Hoang Duc's absence is not a problem, The Cong Viettel will be perfect if...

Back on track

In an interview with Thanh Nien Newspaper before the 2024-2025 season, Coach Nguyen Duc Thang did not hesitate to share that the goal of The Cong Viettel Club is to win the championship. Perhaps many people do not believe this to be true because last season, the army team did not have good results, only ranked 5th and no longer had Nguyen Hoang Duc, the number one star of the club.

The Cong Viettel Club is a candidate for the V-League championship.

However, coach Nguyen Duc Thang showed the reason for his confidence, at least after 5 rounds. The Cong Viettel Club and Thanh Hoa are the 2 teams with the most wins (3 matches) and also share the first 2 positions on the rankings. Notably, Bui Tien Dung and his teammates defeated Hanoi, Hai Phong and Binh Duong Clubs. In this group, Hanoi and Binh Duong Clubs have quality squads and are considered candidates for the championship. Hai Phong Club has not yet reached its best form, but the teams built by coach Chu Dinh Nghiem have never been easy opponents.

Viettel The Cong Club knows how to win against championship candidates. In terms of playing style, they have also shown their "specialty" of defensive counter-attacking. In 3 wins, they controlled the ball less than their opponents. Defensive counter-attacking is also the strength of coach Nguyen Duc Thang. He has helped Saigon and Binh Dinh clubs become extremely difficult teams in the V-League.

Overall, Viettel The Cong Club has two of the qualities of a champion: a clear playing style and the ability to defeat direct competitors. However, the road to the V-League throne is still very long and they need to show more.

The Cong Viettel Club owns many national players in the squad such as Khuat Van Khang, Nguyen Thanh Binh, Bui Tien Dung, Phan Tuan Tai...

What is missing from Viettel The Cong Club?

Viettel The Cong FC plays well when they are allowed to apply their signature defensive counter-attacking style. However, in matches where they have to play aggressively, they have not done well. At Thong Nhat Stadium, they were held to a 0-0 draw by Ho Chi Minh City FC in round 1. At home at My Dinh Stadium, they lost 0-1 to Binh Dinh FC despite having an extra player for more than 70 minutes (Cao Van Trien was sent off in the 21st minute) and the runner-up team has also weakened a lot compared to last season.

The performance of the players on the attack line of The Cong Viettel Club is not high. Of the 6 times that shook the opponent's net, foreign player Amarildo contributed 2, the remaining 4 goals belonged to Khuat Van Khang, Bui Tien Dung, Nguyen Duc Chien and Phan Tuan Tai. Other strikers in the hands of coach Nguyen Duc Thang are Nham Manh Dung, Tran Danh Trung and even foreign player Pedro are not showing much. The fact that The Cong Viettel Club scored goals from a variety of strikers, midfielders and defenders is a good thing, but the strikers need to show a bigger mark.

Pedro (center), the main striker of Viettel The Cong Club, has not yet reached his peak performance.

The scoring efficiency of The Cong Viettel Club this season is only 1.2 goals/match, which is worse than the last time they won the championship in the 2020 season. At that time, Coach Truong Viet Hoang's students scored 1.45 goals/match. The most recent champions of V-League also have better efficiency: Hanoi Club in the 2022 season - 1.96 goals/match, CAHN Club in the 2023 season - 1.9 goals/match, Nam Dinh Club in the 2023-2024 season - 2.3 goals/match.

Viettel The Cong Club is on the right track, but in a race, they need to go faster and more steadily. To become the winner, coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team must improve a lot more.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vang-hoang-duc-khong-phai-van-de-the-cong-viettel-se-hoan-hao-neu-185241031190442995.htm