Giving Young Players More Playing Opportunities: The Benefits Are Clear

(HNMCT) - The journey of the national U22 football team at the 32nd SEA Games once again shows the need to create more opportunities for young talents to compete, thereby accumulating experience and contributing more to the national teams.

Striker Van Tung (in purple) has yet to secure an official position at Hanoi FC despite always being a mainstay of the national U22 team at the 32nd SEA Games. Photo: VPF

When real combat experience is a luxury

Evaluating the performance of the U22 Vietnam team against strong opponents such as U22 Thailand and U22 Indonesia at the 32nd SEA Games, the coach of the U22 Vietnam team, Philippe Troussier, said: "In terms of organization, tactics, and playing style, no team is superior to U22 Vietnam. Everything is equal. I think the difference is real-life experience. Young Thai and Indonesian players regularly compete in the national championship, and even play abroad."

This conclusion once again confirms the current situation of using young players at clubs in Vietnam. In fact, not only Mr. Troussier but also many experts and coaches have raised this issue. Everyone knows that young players can only grow well if they have the opportunity to play continuously.

But in Vietnam, because of the club's achievements, coaches often do not want to use young players unless they have special abilities. That was seen with the generation of players who won the 30th SEA Games - 2019 with Nguyen Quang Hai, Doan Van Hau, Nguyen Hoang Duc... Not to mention, at that SEA Games, the generation of players from Hoang Anh Gia Lai in the national team were also the ones who continuously played in the V.League according to the club's policy.

The players who just participated in the 32nd SEA Games are different, very few of them have regular playing time at their clubs. According to coach Nguyen Duc Thang (Topeland Binh Dinh), it is not easy to expect young players to meet the requirements in terms of skill level at V.League. In the context of always being under pressure for results, no club dares to risk using young players. Here, the clubs also have their own reasons because results affect the existence of the club. That reality leads to the lack of experience in competition and always exposes the mistakes of U22 Vietnam against "equally matched" opponents in the Southeast Asian region with a generation of players with a lot of experience playing at the top level of the domestic playground.

Knowing that, many clubs still need more achievements. In the recent rounds of V.League 2023, many players who always had a starting position in the national U22 team at SEA Games 32 still have to get used to the bench, such as Quan Van Chuan (Hanoi FC), Tran Quang Thinh (Hanoi Police), Ho Van Cuong (Song Lam Nghe An )... Coach Flavio Cruz of Hanoi Police once affirmed that he would only use central defender Quang Thinh if this player reached the level the head coach wanted and was suitable for the club's playing style.

After the 32nd SEA Games, many experts and coaches have affirmed that it is necessary to give opportunities to young players at professional clubs. Only then can national teams have more choices in personnel.

Need to make a decision soon

More than a decade ago, in Vietnam, the youth teams of the clubs participating in the V.League had the opportunity to compete with each other and thus, at least the young players had the opportunity to accumulate practical experience every week. But then, for many reasons, including the fact that the clubs could not afford the costs of travel and accommodation for the youth teams, this practice no longer exists.

Recently, some coaches have mentioned the solution of organizing a youth V.League. These matches will take place 1 day earlier than the V.League schedule. Other opinions hope that the Vietnam Football Federation and the Organizing Committee of the National Professional Football Tournament and the National First Division will issue regulations on the specific number of U22 players on the field for each match in these tournaments, and even regulations on the minimum number of minutes they can play (except in case of injury). The specific regulations on the specific number of minutes of play are to avoid the case of clubs "circumventing" the law, letting young players play for a few minutes to meet the requirements of the Organizing Committee of the tournament and then taking that player off the field.

Coach Bozidar Bandovic (Hanoi FC) also commented that with the regulations on the number of U22 players in professional playgrounds, young players will improve their professional skills when playing regularly.

The problem is that there needs to be an early decision from the managers so that the clubs can prepare. Of course, we cannot only demand from the managers and the clubs, but also need to set requirements for the young players themselves so that they always strive to improve their level. The players also need to improve their foreign language skills so that they can go to other football backgrounds instead of just aiming to compete domestically.

Improving competition experience for young players to quickly mature and contribute more to the national team level is necessary. The idea is there, the solution is also pointed out, the problem is only the determination of the parties involved.

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