Coach Gong Oh-kyun's 'weird' changes are not effective

After winning the 2023 V.League with an unconvincing style of play, Hanoi Police Club was expected to have an upgrade when coach Gong Oh-kyun appeared. However, the way the police team performed in the first two matches under the Korean coach showed that the change could not bring immediate results, even though he had a star-studded squad.

Coach Gong Oh-kyun has not been able to help the Hanoi Police Club "transform" in a short time. (Photo: VPF)

Unexpected change of coach Gong Oh-kyun

It is normal for a new coach to make changes compared to his predecessor in football teams. However, the new points that Mr. Gong created at the Hanoi Police Club brought many surprises to the fans.

The Korean coach trusted two players in the U23 age group, La Nguyen Bao Trung (2002) and Ha Van Phuong (2001), in the two full-back positions. This was not just an experiment, creating conditions for young players to play in the National Cup match against Hoang Anh Gia Lai. Coach Gong Oh-kyun chose this option in the match against Hai Phong Club last night.

After losing his position in the Vietnam national team, Ho Tan Tai was not given priority on the right wing of the Hanoi Police Club's defense - at least in the last 2 matches. He still started against HAGL but in the role of defensive midfielder.

Hai Phong 3-1 Hanoi Police Club

Meanwhile, Vu Van Thanh - a player who plays well on both wings - was only put on the field from the bench in both matches. National and U23 Vietnam player Ho Van Cuong was not used at all.

In addition, coach Gong Oh-kyun also surprised by using Nguyen Xuan Nam in midfield. This striker was even pulled back to play the lowest position in the midfield in the 4-3-3 formation (Geovane Magno and Nguyen Quang Hai are 2 midfielders who move up).

Ho Ngoc Thang, who has only started less than 10 matches in the V.League in the past 5 years, was given the opportunity to play in 2 consecutive matches. He scored the equalizer in the match against HAGL, then was substituted early in the loss to Hai Phong.

Hanoi Police Club has not been able to "transform"

Coach Gong Oh-kyun's changes have not created a positive effect. The performance of the reigning V.League champions in the last two matches can hardly be called good.

From U23 Vietnam to Hanoi Police Club in the first match, Coach Gong Oh-kyun showed a tendency to build a proactive, organized style of play in attack. However, the Korean coach will need more time to train his students to play the way he wants.

This seems illogical because the Hanoi Police Club has many quality players. The problem is probably that they are not used to playing proactively and imposingly for a long time. Last season, the police team changed coaches twice and the last person to sit in the "captain's" chair was technical director Tran Tien Dai - who is not highly regarded for his tactical talent.

Hanoi Police Club's attack was deadlocked in the first two matches of coach Gong Oh-kyun. (Photo: VPF)

Coach Tran Tien Dai "breathed" into the Hanoi Police Club a simple style of play in the classic style of V.League. Despite having top stars in the squad, this team chose to play solidly and "assigned" all attacking duties to the fast and powerful foreign duo Jhon Cley and Raphael Success.

Doan Van Hau and Ho Tan Tai - full-backs with the best ability to attack high up the pitch in V.League. However, when playing for the Hanoi Police Club, both of these players rarely had situations where they could climb to the end of the field and make combinations into the penalty area, instead, they often made early crosses.

Playing like this for a long time, it is clear that the Hanoi Police Club players have formed the habit of playing simple football. When coach Gong Oh-kyun demands higher organization in attack, the complexity of coordination increases, they need time to adjust.

That is probably the reason why the current V.League champion team finds it difficult to "transform" in a short time. Hanoi Police Club needs a lot of patience from coach Gong Oh-kyun, because the champion cannot always rely on the individual skills of its stars and foreign players to make up for its unworthy playing style.