Youth of HAGL
The Cong Viettel and HAGL have many things in common, as both own quality training facilities with rich traditions, and the habit of opening the door for young players to show their talents in the V-League.
10 years ago, Mr. Duc brought a new look to Vietnamese football when he promoted the generation of Cong Phuong, Xuan Truong, Tuan Anh, Van Toan, Hong Duy, Van Thanh, Dong Trieu (then only 19, 20 years old) to the HAGL first team to compete in the V-League.
With a young force, it is not difficult to understand why HAGL "dizzy" in the relegation race for 6 seasons. Only when coach Kiatisak Senamuang arrived, and now the duo of technical directors Vu Tien Thanh and coach Le Quang Trai took charge, did HAGL rise to the top half of the rankings.
HAGL is unpredictable in V-League
Although HAGL has lost more than won over the past 10 years, the youth philosophy of the mountain town team has not changed. After the departure of a series of talented players from the first and second courses of HAGL Academy, Pleiku Stadium welcomed a completely new generation of players. These are "homegrown" players who grew up in Ham Rong, where HAGL's youth center is headquartered, and are expected to demonstrate the spirit and identity of HAGL in the V-League.
The new version of HAGL has caused a lot of controversy in its playing style. Last season, Coach Nguyen Duc Thang of The Cong Viettel said "this team should be given a different name" when he thought that HAGL played aggressively, intentionally destroying his mainstay.
This season, it was the turn of coach Alexandre Polking of Hanoi Police Club (CAHN Club) to implicitly affirm that HAGL performed an "anti-football" style of play, lying on the field wasting time to preserve victory.
However, HAGL accepted to make trade-offs to get results. In less than a year, Mr. Vu Tien Thanh's students won against Hanoi FC twice, defeated CAHN FC, The Cong Viettel, Thanh Hoa, and drew with Nam Dinh... That is a result that only 1 or 2 seasons ago, few people thought the young and inexperienced team in Pleiku could achieve.
HAGL once rose to the top in the opening round, and although they have fallen to sixth place, the number of 17 points after 11 matches is still very impressive for one of the two youngest teams in V-League. In HAGL's success, there have been gems such as goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien, center back Pham Ly Duc, midfielder Cao Hoang Minh (all 21 years old) and striker Tran Gia Bao (17 years old).
Young striker Gia Bao scored his first goal in V-League at the age of 16.
With 4 new U.20 players promoted to the first team, HAGL is committed to the policy of using self-trained young players, helping the team's coaching staff have potential players for the SEA Games or the Asian youth qualifiers.
What about The Cong Viettel?
Also prioritizing the starting position for self-trained young players like HAGL, but the direction of The Cong Viettel is very different. The army team recruited many experienced stars such as Que Ngoc Hai, Nguyen Trong Hoang, Ho Khac Ngoc, Tran Nguyen Manh... to intertwine and support the young generation.
The result is that The Cong Viettel won the V-League 2020, just 2 years after being promoted, and then always secured a position in the top group of V-League (third place in 2023, fourth place in 2022, runner-up of the National Cup 2020, 2022). Thanks to the guidance of the seniors, the young talents of The Cong Viettel such as Nguyen Hoang Duc, Bui Tien Dung, Nguyen Thanh Binh, Khuat Van Khang have also gradually gained a solid position.
Viettel The Cong (red shirt) has a systematic strategy of using young players.
The story of HAGL and The Cong Viettel shows that training players is only a necessary condition. The strategy of use is the key to improving the level of players in particular and the team in general. There have been players who were "forced to mature", had to enter a competitive environment too early without the guidance of seniors, and eventually withered.
However, thanks to the bold investment in youth football by teams like HAGL and The Cong Viettel (the rare teams in the V-League with youth football training centers), the Vietnamese national team levels have new "gems" to choose from. This season, while HAGL has introduced a series of U.22 and U.20 faces, The Cong Viettel also has Nguyen Cong Phuong (21 years old), Khuat Van Khang, Dang Tuan Phong (22 years old), Nguyen Hong Phuc (21 years old) or Le Quoc Nhat Nam (23 years old). Coach Nguyen Duc Thang affirmed that The Cong Viettel is always open to young talent, as long as they prove their ability.
The match between the two "gem furnaces" at 7:15 p.m. on February 8 will be worth watching. To find talent for U.22 Vietnam, coach Kim Sang-sik will find it difficult to ignore this match.
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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/the-cong-viettel-dau-hagl-tuyen-quan-cho-u22-viet-nam-thay-kim-phai-den-xem-185250204172418073.htm
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