Analyzing and comparing the Vietnamese team under coach Park Hang Seo and coach Philippe Troussier, expert Bae Ji Won expressed the opinion that Mr. Troussier is making too many changes in the national team and to be successful, the French strategist needs great support from both public opinion and players.
After the unsatisfactory results of the Vietnamese team during the national team training session (FIFA Days) last October, football fans were quite disappointed and worried about the team's future.
Not only the continental goals such as the Asian Cup or the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, many opinions say that the Vietnamese team will find it difficult to maintain the number one position in Southeast Asia. As a result, the comparison between Mr. Philippe Troussier, head coach of the Vietnamese team, and his predecessor Park Hang Seo is mentioned by many people.
From my perspective, as someone who has worked at all levels of the Vietnamese national team as an assistant to coach Park Hang Seo, I will first compare and analyze the characteristics of the two coaches that readers are certainly very interested in.
However, the purpose of my analysis and comparison is not to judge who is the better coach. Moreover, it is a personal opinion. Therefore, I want Dan Tri readers to understand that clearly.
Vietnamese football has achieved amazing results under coach Park Hang Seo. So all my comparisons are with the hope that readers will understand more about football as well as help the Vietnamese team to be more perfect in the future.
First of all, within the framework of this article, I will approach the issues and aspects that the Vietnamese team needs to improve through comparing the U23 Vietnam team that created a miracle at the 2018 U23 Asian Cup and the Vietnamese team in the matches in mid-October.
Coach Park Hang Seo's preparations for the 2018 U23 Asian Cup are as follows:
First, the preparation steps for the tournament: Set the criteria for player selection; call up the squad for the first time; attend the M150 Cup in Thailand; call up the squad for the second time; narrow the list of players to 25; complete the final training sessions and friendly matches in China; finalize the list of players for the tournament.
Second, the training process: Forming tactical diagrams; building tactical characteristics; perfecting training programs; training physical strength; developing psychological warfare; supplementing nutrition.
Third, the competition process: Choose the competition lineup; analyze the tactics and tactical characteristics of each opponent; recharge and recover physically; supplement nutrition; improve morale.
This preparation process is quite general and will not be much different under coach Troussier. However, it should be emphasized that coach Park Hang Seo plans very detailed and closely manages the players in terms of tactics, fitness, nutrition, and energy regeneration, so those methods can make a difference.
In particular, Mr. Park always emphasizes psychological stability, strong fighting spirit and regularly stimulates morale so that his students can maintain a steady mentality throughout the match.
Coach Troussier’s current Vietnam squad has many differences from Park Hang Seo’s squad. Park has built the national team (NTT) based on the core of U23 players and has not created many changes during his tenure. Thanks to that, he has always maintained a strong and stable squad.
An important aspect as mentioned, under the leadership of coach Park Hang Seo, the U23 Vietnam team is a cohesive team, with high team spirit, understanding of the tactics set out by the coaching staff and incredibly resilient fighting spirit.
Therefore, when becoming the core of the national team, the psychological warfare characteristics continue to be maintained, along with the consistency in the playing lineup and tactical characteristics. Of course, to be called up to the national team, the players must try their best and the coaching staff always closely monitors each person for a long time.
The key points that Mr. Park set out to select players are: Physical strength, number of appearances in V-League, understanding of tactics, ability to concentrate in training, personal qualities, ability to coordinate; sacrifice for teammates and the whole team.
Therefore, some new recruits or other faces not belonging to the U23 generation that created the miracle in Changzhou still quickly integrated and adapted to the philosophy and tactical system set forth by the Korean coach.
In terms of operating the tactical system, first of all, coach Park Hang Seo planned 3-4-3 as the core tactical diagram, using midfielders as the foundation for organizing the team and attacking.
The 3-4-3 easily transitions to a 3-5-2 when a winger is brought into an attacking midfield position and to a 5-3-2 by moving the two wing-backs into full-back positions. The purpose of using a three-man centre-back formation is to increase the ability to counter-attack and the effectiveness of finding the ball through appropriate passing and movement.
Perfecting the game plan by focusing on coordination, minimizing energy consumption while still ensuring efficiency. The attacking options are organized in a variety of highly accurate passes thanks to carefully trained coordination pieces and always requiring high concentration.
On the training ground, the things Mr. Park focuses on are position orientation, team coordination, defensive line formation, counter-attack organization plans...
On the attacking front, the strikers are tasked with keeping the ball in position to counterattack.
The centre-forward is the starting point for counter-attacks with his powerful running and support from the two wingers. When out of possession, the strikers make runs into gaps between the opposition defenders and create space for the players behind.
As for the wingers, these players constantly change positions and penetrate the penalty area. Their main task is to drift wide to create space for coordination in the corridor as well as support ball control. In addition, the wingers can also switch positions with the center forward to cause surprise.
