Van Vi's brilliant performance
After the resounding 4-1 victory over Binh Duong Club, when asked about Nam Dinh Club players who deserve to be called up to the Vietnam national team, Coach Vu Hong Viet read out 4 names. And one of them is Van Vi, who is having a "transformation" this season.
The impressive performance in the National Super Cup match against Thanh Hoa Club seemed to be a sign that Van Vi would explode. At Thien Truong home field, this player's speedy runs caused many difficulties for the Thanh team's defense. The defender born in 1998 also contributed 2 assists in Nam Dinh Club's 3-0 victory.
“A smooth start and a smooth finish”, Van Vi continues to maintain his impressive form. According to Transfermarkt , he has made 13 appearances in all competitions, scoring 1 goal and 5 assists for Nam Dinh Club. This is an impressive number, showing that he is the defender who has contributed the most goals for a club this season.
Van Vi is currently the most outstanding Vietnamese left-back in V-League.
Some of Van Vi's assists are also important. In the match against Tampines Rovers in the AFC Champions Two 2024 - 2025, he had a great sprint to assist Joseph Mpande to equalize 2-2, opening an emotional comeback victory for Nam Dinh Club. Before that, in the match against Hai Phong Club, he also made the decisive pass to help Hendrio Araujo score, raising the score to 2-0 for Nam Dinh Club. This goal helped the team from Thanh Nam have a safe distance and win 2-1 overall. Coach Vu Hong Viet and his team also regained their confidence after losing 0-3 to Hanoi Police Club (CAHN) and opened a series of 4 consecutive wins to make a strong comeback in the championship race.
Last season, Van Vi only played a total of 642 minutes in the V-League. But after only 9 rounds of the new season, less than half way through, this number has increased to 482 minutes. That shows that Van Vi is gaining a lot of trust from coach Vu Hong Viet thanks to his excellent ability to support the attack with his speed, technique and extremely reasonable decisions to cross the ball and pass. In defense, this defender is also extremely tenacious.
Will coach Kim Sang-sik need Van Vi?
In interviews with Thanh Nien Newspaper, commentator Ngo Quang Tung and football expert Phan Anh Tu both assessed the left wing as the weakest area of the Vietnamese team. After Doan Van Hau retired due to an injury to the heel, both coaches Philippe Troussier and Kim Sang-sik have not been able to solve the left-back problem.
Is coach Kim Sang-sik aiming for Van Vi?
In the preliminary list of 30 players announced on November 18, coach Kim Sang-sik did not include any real left-backs. The Korean strategist only has players who can play left-back: Vu Van Thanh, Pham Xuan Manh, Ho Tan Tai and Khuat Van Khang. Of these, Van Khang has been tested in the Vietnam national team but has shown weaknesses in defense. Van Thanh, Xuan Manh and Tan Tai are versatile, but have not played, or rarely played, left-backs for a long time. Tan Tai is currently playing a lot as a center-back for Binh Duong Club and he will most likely continue to be tested in the center of defense.
Without adding a true left-back, the balance on the left wing of the Vietnamese team will likely be affected. Van Vi is clearly a good choice to fill this weakness. At this point, he is also showing more impressive form than his senior Nguyen Phong Hong Duy. And based on the previously announced list, we see that coach Kim Sang-sik is actively giving opportunities to new faces. He has called up Truong Tien Anh, Tran Bao Toan, Doan Ngoc Tan and very likely Van Vi soon.
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