From disappointment...
In January 2024, the Vietnamese team under the leadership of coach Troussier entered the Asian Cup with the belief of surpassing the continental tournaments like when coach Park Hang Seo was still in charge.
However, the belief in the French strategist who had led many teams to participate in the World Cup was quickly extinguished. The Vietnamese team could not pass the group stage after 3 consecutive defeats.
It is worth mentioning that one of the defeats against Indonesia signaled the upcoming troubled days for the Vietnamese team under coach Troussier - who received much criticism during his previous coaching period.
The Vietnamese team has had a long period of disappointment. Photo: SN
As predicted, the sad and uneventful days of the Vietnamese team continued into the next matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Coach Troussier's team continued to lose in both matches, thus sparking a wave of anger against the French coach.
The 0-3 defeat at home at My Dinh Stadium was the last straw that forced Mr. Troussier to leave early. But this is not the end of the crisis of Vietnamese football in 2024.
The replacement, coach Kim Sang-sik, had little time left and only brought about modest initial results.
The crisis of Vietnamese football does not stop at the Vietnamese national team, because it spreads to the youth team levels when the U23 Vietnam stopped at the quarter-finals of the Asian tournament, the U19 suffered painful losses in both the regional tournament and the continental qualifiers... That makes the fans' faith even more depleted, even unbelievable after many years at the pinnacle of glory.
...to burst with joy
In the first phase under the leadership of coach Kim Sang-sik, the Vietnamese team was still full of worries, with a series of unsuccessful friendly matches, an undefined playing style, and most importantly, the veterans and stars lacked ambition.
Concerns about a collapse continued until the first matches of the ASEAN Cup 2024, at which time the Vietnamese team, although already knowing victory, had not yet created confidence in their playing style against opponents rated lower such as Laos, Indonesia...
The joy of winning the ASEAN Cup 2024. Photo: SN
It was not until Nguyen Xuan Son appeared on the field, creating a new atmosphere for the Vietnamese team that the atmosphere became more exciting and attracted more attention. Not only did he bring goals and a fiery playing spirit, this naturalized striker also stimulated the veterans in the team to find the inspiration to play football again, which seemed to have been exhausted before.
The Vietnamese team, which initially had little expectation, easily went straight to the final before "blowing away" defending champion Thailand from Viet Tri to Rajamangala with two eye-catching victories, winning the 2024 ASEAN Cup for the third time.
The championship that Vietnam team won at the end of the year of the Dragon is not simply a title. It is also valuable in regaining the trust of fans and experts, especially looking towards a brighter future after a really difficult journey in the post-coach Park Hang Seo era.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/bong-da-viet-nam-nam-giap-thin-tu-that-vong-den-ngoi-vuong-asean-cup-ar922969.html
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