Finding light at the end of the tunnel, can the Hue ancient capital football team escape?

What's going on?

It is hard to believe that a team that was ranked fourth last year, just behind three ambitious giants like Da Nang, PVF-CAND and Truong Tuoi Binh Phuoc , like the ancient capital of Hue, is struggling at the bottom of the rankings. After 15 matches in the first division this year, they have only won 3, drawn 2 and lost 11 matches, scoring 13 goals and conceding 26. The most stressful situation was from the end of February until the match against Khanh Hoa yesterday afternoon, when they lost 5 consecutive matches. There were losses against strong opponents, which could be understood as defeats against the extremely powerful Phu Dong Ninh Binh or PVF CAND. But losing to competing teams like Ba Ria-Vung Tau or somewhat inferior teams like Dong Nai, who won in the first leg at Bien Hoa, clearly has problems.

Nguyen Dang Khoa (18) of Hue is causing trouble for Khanh Hoa's defense.

PHOTO: BD

The question is whether this is the first financial story that has caused a team with a long history in the first-class playground like the ancient capital of Hue to decline? Head of the delegation Tran Quang Sang, a former famous player who won the national championship runner-up with Hue in 1995, affirmed that it was not because of the budget. The team is still loyal to the same investment method as every year, and the logistics work has not decreased. The salary and bonus regime for the team is still maintained so as not to affect the spirit and enthusiasm of everyone.

So is it because of poor preparation? Mr. Tran Quang Sang believes that the team still had a fairly thorough preparation period, accumulated a solid physical foundation, and had good concentration in competition. Typically, at the beginning of the first division this season, Hue was still continuously in the top 5 when drawing with Dong Thap and winning against Dong Nai in the first rounds. But after a series of 3 losses to strong opponents Phu Dong Ninh Binh, PVF-CAND and Truong Tuoi Binh Phuoc, the 2 losses to Hoa Binh (lost 0-1) and Khanh Hoa (drawn 2-2 at home) made the team start to slow down.

Hue team had a good match on the field 19.8

PHOTO: BD

The team is too young and inexperienced.

Watching recent matches, it is clear that Hue has revealed the inexperience of a very young squad. Of the 30 registered players, 19 are under 21 years old, meaning that nearly 2/3 of the squad are newly promoted U.19 players. Among the few players over 23 years old, there is no outstanding face from last season who is still capable of leading. Names that were once symbols of Hue such as "wild elephant" Ho Thanh Minh, the player who scored the only goal to help U.20 Vietnam reach the U.20 FIFA World Cup 2017 Tran Thanh, goalkeeper Nguyen Tien Tao have all left one after another. Or those who played very well in the U.21 tournament a few years ago such as Le Vu Dinh Hoang Van or free kick specialist Nguyen An have also "disappeared". Even the quality names that were reinforced from Viettel last season such as Ngoc Tu, Van Tu or Dinh Tuan Tai have also been withdrawn to supplement other teams. Meanwhile, the new generation of players that the team is lending to Hue is not strong enough to replace, or due to early injuries like Thanh An and Tung Duong, they cannot improve their strength.

Le Xuan Dang (38) and Hue's joy of scoring

Photo: BD

These absences, combined with the fact that coach Nguyen Duc Dung was forced to use a series of young faces who had played in the recent U.19 and U.21 tournaments such as Nguyen Dang Khoa, Le Xuan Dang, Ho Thanh Tuan Anh, Vu Quoc Anh, Vo Van Tuan Kiet, and a few other young names who had appeared last season such as Hoang Quang Dung, Vi Dinh Thuong, Nguyen Luong Tuan Khai, Duong Anh Vu, Nguyen Dinh Binh, made the squad, despite its strength, lack depth. Although these young faces tried very hard and performed enthusiastically, due to the lack of seniors to guide and supervise them, there was disarray and instability in their playing style, leaving many gaps in the squad for opponents to exploit.

The number of 26 goals conceded, the most of all participating teams, showed the inexperience in defense organization as well as the clumsiness in technique and ball control of Hue players. The 3 goals conceded in the most recent match against Dong Thap by a 34-year-old "veteran" Huu Khoi reflected the difference in class between the very young defense and an experienced warrior. In addition, we must also mention the lack of luck when in the away match against PVF-CAND, the team played quite well but the 2 goalkeepers were injured in the first half, forcing a defender to be put in as an involuntary goalkeeper, causing 3 goals to appear quickly in the second half.

Head of the delegation Tran Quang Sang (right) and the coaching staff of the Hue team

Photo: BD

While there is life, there is hope.

The instability in playing style, the imbalance in strength as well as the clumsiness of young players, this is difficult to change overnight for Hue, unless the season ends, the team still maintains its existence in the first division, then maybe there will be necessary adjustments. Fortunately, on the afternoon of April 26, although playing at the 19.8 stadium, the whole team held hands and played enthusiastically to win the home team Khanh Hoa 2-0 with 2 goals by Xuan Dang and Huu Tuan.

These 3 valuable points have helped the ancient capital team temporarily move up 1 place, equal to 11 points with Long An and push Hoa Binh to the bottom of the table. This is also the motivation for Hue to be more confident in the remaining 5 matches, having to overcome difficulties to escape the bottom position (the first division only has 1 relegation spot). In these 5 matches, Hue will play 3 home matches against 3 opponents who are in the same bottom group as themselves: against Hoa Binh (May 3), against Long An (May 24) and against Ho Chi Minh City youth (June 14), the remaining 2 away matches are against Binh Phuoc and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Hue's strikers continuously cause trouble in front of Vo Ngoc Cuong's goal (Khanh Hoa)

Photo: BD

Hopefully Hue team will find this joy in the remaining 5 matches.

PHOTO: BD

Hopefully, Hue football team will continue to overcome difficulties, achieve what they want to continue to maintain their image in the first division for many years. The important thing is that the team will promote their tradition and indomitable will in the context of many difficulties surrounding them, facing the risk of merging Hue football team with other units, so as not to disappoint the fans of the ancient capital.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tim-duoc-anh-sang-cuoi-duong-ham-doi-bong-co-do-hue-lieu-co-thoat-hiem-185250426201836095.htm