Does it matter if Cong Vinh is there or not?

SLNA most fragile in history

SLNA is the cradle of Vietnamese football, producing many good players. Any team in the V-League uses at least one player from Nghe An. But at the present time, SLNA is no longer a force. They even hit the bottom of the V-League rankings. They are confused, struggling to find a way out of the "abyss" and leading to the noise with former striker Le Cong Vinh like on November 11.

SLNA (yellow shirt) needs quality players more than Cong Vinh

In fact, SLNA has a more important issue to consider than appointing more coaching staff. According to Transfermarkt , SLNA is the team with the lowest average age in the league: 22.6 years old. This number is much lower than the average of V-League: 26.3 years old. SLNA's average player value is also lower than the league average: 82,000 euros/player compared to 100,000 euros/player.

That means SLNA lacks both quality and experience. If we exclude foreign players, the remaining 9x players in SLNA's squad only have defender Tran Dinh Hoang and striker Ho Phuc Tinh. In the past, these two players played very impressively, but they can no longer maintain their peak form, and are not strong enough to "carry the team" to guide their juniors.

SLNA still has talented young players such as goalkeeper Nguyen Van Viet (who has been called up to the Vietnam national team), defender Ho Van Cuong, midfielder Dinh Xuan Tien, Tran Manh Quynh... (who has been called up to the Vietnam U.23 team). However, after all, these are still young players and carrying the team is too much for them.

In addition, Michael Olaha, the player who scored 13 goals last season, has received more attention this season, which is also a concern for SLNA.

SLNA now does not know who to rely on

In the last two seasons, SLNA were in the relegation group. Last season, they almost had to play in the play-off when they were tied on points with Ha Tinh FC, the team in 13th place. The common point between the two seasons is that SLNA no longer has a leader, no one is strong enough to be a support both professionally and mentally during the most difficult times.

Dinh Xuan Tien (left) used to play very steadily, even when he had to face Cao Van Trien, one of the most stable midfielders in V-League. But now, Xuan Tien has almost "sunk" in the context of SLNA having no leader.

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

In fact, SLNA has started using many young players since the 2023 season. However, at that time, names like Que Ngoc Hai, Pham Xuan Manh, Nguyen Trong Hoang are still wearing the Nghe An team's jersey. The presence of these players in the team will help the juniors play more confidently and live more standard lives. For example, in the 2023 season, Dinh Xuan Tien, Ho Van Cuong as well as several other young players played extremely well and received great expectations, but this season, they have not shown much and are showing signs of slowing down. And of course, SLNA's players born in 2001, 2002, 2003 cannot guide the factors born in 2005, 2006 such as Le Nguyen Hoang, U.23 Vietnam player or Le Dinh Long Vu, U.19 Vietnam player.

When SLNA's squad is too fragile and lacks succession, no matter which famous coach they appoint, it will be difficult to revive the team without stronger investment.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/slna-co-cong-vinh-hay-khong-lieu-co-quan-trong-185241112173401646.htm