Dense match schedule makes players tired
Along with the glory of victory, 3 AFF Cup 2024 champions had to be hospitalized, including 2 serious injuries of Xuan Son and Tan Tai, and Dinh Trieu was lucky to discover the pain in his intestines before it was too late. This shows that the Vietnamese team had to pay a heavy price. Imagine, the Vietnamese players had to go through 8 matches within 27 days (from December 9, 2024 to January 5, 2025), with continuous home and away flights taking up 16 days of travel. The density of playing on the field of nearly 3-4 days/match (not including travel time), with 2 matches on artificial turf in the Philippines and Singapore, has worn down both the legs and spirit of each player. When returning to Vietnam after the championship, the players continuously appeared in celebration events, they were very happy and proud to participate, but in reality, the time to rest and recover was very little. Just a few days later, the Vietnamese players returned in uncompromising matches at the club level.
Doan Ngoc Tan is considered the player who has worked the hardest in recent times. He played all 4 consecutive matches, including 2 finals of the AFF Cup 2024 (January 2 and 5), met Pathum United in the Southeast Asian Club Championship (January 8), and recently drew with defending champion Nam Dinh in the V-League (January 14). So healthy that his teammates nicknamed him "sweeper", but at this point Ngoc Tan also had to admit that he was overloaded: "My body is a bit tired. I will try to eat, sleep and rest well, recover to continue fighting with Thanh Hoa Club. At the moment, my body is a bit overloaded, but I still have to try. The most terrible time, with the most physical pressure, was 3 matches within 1 week, including 2 finals of the first and second legs of the AFF Cup 2024 and in the Southeast Asian Club Championship with Pathum United Club".
After exhausting themselves at the AFF Cup 2024, Vietnamese players immediately competed in the domestic tournament.
PHYSICAL PROBLEM BEFORE AND AFTER TET
Although playing at a slightly lighter frequency, most of the Vietnamese players still had to take the field not long after exhausting themselves for the AFF Cup 2024. Some were sent onto the field by the coaching staff from the second half, but Thanh Binh, Van Khang, Thanh Long, Quang Hai, Van Thanh... still worked hard throughout the match in the round of 16 of the National Cup. In addition to the early match of round 12 on January 14 between Thanh Hoa Club and Nam Dinh Club, the two rounds 10 and 11 of the V-League 2024 - 2025 will take place continuously within 1 week from January 17 to 24. After that, the players will only have a few days off to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Nam Dinh Club and Hanoi Club will play round 13 of the V-League early on February 5 (the 8th day of the lunar calendar), before round 12 opens the spring from February 8 to 10. Only Hanoi Police and Thanh Hoa still have to split their strength in the Southeast Asian Club Championship (playing on January 22), while Nam Dinh Club will meet Sanfrecce Hiroshima Club in the knockout round of AFC Champions League 2.
This puts a lot of pressure on the medical team and fitness coaches at V-League clubs, how to balance between performance and protecting the players' legs before and after the very short Lunar New Year holiday. In fact, not every team has a quality medical team and fitness coach. Looking back 6 years ago, the team was very young with the U.23 Vietnam team winning the runner-up position at the U.23 Asia in Changzhou, also faced similar pressure, and the price to pay was that most of the heroes of the AFF Cup 2018 are now injured to varying degrees.
The Vietnamese team that wins the 2024 AFF Cup has an average age much higher than the 2018 champions (26.62 years old compared to 23.7 years old). Therefore, first of all, each player will have to be aware of taking care of themselves, welcoming spring healthily and taking advantage of the Lunar New Year holiday as a short but valuable break. Club coaches will also have to calculate training plans and use players appropriately, avoiding losing the ability to contribute long-term from Vietnamese players because of short-term achievements.
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