HAGL hires 'high-quality' coach: Brazilian expert will improve 1.91 m tall goalkeeper

HAGL recruited goalkeeper training expert Higor Felliny Cruz to upgrade the quality of its goalkeepers.

HAGL adds goalkeeper coach

HAGL's coaching staff has just welcomed a new member, goalkeeper coach Higor Felliny Cruz. The Brazilian expert, born in 1980, has experience coaching goalkeepers from youth to professional levels.

Mr. Higor has a goalkeeper coach license A issued by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) in 2024. A year later, this coach continued to have a goalkeeper coach license recognized by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL). The HAGL expert has 22 years of goalkeeper training, has experience in physical training and is expected to improve the quality of goalkeepers for the mountain town team.

Expert Higor joins HAGL as goalkeeper coach - PHOTO: HAGL Club

Expert Higor will directly lead 3 goalkeepers including Tran Trung Kien, Phan Dinh Vu Hai and Duong Van Loi. Among them, young goalkeeper Trung Kien is expected the most. The goalkeeper born in 2003 started 24 matches for HAGL in the V-League last season. In the early stages of his career, Trung Kien stood out for his height of 1.91 m and his talent for stopping penalties. However, Trung Kien has proven that in addition to his good physique, he also has comprehensive ball-catching skills when diving with quick reflexes, mastering the penalty area, entering and exiting effectively and catching high balls consistently.

Thanks to his impressive performance in his first season as HAGL's number one goalkeeper (in previous seasons Trung Kien only played a few matches), Trung Kien was called up to the Vietnam national team by coach Kim Sang-sik. The 22-year-old goalkeeper has not been able to compete for the starting position with Nguyen Filip and Nguyen Dinh Trieu, but being given the opportunity to play as a starter and be called up to the national team at a young age is a "plus point" for Trung Kien compared to many other goalkeepers.

HAGL's recruitment of a "Western teacher" to teach Trung Kien and Van Loi will help develop the ability of the mountain town team's goalkeepers. Previously, HAGL's goalkeeper coach was Mr. Tran Quoc Viet.

Great teachers produce great students

Former coach Steve Darby of the Vietnam women's team once affirmed that to have good players, the quality of the coaching staff is also very important. However, in Vietnam, the number of coaches with international qualifications (AFC Pro certificate) is not much. For goalkeeper coaches, the number is even smaller, as most do not have an A certificate (mainly a C certificate).

In a very special position that requires highly precise training methods in skills and psychology such as goalkeeper coaching, football teams are gradually handing over the "sword and seal" to foreign experts, while waiting for domestic experts to accumulate experience and obtain degrees.

Goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien in the U.23 Vietnam shirt - PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

The recruitment of expert Higor Felliny Cruz will help HAGL take better care of Trung Kien, Van Loi, and other young goalkeepers in the future. Goalkeepers of HAGL in particular and V-League in general need to have a comprehensive set of skills, including reflexes, judgment, coordination, commanding the defense, and developing a solid competitive mentality. For young goalkeepers like Trung Kien, being "trained" early with good experts is a necessary condition for maturity.

In the Vietnamese team, coach Kim Sang-sik also has a talented "assistant" to train the goalkeeper. That is Mr. Lee Woon-jae, the former goalkeeper who helped the Korean team reach the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup.

Born in 1973, Lee Won-jae is one of the best goalkeepers in Korean football. Lee has participated in the World Cup 4 times (1994, 2002, 2006 and 2010) in 18 years of dedication to the Korean team. The former Korean goalkeeper has 132 international matches, 10 times in the typical lineup of the K-League and many outstanding individual titles.

Mr. Lee Woon-jae's extensive playing experience and extremely "tough" (to the point of harshness) training methods have helped Dinh Trieu become the best goalkeeper of the AFF Cup 2024.

Young goalkeeper Trung Kien will be trained by Mr. Lee Woon-jae of the Vietnam national team and expert Higor of HAGL. The "old name" is there, but whether the "great student" will appear depends on Trung Kien's personal efforts.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hagl-thue-thay-xin-chuyen-gia-brazil-se-nang-tam-thu-mon-cao-191-m-185250709103813933.htm