HAGL is young and now even younger
Sixth place after 11 rounds can be considered a success for HAGL. Technical Director Vu Tien Thanh's team had a dream start in the V-League with 5 unbeaten matches and a position in the top 4, then lost form (won only 1 out of 9 matches), then made a spectacular comeback when defeating Hanoi FC to return to the top half of the rankings.
With a young and inexperienced team competing in the V-League for the first time, this is an encouraging result for HAGL. Coach Le Quang Trai's students defeated both Hanoi Police Club and Hanoi Club (both with a score of 1-0), tied with the reigning V-League champion Nam Dinh (0-0) and the reigning National Cup champion Thanh Hoa (1-1).
HAGL ranked sixth after 11 matches in V-League
Previously, HAGL was often "weak-hearted" in big matches. However, after 1 year of Mr. Vu Tien Thanh and his colleagues joining the team, the situation has changed.
HAGL has become a more tenacious, tight and scientific team. Notably, the Pleiku home team has improved despite using a force with many players aged U.22, U.20, even... U.17. HAGL and SLNA are the two youngest teams in V-League. However, unlike SLNA who are at the bottom, HAGL has 17 points after 11 matches and has a great chance of staying in the league early.
In the second phase, HAGL sent a list of 4 additional players to the Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF). Mr. Vu Tien Thanh's new recruits include: Dinh Quang Kiet (born in 2007), Nguyen Minh Tam (2005), Moi Se (2005) and Hoang Minh Tien (2005). In total, HAGL has 9 U.22 players, the youngest of which is midfielder Tran Gia Bao, who is not yet 17 years old.
The common point of these players is that they grew up at HAGL Academy, played for youth levels such as U.19, U.21 HAGL and left an impression. Technical Director Vu Tien Thanh shared with Thanh Nien Newspaper: "HAGL's policy is to use 'homegrown' players to compete in the V-League. The team will try to stay in the league early, then calculate to stand in the top half of the rankings".
Dinh Quang Kiet (far right, top row) has a height that surpasses his teammates of the same age.
Quang Kiet can play as a midfielder or striker.
Among the young stars of HAGL, Dinh Quang Kiet is a special name. Quang Kiet is only 18 years old, but is already 1.95 m tall (according to the player registration form of VPF). He played for the U.16 Vietnam team, won the runner-up position of the U.16 Southeast Asia 2022, then joined the U.17 Vietnam team to qualify for the U.17 Asia 2023 with convincing results, including a resounding 3-0 victory over U.17 Thailand.
In 2024, Quang Kiet was promoted to the Vietnam U.19 team. Here, the "giant" of HAGL, although not playing regularly, is still considered a potential seed. Quang Kiet was once placed as a striker at the youth level thanks to his impressive height (1.95 m) to exploit aerial situations.
Although some experts say that the player born in 2007 has not yet perfected his basic football skills and is not yet able to handle the ball neatly, Quang Kiet is still young and has plenty of time to improve.
HAGL's gamble
HAGL’s choice to use young players has nurtured many seeds to blossom. A typical example is goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien. The 2003-born goalkeeper has taken the starting position in the V-League this season and improved with each match.
Not only is he steady and has good reflexes, Trung Kien also showed his ability to save penalties with a save from the 11m mark in the match against Da Nang Club. In the match against Binh Phuoc in the National Cup, the 1.91m tall goalkeeper made miraculous saves to block the penalty kicks of Tuan Tai and Tan Sinh, bringing HAGL to the quarter-finals.
Or young center back Pham Ly Duc also played well in his first V-League debut. He played all 11 matches of HAGL in V-League since the beginning of the tournament and was never substituted (played all 990 minutes). Or young striker Tran Gia Bao, although only 17 years old, scored on his first day knocking on the door of V-League.
This is the foundation to hope that other valuable seeds of HAGL will quickly integrate. If HAGL stays in the league early, coach Le Quang Trai's students will have a more comfortable mentality to show their abilities. A young, dynamic HAGL is taking shape from hardship.
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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doc-la-dan-sao-tre-cua-hagl-co-cau-thu-cao-toi-gan-2-m-185250202191048389.htm
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