The roles of central midfielders are divided specifically. Players who take on offensive or defensive roles are specialized. They will support the strikers in attacking situations, as well as control the defensive system and manage the game.
For the satellites around the center forward (winger, attacking midfielder), strong acceleration is required in counter-attacks to create two-on-one situations. When in possession, these satellites must create breakthroughs to cross the ball or penetrate the two corridors.
As for the 3 central defenders, these players will appear in the opponent's penalty area in set pieces. When the home team has the ball, the central defenders will move neatly and quickly to distribute the ball. In addition, another important task is to organize interceptions to be ready to intercept any passing or breakthrough situations of the opponent.
On the defensive front, the two wingers drop back to form a 5-man defence. When the two opposing strikers move into the penalty area, the two centre-backs move to mark the man and the sweeper centre-back provides cover.
In the middle of the field, the task of the two midfielders is to create a tight defense so that the opponent does not have many opportunities to hold the ball. Especially closely follow the player who plays the role of playmaker on the opponent's side.
There are many differences between Coach Troussier’s 3-4-3 system and Coach Park Hang Seo’s 3-4-3, from the roles of each player to the way the tactical system operates. Of course, it should be emphasized that one strategy should not be judged as more effective than the other.
The reason is that the strategies and philosophies of these two military leaders have many differences. So evaluating who is better is meaningless.
However, the overall assessment depends on the plan and the quality of the implementation of the plan in each match, how effective the tactics are and what the results are.
In terms of personnel, compared to Mr. Park's time, the Vietnamese team has changed a lot under the leadership of coach Troussier. Currently, most positions have been replaced. Therefore, the problem arises that the national team has to learn a new way of playing, adapt to a new philosophy and get used to a new style.
In particular, this change in the way things were done has caused some difficulty in maintaining the previous stability and organization.
When a new coach arrives, it is normal for players to take time to adapt to the new manager's philosophy and style. However, if the disruption is too big, from personnel to tactics, the adaptation period will be prolonged and lead to instability in performance.
Therefore, in most national teams, where human resources are limited, when a new coach comes in, they will first make small adjustments and gradually build a stable squad through testing, observation and evaluation. Most national teams limit changes too quickly.
The stable squad of the Vietnamese national team built by Coach Park Hang Seo has been replaced by nearly 90% under Coach Troussier. It is an ambitious effort but also an extremely dangerous challenge. To achieve success, Mr. Troussier will need strong support from his students, the VFF and especially the public.
Because this revolutionary change requires a lot of time, which means trust, effort and passion. However, people often cannot wait for too long. Through the reaction of public opinion, it can be seen that many fans have lost patience.
In comparison, the Korean team only gave a few new players a chance after changing coaches. 80% were familiar faces. This was beneficial for stabilizing the organization, experience and grasp of the proposed tactics.
The national team is not a place to constantly experiment with personnel or tactics. The national team always needs to be given the best conditions to achieve the best results in major tournaments. Therefore, the selection must be very careful.
Even after selecting the right players, the coach still needs to quickly stabilize the squad, establish tactical plans and disseminate the philosophy in the shortest time possible.
Ultimately, the coach's future depends on whether he can stabilize his squad and help his players adapt to his plans quickly.
In terms of player positions and roles, the difference between Coach Park Hang Seo and Troussier is even greater. Only three players who regularly play under Coach Park were in the starting lineup against Korea. They were goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, defender Do Duy Manh and midfielder Do Hung Dung.
A big problem for the Vietnamese team in this match is using Phan Tuan Tai in the left center-back position. This player is a true winger, fast but small, not strong in competition. Tuan Tai is effective in attacks thanks to his ability to climb the wing but shows many weaknesses when playing as a center-back.
In addition, the use of Hoang Duc as a striker is also unreasonable. It is possible to question the effectiveness of using this player in the highest position in the attack. Duc has excellent ball handling, passing and dribbling skills. He can control the attack from the second line and create clear scoring opportunities with assists.
In particular, as a pillar, Hoang Duc is very good at launching effective counter-attacks. Pushing Hoang Duc too high means losing this player's superior ability.
I am really curious why Mr. Troussier used Hoang Duc in the striker position like that, especially in the match against Korea, an opponent with superior class, possessing a very strong offense and defense, and in fact the Vietnamese team also determined to play defense.
Similarly, in the match against China, in addition to Hoang Duc playing as a striker, Tuan Tai also played as a center back. Both players have very clear positions and roles. I do not have enough information about the other new recruits of the Vietnam team, so it is difficult to comment.
However, Coach Park Hang Seo will always put each player in their best position, where they can maximize their abilities. Mr. Park will guide his students to find the most suitable position, to take on the role most effectively in the tactical system.
Author: Bae Ji Won
Design: Duc Binh
Source
Comment (0)