HAGL's already weak defense became even more fragile after Ly Duc's ligament injury.

Lost the most promising piece

According to the revelation of HAGL Club leader Nguyen Tan Anh, Pham Ly Duc is likely to have ligament damage. With this injury, the players may be off the field for several months. This is the most promising player in HAGL's defense, so when this player is absent, the defense of the mountain town team may be affected.

Ly Duc's injury causes difficulties for HAGL's defense

Photo: KHA HOA

After 16 rounds of V-League 2024-2025, HAGL conceded 20 goals, they are among the teams that conceded the most goals in the national championship. The number of goals conceded by HAGL is only less than SHB Da Nang (27 goals), SLNA (23 goals), Binh Dinh (22) and Ho Chi Minh City Club (21 goals). That reflects that HAGL's defense is not solid.

In this defense, center back Jairo is tall (1.90 m) but is not highly regarded in terms of technique, Vo Phuoc Bao is unknown among the ranks of center backs in domestic football. Meanwhile, Dung Quang Nho and Le Van Son are just full backs, not good at marking and covering the home team's defense system.

The emergence of Ly Duc, becoming a phenomenon of the V-League this season, brings a positive signal to HAGL. They are not a team that specializes in training good central defenders, but now the central defender has been continuously called up to the Vietnam U.22 team, then the national team, helping to improve the mentality of HAGL players in general.

In terms of expertise, although Ly Duc is not as good as the top central defenders of Vietnamese football today such as Bui Tien Dung, Nguyen Thanh Chung, Bui Hoang Viet Anh, Do Duy Manh, this player is still on the way to progress, both in technique, tactical awareness and football thinking.

HAGL seeks solutions

Now that Ly Duc is seriously injured, HAGL's defense, which was already not strong, is now even more fragile. After Ly Duc's injury, HAGL will lack someone who can mark the opponent's attackers. They will also lack someone who specializes in blocking the opponent's strikers on the field (HAGL's remaining center back, Jairo, is often assigned the task of blocking high balls that are bounced into the home team's penalty area).

Technical Director Vu Tien Thanh must find a solution for HAGL

Photo: MINH TU

HAGL's technical director Vu Tien Thanh will have to find a solution. Maybe Mr. Thanh will pull fullback Dung Quang Nho to play center back. However, Dung Quang Nho has a significant disadvantage in terms of physique (1.71 m), not fully meeting the criteria required of center backs.

Or Mr. Vu Tien Thanh can try using central defender Nguyen Van Trieu to replace Pham Ly Duc, during the time Ly Duc is injured. Nguyen Van Trieu lacks playing experience, due to his limited playing time in the V-League since the beginning of the season. In addition, Nguyen Van Trieu is not as technical as Ly Duc when handling ball blocking situations on the field.

However, in the current situation, HAGL in general and Technical Director Vu Tien Thanh have to take risks. They do not have many options in terms of personnel. They are forced to bet on their own young players. Who knows, the risk of one player can create opportunities for another player, who knows, central defender Nguyen Van Trieu will "step into the light" when he has the opportunity to play more. Don't forget that Nguyen Van Trieu is a player with an extremely beautiful physique, he is 1.88m tall, and is still in the age group to participate in the 33rd SEA Games (born in 2003), it is still worth waiting for.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hang-thu-hagl-da-yeu-cang-them-mong-manh-sau-chan-thuong-day-chang-cua-ly-duc-18525033113083631.htm