Coach Kim Sang Sik's all-in gamble
“I bet my whole career on winning the AFF Cup 2024,” coach Kim Sang Sik declared after the Vietnamese team reached the final of this tournament. Back before the tournament took place, the coach born in 1976 gave an interview to Asia Today (Korea). In it, he emphasized his burning desire to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Park Hang Seo’s success in Vietnam.
It can be said that Kim Sang Sik is a professional person. He revealed that he wrote the lyrics of the Vietnamese National Anthem into Korean and marked the high and low notes to memorize and understand the meaning of the song. He also tried to learn Vietnamese to be able to gradually communicate with the players.
Every detail like that shows the personality of Kim Sang Sik. He is a meticulous, professional person who cherishes every little opportunity. Coach Kim does not consider leading the Vietnamese team as a simple job, but tries to deeply understand Vietnamese culture, understand the thoughts of each player, and wants to immerse himself in the undying love of football of the Vietnamese people.
It is similar to the way coach Park Hang Seo started to build the Vietnamese team from the ruins when he first appeared in 2017. Even Kim Sang Sik's job is much more difficult because the pressure to succeed is extremely great.
To build an empire, an initial push is needed to create momentum for development. Coach Park Hang Seo started with the push in Changzhou with the Vietnam U23 team (runner-up of the 2018 AFC U23 Championship). Now, Kim Sang Sik has a similar opportunity when the Vietnam team reached the final of the 2024 AFF Cup.
Compared to his predecessor Park, coach Kim Sang Sik is not as experienced. He has less than a decade of coaching experience. Park is passionate and fiery, while Kim is quiet and reserved. However, the common point between them is professionalism. Only by starting from the smallest things can Vietnamese football gain momentum to soar.
After 6 months of working, Coach Kim Sang Sik gradually built his own new framework, with a 3-4-2-1 or 3-5-2 formation. The ball control style of play that the Korean coach gradually took shape in the Vietnamese team. In particular, the appearance of Nguyen Xuan Son was like the glue that bonded the positions into a collective.
That is why people believe that if he succeeds in the pivotal tournament of the AFF Cup 2024, Coach Kim Sang Sik can take Vietnamese football very far (when the foundation is gradually formed). Since parting with Coach Park Hang Seo, the Vietnamese team has been in the darkness of crisis. Even the 0-3 loss to Indonesia in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup at My Dinh has broken the will of many Vietnamese players.
However, on the journey to the AFF Cup 2024 final, fans have seen the fire starting to burn in the hearts of the players. The packed stands in Viet Tri (Phu Tho) are proof that faith in Vietnamese football has returned. Of course, no one wants to see that fire extinguished in the most important match against Thailand (on January 2 and January 5, 2025).
Launch pad from Nguyen Xuan Son
In a short time, Xuan Son has caused the Vietnamese and Southeast Asian press to spend too much ink. It is not too much to say that Xuan Son has really fanned the flames, creating a very different image for the Vietnamese team. Before Xuan Son appeared, we played three very lackluster group stage matches. But now, the "Golden Dragon" has become a much better version.
Xuan Son not only connects every seemingly broken detail of the Vietnamese team, but his brilliance is also a great motivation for the whole team to rise up. Hoang Duc and Tien Linh both play much better after the Brazilian striker appeared. In that collective, no one wants to be left behind.
It must be admitted that Xuan Son is on a completely different level compared to the level of Southeast Asian football. Just look at the way two Singaporean players "clamped" this striker but were still helpless to see that. Or like in the first leg of the semi-final, the striker of Nam Dinh Club performed a diving kick that shook the crossbar of Singapore to see how scary this striker is.
Xuan Son is the type of player who can both operate independently and link up with his teammates very well. With just the smallest opportunity, this striker can punish his opponents.
The public opinion of Southeast Asia is looking at Xuan Son with admiration. Indonesian fans are willing to trade Rafael Struick and Justin Hubner for Xuan Son. Thai fans wish to own such a fearsome striker.
Xuan Son becomes even more dangerous when he puts the image of the Vietnamese team in his heart. Unlike other 100% naturalized players, Xuan Son wants to become a real “Vietnamese man”, not a strange “Western man”.
Looking at the image of Xuan Son kissing the logo of the Vietnam team when scoring a goal, witnessing him willing to fight with a torn shirt (after which his teammates asked him to replace him) or the way this striker raised his heart towards the stands... no one would think that Xuan Son is still a stranger. It is the love for the red shirt of the Vietnam team as well as for the country of Vietnam that becomes a great motivation for Xuan Son to always burn more than 100% of his strength in the matches.
Vietnam – Thailand: The dream battle of Southeast Asian football
Over the years, even when Indonesia grew stronger with a squad of naturalized players, the big match between Vietnam and Thailand was still considered a "super classic" of Southeast Asian football with a huge rivalry. Considering the AFF Cup 2024 alone, these are also the two teams most deserving of the right to participate in the final match.
Vietnam and Thailand are the teams with the best records (winning 5/6 matches) and scoring the most goals. Although both teams experienced an "emotional roller coaster" in the semi-finals of the AFF Cup 2024, both teams proved their mettle at the decisive moment.
Many people think that Thailand will not bring their strongest squad to the AFF Cup 2024. That is a misconception. Because the "War Elephants" stars who did not bring to the tournament such as Theerathon Bunmathan (34 years old), Chanathip Songkrasin (31 years old), Sarach Yooyen (32 years old), Teerasil Dangda (36 years old) are all old and on the other side of their careers.
The faces that coach Masatada Ishii called up to participate in the AFF Cup 2024 are all the faces that have been shaped in the new framework of the team (plus a few young players on the rise). Therefore, it can be affirmed that the Vietnamese and Thai teams have "cleaned out all their capital", calling up the best possible faces for this tournament.
In recent years, the Thai national team has used quite a few “Thai-overseas” players (born abroad, with Thai blood). They are all players who grew up in Europe, so they have very good physical and technical foundations. In the 2024 AFF Cup, the “War Elephants” have 6 such players.
Under coach Masatada Ishii, Thailand does not play crazy attacking football. They are even willing to play pragmatically and only flare up when necessary. In particular, Thailand has shown their bravery and experience. They were once led 2-0 by Singapore but were still able to come back to win 4-2. Or in the semi-finals, the "War Elephants" lost 1-2 in the first leg against the Philippines but still won 3-1 in the second leg.
Thailand is aiming to become the first team to win the AFF Cup three times in a row. The Vietnamese team is equally eager to win the title after a long period of disappointment.
Never before has the great battle between Vietnam and Thailand been as anticipated as it is now. The two final matches (January 2 and January 5, 2025) promise to have many unpredictable developments.
When asked which team will win the AFF Cup 2024, Philippines coach Albert Capellas admitted that both Vietnam and Thailand are worthy. He emphasized: "The team that is better and more courageous will win the title."
Who will be called by glory?
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Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/tuyen-viet-nam-vao-chung-ket-aff-cup-choi-tat-tay-lat-do-tuyen-thai-lan-20241231021259123.htm
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