, but he also has to keep an eye on the movements of his opponents. It is expected that the South Korean coach will travel to Indonesia and the Philippines to watch their matches during the FIFA Days in November, trying to decipher the playing styles of the Indonesian and Philippine teams before Vietnam faces them in the group stage of the Southeast Asian Championship.
A huge workload awaits coach Kim Sang-sik. He must handle all of this well, because the 2024 AFF Cup campaign could be decisive in determining the level of trust Vietnamese football has in the South Korean coach. Kim has so far received some understanding for the team's recent unsuccessful friendly matches, but if he fails again in the AFF Cup, that understanding may disappear!
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-kim-sang-sik-chay-nuoc-rut-truc-aff-cup-185241031154001699.htm
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