Coach Kim Sang-sik will 'transform' the Vietnamese team: Be skillful, strong and know how to win!

Coach Kim Sang-sik is trying to add strong, physically fit central defenders to the back line, while still maintaining the flexibility and technical quality of the players playing up front. This is the trend of many strong teams in the world.

Strong defense, technical attack: Coach Kim Sang-sik reshuffles the team

Coach Kim Sang-sik has proposed to VFF to naturalize Brazilian-born midfielder Gustavo Santos (1.95 m) of Da Nang Club. In case this player is naturalized, he will almost certainly have a place on the Vietnamese national team. Previously, the Korean coach gave the opportunity to midfielder Dinh Quang Kiet (HAGL, 1.96 m tall) to try his hand in the national team. At the same time, he does not rule out the possibility that in the near future, Mr. Kim Sang-sik will add midfielder Nguyen Hieu Minh (PVF-CAND Club, 1.84 m) to the Vietnamese national team.

Coach Kim Sang-sik can add more physically fit central defenders to the national team.

Photo: Dong Nguyen Khang

1.95 m tall center back Gustavo is being proposed for Vietnamese citizenship.

Photo: Da Nang Club

These are signs that coach Kim Sang-sik wants to increase the muscular strength of the national team's defense. The Vietnamese team once revealed weaknesses in one-on-one combat and aerial combat when facing Malaysia's star attacking lineup of naturalized players of European and South American origin in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers in June.

If coach Kim Sang-sik's team had more central defenders like Dinh Quang Kiet, Nguyen Hieu Minh, Gustavo Santos, they could help the Vietnamese team solve the aforementioned weaknesses, making us stronger in one-on-one situations and aerial ball situations.

Meanwhile, in the front line, coach Kim Sang-sik still wants to maintain the strongest points of Vietnamese football over the years, which are technical quality, ball control ability and dexterity in handling in a narrow area. Attacking stars such as Quang Hai, Hoang Duc, Tien Linh, Hai Long... continue to be highly appreciated. They will still be the pillars of the national team in the remaining stages of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Vietnam Team: Not hoping for a miracle at the Asian Cup but need to regain confidence

The common point of these players is that they are all very technical players, good at handling the ball in tight spaces. In addition, among the young players who may be promoted to the national team in the near future, Van Truong and Dinh Bac are also technical experts.

Even when he had the idea of ​​adding naturalized players to the front line, Mr. Kim Sang-sik also aimed for a player with rich technical skills like attacking midfielder Hendrio (Brazilian origin), in case this player had Vietnamese nationality. That was certainly not a random choice.

The trend of strong football teams

The trend of strong football teams in the world is to have a combination of technique and muscle strength. A team cannot overcome a well-organized defense of the opponent without technique. Conversely, the same team cannot stop the speed of the opponent without muscle strength.

Up front, technical experts like Hoang Duc will still be the backbone of the Vietnamese team.

Photo: Minh Tu.

Therefore, these two factors must go together in the same team. Coach Kim Sang-sik wants us to be strong, muscular in defense and extremely skillful, flexible, and diverse in the front line.

The reigning world champions Argentina are the clearest example of this trend. The team from the land of tango plays with great technique up front. Meanwhile, at the back, with tall central defenders like Romero (1.85 m), Balerdi (1.87 m), and goalkeeper Martinez (1.95 m), Argentina's defense is not lacking in strength.

Another example, very close to the Vietnamese team, Mr. Kim Sang-sik's hometown team, South Korea, has a famously tall and strong defense. At the same time, in the front line, they always focus their attacks on technicians like Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in. That is, South Korea aims to play flexibly in the front line. Coach Kim Sang-sik has studied this and wants to apply it to the Vietnamese team in the near future.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-kim-sang-sik-se-bien-hinh-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-vua-kheo-vua-khoe-va-phai-biet-thang-185250924123450432.htm