Back on track
In an interview with Thanh Nien Newspaper ahead of the 2024-2025 season, Coach Nguyen Duc Thang did not hesitate to share that the goal of Viettel The Cong Club is to win the championship. Perhaps many people do not believe this to be true because last season, the military team did not have good results, only ranked 5th and no longer had Nguyen Hoang Duc, the club's number one star.
Viettel The Cong Club is a candidate for the V-League championship.
However, coach Nguyen Duc Thang showed the reason for his confidence, at least after 5 rounds. Viettel The Cong Club and Thanh Hoa are the 2 teams with the most wins (3 matches) and also share the first 2 positions on the rankings. Notably, Bui Tien Dung and his teammates defeated Hanoi, Hai Phong and Binh Duong clubs. In this group, Hanoi and Binh Duong clubs have quality squads and are considered candidates for the championship. Hai Phong Club has not yet achieved its best form, but the teams built by coach Chu Dinh Nghiem have never been easy opponents.
Viettel The Cong Club knows how to win against championship candidates. In terms of playing style, they have also shown their "specialty" of defensive counter-attacking. In 3 wins, they controlled the ball less than their opponents. Defensive counter-attacking is also the strength of coach Nguyen Duc Thang. He has helped Saigon and Binh Dinh clubs become extremely annoying teams in the V-League.
Overall, Viettel The Cong Club has two of the qualities of a champion: a clear playing style and the ability to defeat direct competitors. However, the road to the V-League throne is still very long and they need to show more.
Viettel The Cong Club has many national players in its squad such as Khuat Van Khang, Nguyen Thanh Binh, Bui Tien Dung, Phan Tuan Tai...
What is missing from Viettel The Cong Club?
Viettel The Cong Club plays well when they are allowed to apply their signature defensive counter-attacking style. However, in matches where they have to play aggressively, they have not done well. At Thong Nhat Stadium, they were held to a 0-0 draw by Ho Chi Minh City Club in round 1. At home at My Dinh Stadium, they lost 0-1 to Binh Dinh Club despite having an extra player for more than 70 minutes (Cao Van Trien was sent off in the 21st minute) and the runner-up team has also weakened significantly compared to last season.
The performance of the players on the attack line of Viettel The Cong Club is not high. Of the 6 times that the opponent's net was shaken, foreign player Amarildo contributed 2, the remaining 4 goals belonged to Khuat Van Khang, Bui Tien Dung, Nguyen Duc Chien and Phan Tuan Tai. Other strikers under coach Nguyen Duc Thang are Nham Manh Dung, Tran Danh Trung and even foreign player Pedro who have not shown much. The fact that Viettel The Cong Club scored diversely, from strikers, midfielders and defenders, is a good thing, but the strikers need to show a bigger mark.
Pedro (middle), the main striker of Viettel The Cong Club, has not yet achieved high performance.
The scoring efficiency of Viettel The Cong Club this season is only 1.2 goals/match, which is worse than the last time they won the championship in the 2020 season. At that time, Coach Truong Viet Hoang's students scored 1.45 goals/match. The most recent champions of V-League also have better efficiency: Hanoi Club in the 2022 season - 1.96 goals/match, CAHN Club in the 2023 season - 1.9 goals/match, Nam Dinh Club in the 2023-2024 season - 2.3 goals/match.
Viettel The Cong Club is on the right track, but in a race, they need to go faster and more steadily. To become the winner, coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team must improve a lot more.
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