The most difficult challenge for the U.23 Vietnam defense: Not a strong opponent, but...

Not only is he responsible for protecting the net, the U.23 Vietnam defender also faces a difficult problem at the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament set by coach Kim Sang-sik, which is participating in implementing the playing style.

When the U.23 Vietnam midfielder had to participate in the ball deployment

The story of defensive defenders, holding midfielders or scoring strikers... has become a thing of the past. Modern football requires continuity and synchronization, when defenders must participate in the development of the ball, even participate in the attack, while strikers must support the defense by marking and pressing... Therefore, players must develop more comprehensive skills. Coach Kim Sang-sik's U.23 Vietnam is no exception.

The period of sublimation under coach Park Hang-seo marked the important contribution of the defenders, when not only defending solidly (always keeping clean sheets regularly), but also leaving their mark on the attacking front. Coach Park has defensive "shields" such as Van Hau and Thanh Chung who are as good at scoring as the strikers. However, the defenders mainly make their mark by pushing high to put pressure and score goals.

U.23 Vietnam diligently trains troops

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

Vietnamese defenders have traditionally passed the ball with long passes over the line. The philosophy of developing the ball from the defense was only awakened when coach Philippe Troussier appeared. Although Mr. Troussier's U.23 Vietnam was not successful, it cannot be denied that it is an inevitable trend. Only when the defense is confident in holding the ball and passing it to escape the pressing and developing the ball smoothly to the front line, instead of passing long passes aimlessly... can U.23 Vietnam form a clear playing style.

Especially when the U.23 Vietnam squad does not have a tall and versatile striker like Xuan Son to effectively utilize long passes. The strikers in the hands of Mr. Kim Sang-sik with Van Truong, Dinh Bac, Ngoc My or Thanh Nhan are also not good at playing with their backs to the opponent's goal, to act as a wall to pass back to the second line.

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Difficult problem to solve

However, the difficulty for coach Kim Sang-sik is that the U.23 Vietnam central defenders are not yet familiar with this tactic at the club level.

Although the training curriculum in every youth training system in Vietnam encourages young defenders to develop footwork skills, that is, short passes and coordination to deploy the play, let's face the reality: most players when stepping up to V-League do not have a chance to play short balls.

The pressure of achievement, combined with the appearance of tall foreign strikers, makes young defenders often choose a safe playing style. Long kicks, high crosses... have become the beaten path that many generations of Vietnamese defenders have taken.

Players are well trained in passing thinking.

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

The performance of the Vietnamese team at the AFF Cup 2024 is an example. Central defenders like Duy Manh, Thanh Chung, and Tien Dung mainly played long balls, leaving Xuan Son to handle the ball himself. However, U.23 Vietnam does not have Xuan Son to play long balls effectively. This is a difficulty, but also an opportunity for coach Kim to change the way of thinking about playing football for young players.

At the age of U.23, when his thinking can still be improved, the Korean coach is capable of molding a defense with enough technique and courage to control the ball and coordinate the play as he wishes.

In both friendly matches with U.23 Taiwan, U.23 Vietnam controlled the ball well from the defense, the central defenders coordinated closely with the midfielders to create "triangles" that rotated smoothly to the front line. Although Mr. Kim still asked his students to pass long when there was space to create lightning attacks, long balls were no longer a pure reflex of the defenders.

Every pass from the defense has a clear tactical intention, creating movement and serving the purpose of playing the ball. That is the requirement of coach Kim Sang-sik. Difficult, but it is the only way for U.23 Vietnam to develop their football thinking.

The "easy" matches with U.23 Laos and U.23 Cambodia, with little pressure from the opposing strikers, will be an opportunity for the U.23 Vietnam defense to learn how to advance the ball. So that when facing stronger teams like U.23 Malaysia, U.23 Indonesia or U.23 Thailand, Ly Duc and his teammates will be confident enough to play real football.

Creating a revolution in thinking is always a difficult problem for Mr. Kim and his students. U.23 Vietnam is trying to change, and each match will play the role of a step forward.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thu-thach-kho-nhat-cua-hang-thu-u23-viet-nam-khong-phai-doi-thu-manh-ma-la-185250708061930357.htm