(Dan Tri) - VFF Vice President Tran Anh Tu affirmed that the Vietnamese national team is always open to naturalized players, but they need to be calculated appropriately and not brought into the national team en masse like Indonesia.
Don't follow in Indonesia's footsteps
At the AFF Cup 2024, for the first time in history, the Vietnamese team used a naturalized foreign player, Nguyen Xuan Son. The appearance of the 27-year-old striker brought significant strength in terms of expertise and spirit to the team. Although he only played 5 matches, including the second leg final against Thailand where he had to be substituted early due to injury, Xuan Son still scored 7 goals, 2 assists, and was awarded the Best Player and Top Scorer awards.
Regarding the issue of using naturalized players after the success of Nguyen Xuan Son, VFF Vice President Tran Anh Tu said: "The naturalization of foreign players is up to the club. They must have good players, apply for registration, VFF is ready to support. As for whether or not they will join the national team after naturalization, it is up to the head coach. The Vietnamese national team is always open to naturalized players, but the important thing is that youth training must still be put first."
According to Mr. Tran Anh Tu, in the coming time, VFF will have calculations to use the source of naturalized players with the most reasonable number, not calling up massively like Indonesia is doing.
The Vietnamese team is aiming for quality naturalized players like Xuan Son (Photo: Tien Tuan).
"Indonesia's massive naturalization has created a loophole, creating a negative effect on domestic players. There is a reason why Indonesia could not call up its previous key players at the recent AFF Cup. Looking at Indonesia, we can learn from experience, everything is at a reasonable level. The whole world focuses on youth training and Vietnamese football cannot be different," VFF Vice President Tran Anh Tu emphasized in a press conference on the morning of January 9.
"After Xuan Son, we are targeting Jason Quang Vinh Pendant ( Hanoi Police Club). He is young and has the potential to contribute long-term to the Vietnam team. Quang Vinh also plays in the exact position that the Vietnam team is lacking: left-back. After Doan Van Hau was injured, VFF actively created support conditions but Hau still could not return," Mr. Tran Anh Tu revealed.
"The important thing is that after naturalization, Quang Vinh still needs to meet the requirements and evaluation of the head coach. After Xuan Son, we want Quang Vinh, but we cannot determine when it will be successful," the VFF Vice President added about Quang Vinh's case.
Vietnamese players have to sacrifice a lot
As the head of the Vietnamese team at the AFF Cup 2024, Mr. Tran Anh Tu understands very well the difficulties and sacrifices of the players during more than a month of focusing on the regional football tournament.
"The Vietnamese team spent more than a month training. We won the championship thanks to our unity and solidarity. I highly appreciate the team's management board. Duy Manh is truly a leader, always helping the team to be happy and united, Quang Hai and Tien Linh are the same.
Solidarity helps the Vietnamese team succeed at the AFF Cup 2024 (Photo: Huong Duong).
The achievements of the Vietnamese team are not only on the field. The Vietnamese players are great. They shake hands before every breakfast. They have a month and a half of fighting and sacrificing. The players' families who went to Viet Tri ( Phu Tho ) were only able to meet in the hotel lobby to talk, it was very sad but that was the time when the whole team had to have the highest concentration," Mr. Tran Anh Tu shared.
Mr. Tu also revealed that in the second leg of the final against Thailand, after Xuan Son was injured, coach Kim Sang Sik encouraged the whole team to fight for Son. Coach Kim Sang Sik and Xuan Manh also talked about the only goal of the Vietnamese team: "One is to be champion, two is to be champion, three is to be champion".
In addition to fighting spirit, Vietnamese players also have professionalism. VFF Vice President Tran Anh Tu talked about the case of Doan Ngoc Tan: "After scoring in the match against the Philippines in the group stage, he hurt his leg, but he hid it from the coaching staff. Luckily, it was not too serious so he recovered in time to continue playing. Hai Long, Van Toan, and Tan Tai also suffered. Coach Kim Sang Sik asked these players to go with the team to bond and have peace of mind while receiving treatment. Staying at home is very difficult.
When the Vietnamese team left Thailand to return home, Ngoc Tan did not get on the bus but stayed behind. He said that Thanh Hoa Club was going to Thailand to compete in the 2024 Southeast Asian Club Cup, so if he returned, he would lose a lot of energy and not be able to maintain his physical strength. That was an extremely professional action."
Regarding the future goals of the Vietnamese team, Mr. Tran Anh Tu said that the VFF has been instructed by the Prime Minister on the football development plan. The roadmap for 2030 and the vision for 2045 are being built. During that period, the Vietnamese team is assigned the target of entering the top 16 to top 10 in Asia and qualifying for the World Cup finals. However, the VFF alone cannot do it, but needs the cooperation of the whole society.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/vff-tuyen-viet-nam-dung-cau-thu-nhap-tich-hay-nhin-vao-bai-hoc-indonesia-20250109124449220.htm
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