Young players are gradually fading in V-League

" YOUNG" HAS DIFFICULTY TO GROW UP

Recently, coach Kim Sang-sik raised the issue: very few players under the age of 23 have the opportunity to play as a starter at their home club. This conclusion was drawn by Mr. Kim after 5 months of attending matches in the V-League and the first division to observe the movement of Vietnamese football.

Bui Vi Hao is a rare young player who has a starting position in the V-League.

Recently, there have been young stars who have been tested in the V-League such as Tuan Duong, Dinh Bac (Hanoi Police Club), Van Truong (Hanoi Club), Van Khang, Tuan Tai (The Cong Viettel), Vi Hao, Minh Trong ( Binh Duong Club), Van Viet (SLNA), Trung Kien, Ly Duc, Du Hoc, Gia Bao (HAGL) or Thai Son (Thanh Hoa Club)... However, not many U.23 players have been placed in the "core" role of the team, but most of them have played as strategic reserves like Dinh Bac, Van Khang, have to play in a position that is not their forte, or have only just found a position, still in the process of integration.

Compared to the explosive period of 2015 - 2017 when young talents took over key positions in strong teams, currently most V-League teams rely on veterans. Hanoi Police team brought in a team of experienced national players covering both defense and offense; Nam Dinh Club mainly invested in foreign players and players with over 5 years of playing in V-League. Or Hanoi Club, although having the top quality youth team in the country, currently still relies on "veterans" like Van Quyet, Hung Dung, while young players like Van Truong, Tien Long, Van Chuan are all very obscure.

Currently, there are not many V-League teams that have a philosophy of investing in training and using young players. In V-League, the teams that really give "seal" to young players are only HAGL, SLNA and The Cong Viettel . These are also 3 rare teams in V-League that have enough youth training facilities to provide for the first team. In a broader view, Vietnamese youth teams such as U.20, U.17 mainly get players from these 3 sources, plus Hanoi and PVF.

Talking about the lack of opportunities for young people, a coach once shared with Thanh Nien : "The pressure of achievements in V-League makes coaches not dare to take risks, unless they run out of options. With just a few bad matches, a coach can... lose his seat, so most of them have to use safe players, giving priority to experienced people." That is the coach's business, but for the clubs, expert Doan Minh Xuong said that the "eat and drink" mindset, only calculating short-term achievements, playing each season knowing that season without a long-term strategy of many V-League clubs makes opportunities for young players rare.

CHALLENGE FOR COACH K IM S ANG- S IK

Coach Kim Sang-sik affirmed that he will call up and give opportunities to the young generation, because "they are the future of Vietnamese football". However, in the two most recent training sessions, the faces that Mr. Kim called up to the national team such as Vi Hao, Van Truong, Quoc Viet, Van Khang, Thai Son, Tuan Tai... are actually all old names, familiar in the youth teams. Except for Vi Hao leaving his mark with 3 goals, or Van Khang and Thai Son playing energetically and enthusiastically, Mr. Kim has not found any new tests.

The Vietnamese team is lacking the most important conditions for generational transfer, because the force in the hands of Mr. Kim Sang-sik is currently in a "half-baked" state: many experienced players have lost motivation and physical strength, while the young players, although having aspirations and enthusiasm, are very immature due to lack of contact in the V-League and need a lot of training.

When he was coaching U.23 Vietnam, Mr. Philippe Troussier was so angry that he smashed a water bottle when his students could not make a cross from the sideline to the far post as intended. The French strategist had to shape the mindset from choosing a position, moving to create pressure to the most basic techniques for young players.

As the AFF Cup approaches, coach Kim Sang-sik will gradually reduce his experimentation. The Korean coach needs to find a suitable strategy to boost his enthusiasm, as well as compensate for the lack of experience of the young players. He has to "cut his coat according to his cloth", because the fact that young players are struggling in the V-League is a reality that Mr. Kim cannot change.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cau-thu-tre-dang-duoi-dan-ov-league-185241030231719798.htm