V.league 2023/2024

Pressure for performance

In the 2023/2024 season, for the first time, V.League 2023/2024 requires that the 14 participating clubs must register at least 3 players with Vietnamese nationality between the ages of 16-22 years old. However, because of the pressure of achievement, only a few clubs really pay attention to this work, including Hoang Anh Gia Lai or Becamex Binh Duong.

Specifically, Hai Phong Club has not registered any U22 players at the present time. With an experienced squad, Hai Phong is temporarily ranked 4th in the tournament with 8 points after 5 matches. Similarly, MerryLand Quy Nhon Binh Dinh Club does not use any U22 players in the main or reserve squad. Instead, coach Bui Doan Quang Huy only registered defender Phan Ngoc Tin (19 years old) but has not played a minute. The Vo football team is currently ranked 4th on the rankings, a pretty good achievement.

The team currently ranked 2nd on the rankings is Nam Dinh Xanh Steel with an unbeaten record, gaining 13 points thanks to a squad of many stars and experienced players. Coach Vu Hong Viet only registered midfielder Tran Ngoc Son on the roster to play in 3 matches. But this 20-year-old player only played a total of 59 minutes.

Even highly rated training facilities such as Hanoi Club or Viettel are under pressure to perform, so they limit the use of young players. The capital team has midfielder Vu Tien Long (21 years old) who played 4 matches, other young talents such as Nguyen Van Tung (played for a total of 59 minutes), Nguyen Van Truong (played for 29 minutes), midfielder Duc Anh (played 9 minutes) and almost only came on the field from the bench.

For Viettel, talented Khuat Van Khang is the young player who has played the most with 5 matches and 252 minutes. Meanwhile, Phan Tuan Tai is a face that plays a lot and is over 22 years old according to regulations. For the rest, Viettel has not appeared any new young faces even though Cong Phuong (17 years old) has not been able to play.

Becamex Binh Duong, the team leading the V.League, registered Vo Hoang Minh Khoa (22 years old), Bui Vi Hao (20 years old) and Nguyen Tran Viet Cuong (21 years old) and were regularly awarded by coach Le Huynh Duc. opportunity to compete. Ha Trung Hau (21 years old) has not yet found a chance to play. In fact, Becamex Binh Duong is a team that harmonizes experience and youth, even though the number of young players is not many.

Adventurous like Song Lam Nghe An

With Song Lam Nghe An, there are 18/26 domestic players registered on the payroll of Team 1 at V.League in the U23 age group (born from 2001 onwards), Song Lam Nghe An this season became the The team has the lowest average age of 22.2 years old. And maybe this will be the youngest squad in V.League history. If considering the age criteria under 22, Song Lam Nghe An has up to 11 players in this age group.

Among the young players given the opportunity by coach Phan Nhu Thuat, there are notable new faces only 18-19 years old such as Tran Nam Hai (born 2004), Cao Van Binh, Le Nguyen Hoang, Nguyen Quang Vinh (born 2004). SN 2005) have all been given the opportunity to play. They are players who have “eaten the national team” for many years. And players aged 20-22, such as Manh Quynh (born 2001), Ba Quyen (born 2002), Xuan Tien, Van Bach (born 2003), Van Thanh (born 2001), goalkeeper Van Viet (born 2002) ) are considered “pillars”.

Although the quality of three foreign players, Michael Olaha, Mario Zebic and Raphael Success, is not that bad, they cannot compensate for their psychological and experience weaknesses. Football is a team sport. In the context of veteran generals Trong Hoang and Dinh Hoang, they are on the other side of their career slope. In the 0-2 loss to Hanoi in round 5, people compared the U23 Song Lam Nghe An team to losing to the miniature national team of Hanoi Club. Except for the 3 foreign soldiers and Tran Dinh Hoang, the rest of Song Lam Nghe An’s starting lineup are all U23 years old, notably 3 players born in 2005 including Cao Van Binh, Le Nguyen Hoang and Nguyen Quang Vinh . In the 1-0 victory over Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Song Lam Nghe An’s young players also struggled to defeat coach Kiatisuk’s team.

Obviously, the strong rejuvenation of the force puts football teams at great risks. For young players, the distribution of strength, as well as the psychology of having to concede a goal, and the ability to regulate and keep the pace of the match are not really perfect.

For example, in the case of Hoang Anh Gia Lai, although the average age is slightly higher than Song Lam Nghe An, there are still young faces such as Nguyen Quoc Viet (20 years old), Nguyen Duc Viet (19 years old) and Nguyen Van Trieu (20 years old) was given the opportunity to play, but the Mountain City team is currently ranked at the bottom of the table.

However, risks always come with opportunities. Being given the opportunity to compete and compete early is really important for the development of young talents in Vietnamese football. With Song Lam Nghe An, with the development momentum of young players like this, in the next 2-3 years, the Nghe An team will have many choices and become more secure in the V.League arena. No need to worry every time the transfer market opens.

This policy of Song Lam Nghe An may not bring immediate results, but over time, the benefits for Vietnamese clubs and football are huge. The most important thing is still the efforts of the young players in each match, because the opportunities for them are not many and the patience of the fans is limited. Pressure for performance always happens to any team and coach in the V.League.