According to Mr. Duong Vu Lam, football teams in the region, especially Thailand and Indonesia, are eager to get revenge on Vietnamese football after they saw us surpass them and win the AFF Cup 2024.
The 33rd SEA Games in 2025 will be a good opportunity for Thailand and Indonesia to reclaim their debt from the AFF Cup. However, if the U22 Vietnam team is well prepared, we have a chance to win the SEA Games.
2025 is also a pivotal year for long-term goals of Vietnamese football, such as the 2027 Asian Cup campaign and the 2030 World Cup qualifiers. Former VFF Vice President Duong Vu Lam spoke with Dan Tri reporter.
Thailand is quite "hot-headed" when Vietnamese football surpasses them at AFF Cup 2024 (Photo: Tien Tuan)
After the regional leader achievement, the orientation is to go to the "big sea"
How do you evaluate the significance of the AFF Cup 2024 championship to Vietnamese football in general?
- In terms of achievements, the victory at the AFF Cup helps to increase the achievements of the Vietnamese team in particular and Vietnamese football in general. Specifically, the number of times we have won the Southeast Asian football championship has been increased (from two times to three times: 2008, 2018 and 2024).
Mentally, this victory creates confidence for the entire football industry. We believe that if we invest properly and develop in the right direction, we will reap success. The football community and Vietnamese players have better motivation after the success at the AFF Cup.
In particular, the recent Southeast Asian championship has helped those around him have faith in coach Kim Sang Sik. They believe in the Korean coach's ability. This is a very important detail, making it easier for Mr. Kim Sang Sik to work from now on, similar to the case of Mr. Park Hang Seo before.
Vietnamese football spirit lifted after winning the 2024 AFF Cup (Photo: Huong Duong).
Regarding Mr. Kim Sang Sik's recent force building, what does this force building reflect, sir?
- He always leaves room for young players to perform in different national team training sessions. This reflects that Mr. Kim Sang Sik is aiming for the 33rd SEA Games in 2025 and further, the 2030 World Cup qualifying campaign.
However, how patient coach Kim Sang Sik is with young players depends not only on himself, but also on the overall direction of football as a whole, and on the patience of his immediate superiors.
If VFF aims for long-term development, not just chasing short-term achievements, creating conditions for young players to gradually appear in international tournaments will happen more often. In this regard, I think that the current managers at VFF are considering a long-term development plan for Vietnamese football.
Chances of success at SEA Games
Does that mean that in the upcoming international tournaments, many young players will be given the opportunity to play, aiming for the SEA Games?
- This depends on the nature of the tournament, the nature of each match. I think coach Kim Sang Sik will gradually put young players on the field in suitable matches, at the right times.
He has been running the Vietnam team in this way for a long time, and this has not happened before. In the future, if he receives support from his superiors, Coach Kim Sang Sik will have more conditions to do that.
Young players like Bui Vi Hao (15) will gradually be given more opportunities to prepare for the SEA Games (Photo: Thanh Dong).
One of the top important tasks of Vietnamese football in 2025 will be the SEA Games 33 campaign. Do you think we have a chance to win this tournament?
- The opportunity lies in the hands of the U22 Vietnam team. Vietnamese football has a squad of promising young players. The fact that the men's football event at the 33rd SEA Games has lowered the age from U23 to U22, and at the same time does not allow players over 22 years old to be added, is inadvertently beneficial to Vietnamese football.
Firstly, this is beneficial in that young players are given the best conditions to compete, without losing their place to older players who have been reinforced. Secondly, at the right age of 22, Vietnamese football currently has an even force.
However, in any tournament, we must not underestimate our opponents Thailand and Indonesia. These two football nations themselves really want to get revenge on Vietnamese football at the SEA Games.
Thailand is the host of the 33rd SEA Games, of course they will be very determined to win the gold medal. As for Indonesia, this team has sent the U22 squad to the 2024 AFF Cup (22/24 Indonesian players participated in the AFF Cup at the age of 22), which means they have prepared for the SEA Games early.
Do not ignore international resources, but still have to do well in youth training
The opponent is well prepared, should the U22 Vietnam team have reinforcements, one of which is overseas Vietnamese players, sir?
- Reinforcement is always necessary. I think coach Kim Sang Sik will closely monitor domestic tournaments to find new reinforcements for U22 Vietnam. Among these, overseas Vietnamese players will also be noticed by Mr. Kim.
Domestically trained players are still the main resource of Vietnamese football (Photo: Thanh Dong).
However, honestly, among the overseas Vietnamese players recently introduced to the Vietnam U22 team, I have not seen any truly outstanding faces, and none of the players have had experience playing in major tournaments in Europe before returning home.
Therefore, the selection of personnel must be done very carefully. The core of the U22 Vietnam team participating in the 33rd SEA Games up to now will most likely still be players trained by Vietnamese football.
We do not ignore any resources, but before finding a truly quality overseas Vietnamese player, we still have to focus on the source of players who have grown up in domestic football. That is still the most stable source of players for Vietnamese football.
Another tournament that is also very important for Vietnamese football in 2025 is the 3rd qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup. What are our chances in the Asian qualifying round?
- The Vietnamese team has a great chance in the Asian Cup qualifiers. Our strongest opponent in Group F of the third qualifying round of the Asian Cup is Malaysia. I also heard that the Malaysian team wants to call for naturalized players to play against the Vietnamese team, but this is a bit risky for Malaysian football.
Firstly, the Football Association of Malaysia does not have a president who has both extensive international relations and strong financial resources like the president of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) Erick Thohir. Therefore, the search for naturalized players for Malaysia is like a "lottery" game.
It is difficult for them to find suitable players, especially those of Malaysian origin like the Indonesian team. Moreover, the Vietnamese team is stronger now than in early 2024, using a more suitable playing style and personnel, so teams using many naturalized players are unlikely to be able to make things difficult for us.
As for the two remaining opponents in Group F of the 3rd qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup, including Laos and Nepal, it is not difficult to conclude that the Vietnamese team is much stronger than these two teams. Therefore, our chance of entering the final round of the Asian tournament is very high.
Thank you for the conversation!
Dantri.com.vn
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