'Foreign affairs' is good, how to 'domestic affairs' to make the audience happy?

Nam Dinh is full of determination in AFC Champions League 2 (formerly known as AFC Cup or Asian Cup C2), the team from the South is eager to repeat the achievements of two giants of Vietnamese football including Binh Duong (entered the semi-finals of the 2009 season) and Hanoi T&T (entered the final of the Eastern region, equivalent to the semi-finals of the entire tournament, in 2019).

Nam Dinh's squad for the 2024-2025 AFC Champions League 2 reflects the team's desire for success. They registered 7 foreign-born players, including naturalized striker Nguyen Xuan Son (aka Rafaelson). The more Nam Dinh desires success in the Asian arena, the more Vietnamese football benefits.

Nam Dinh Club is hungry for success in the continental arena.

At the same time, they will have to save their energy for V-League.

Firstly, if Nam Dinh achieves good results in AFC Champions League 2, the V-League of Vietnamese football will be awarded points, thereby giving the tournament a better position in the domestic league rankings of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The more points the V-League accumulates, the more opportunities the V-League clubs will have to compete in the AFC Champions League Elite (formerly known as the Asian Cup C1), having the opportunity to face the strongest teams on the continent.

Next, in terms of image, recently Vietnamese football teams have not had a good image in Asian cups, especially after Thanh Hoa Club announced its withdrawal from AFC Champions League 2 this season. To regain the lost image, the V-League clubs themselves must play well, go as far as possible in Asian cups, so that the international football world will no longer judge us as lacking interest in the continental playground, lacking respect for continental football.

Nam Dinh FC's lineup in the opening match of AFC Champions League 2

Therefore, Nam Dinh's determination in the ongoing AFC Champions League 2 not only serves the Southern team's need to conquer titles, but also helps improve the image of Vietnamese football.

However, there is a detail that cannot be ignored, to confidently conquer the Asian arena, the Nam Dinh team itself must compete steadily in the domestic tournament. Whatever is said, V-League is the place that helps coach Vu Hong Viet's team attract audiences, it is the weekly spiritual food for football fans in the South.

In case Nam Dinh is not successful in V-League, this team will be psychologically unstable, before they bring that unstable mentality to the international arena. Another detail, Nam Dinh's squad in the Asian Cup and in the V-League are certainly not the same. When competing in the V-League, Nam Dinh cannot use 7 foreign players at the same time as when competing in the AFC Champions League 2. In the V-League, if including naturalized player Nguyen Xuan Son, Nam Dinh can only use a maximum of 4 foreign players per match.

Coach Vu Hong Viet at the press conference at AFC Champions League 2

Different formations will inevitably lead to different playing styles (for example, a formation with many foreign players is more likely to play physically, with long balls and high balls, while a formation with many domestic players often requires more teamwork...). That is the problem for coach Vu Hong Viet, the problem for big teams. Teams that want to grow must have different scenarios for different situations. Teams that want to grow are teams that can apply many different playing styles, for many different formations, on different fronts.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nghich-ly-clb-nam-dinh-doi-ngoai-da-hay-doi-noi-the-nao-cho-khan-gia-suong-185240919150249037.htm