Vietnam National Team: Naturalization must rely on internal resources

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) is supporting procedures for overseas Vietnamese players and foreign players to become Vietnamese citizens, but with the aim of supplementing and not affecting the development of domestic player resources.

CATCH UP WITH THE NATURALIZATION TREND

After winning the AFF Cup 2024, the Vietnamese team faces a big challenge in its goal of advancing to the continent, even in the region, due to the strong naturalization policies of Indonesia and Malaysia. Up to now, the VFF has received naturalization applications from 5 players, including overseas Vietnamese goalkeeper Patrick Le Giang (born in 1992) and foreign players Gustavo (1995), Geovane (1994), Rimario (1994) and Janclesio (1993). Once they become Vietnamese citizens, they will help increase the strength of V-League clubs, and the Vietnamese team if called up.

The Vietnamese team still needs naturalization, but what is needed more is a source of quality domestic players from the V-League.

PHOTO: NGOC LINH

Coach Kim Sang-sik is targeting two names, goalkeeper Patrik Le Giang and center-back Gustavo, to add to the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Patrick Le Giang (1.88 m tall) is always among the top goalkeepers in the V-League, especially in the HCM City Police Club (HCMC Police) this season. Gustavo (1.95 m tall) has good aerial ability and rich experience, which can help the Vietnamese team's defense defend more effectively against the Westerners of Malaysia and Indonesia. Of course, whether they can wear the Vietnamese team's shirt or not - especially in the match against Malaysia in March 2026 - will depend on the procedures of the relevant ministries and branches, which are beyond the VFF's ability.

Football expert Doan Minh Xuong commented: "Recently, the Vietnamese national team has added many overseas Vietnamese players such as Dang Van Lam, Nguyen Filip, Cao Pendant Quang Vinh... or Le Viktor, Do Thanh Trung in U.23 Vietnam. Vietnamese football needs to make more effective use of Vietnamese blood from abroad like that. Having many clubs applying for naturalization of foreign players is also a good thing, first of all helping the clubs and V-League become stronger, then the VFF and the coaching staff of the Vietnamese national team will have more options. But Vietnam is taking a different path from the way of naturalizing Western players at all costs. We are catching up with the general trend but calculating more selectively in the balance between the achievements of the Vietnamese national team and the development of Vietnamese football."

STRENGTHENING INTERNAL RESOURCES in the team

Football expert Doan Minh Xuong assessed that Vietnamese football has been developing more optimistically since the past few years. The participation of potential bosses, the revival of old names based on the new socialization mechanism... helps V-League become more exciting. The continuous influx of quality foreign and overseas Vietnamese players helps improve the professional quality of matches. Vietnamese football teams such as Nam Dinh , Hanoi Police, Ninh Binh, The Cong Viettel... most recently Ho Chi Minh City Police Club not only aim to win the V-League but also want to conquer international arenas. Mr. Xuong said: "We can see that the players who have applied for naturalization at this time are all over 30 years old. They can help Vietnam defeat Malaysia in March 2026, but even if Vietnam wins a ticket to the Asian Cup finals, by 2027 they will all be very old. Therefore, naturalizing foreign players is only a short-term solution, when the Vietnam team has many injuries or is lacking or weak in a certain position. In the long term, Vietnamese football still needs to rely on internal development."

Mr. Xuong continued: "The fact that clubs like Nam Dinh and Truong Tuoi Dong Nai are investing in upgrading youth training facilities, or Ninh Binh FC and CA TP.HCM Club are planning to build a new football academy is the foundation for Vietnamese football to become stronger. Indonesia's massive naturalization still lost to Japan 0-6 in the World Cup qualifiers, showing that naturalized foreign players only solve the problem on the surface, while the foundation for the development of a football foundation is still internal resources. Let's look at the German, Italian, Spanish and especially French teams, which are the strongest in the world but still supplement the source of naturalized players who have been trained from a very young age. Vietnam does not have such conditions, but can develop in two directions from the source of overseas Vietnamese players and building a truly strong and effective youth football foundation. The fact that more and more clubs are interested in and investing in youth football is a very positive signal for Vietnamese football. We will need more mechanisms to socialize more investment in youth football, a tournament system so that youth teams can compete more."

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-nhap-tich-phai-dua-theo-nguon-noi-luc-185250924205516984.htm