Ball control is not enough
The match against China on October 10 was a rare match in the past 20 years where the Vietnamese team dominated possession of the ball. With 63% possession, coach Philippe Troussier and his team had many periods (the second half of the first half and the last 15 minutes of the second half) when they were able to spread their entire squad to the Chinese team's half.
The above statistics show two aspects. First, the Vietnamese team demonstrated the ball control intention that Mr. Troussier conveyed.
"The ball is circulated from the back line in a systematic and slow manner, the players move to establish distance for short combinations, aiming to gradually get the ball through the opponent's defense. Coach Troussier wants the whole team to keep the ball calmly and confidently, and control the ball a lot," a team member shared with Thanh Nien .
The Vietnamese team has not shown its full strength.
The Chinese team pushed up their formation to put pressure in the first half, but when they failed, the home team immediately retreated to defense. The ball control was controlled by the Vietnamese team, but at this time the second aspect was revealed: although they had a lot of possession, Coach Troussier's students lacked ideas to develop, having difficulty moving the ball into the opponent's penalty area.
The Vietnamese team had 603 passes in the match against the Chinese team (503 successful passes), almost double the opponent. However, the total number of passes that created opportunities for the 5 Vietnamese attacking players (Hung Dung, Tuan Anh, Hoang Duc, Tuan Hai, Van Toan) was 7.
That means on average it takes nearly 100 passes for the Vietnamese team to have one pass that opens up a scoring opportunity.
Coach Troussier's players held the ball a lot, but mainly passed it across and back. The passes into the penalty area were mostly simple, making it easy for the opponent to "read" them. The Vietnamese team only controlled the ball, but did not control the rhythm of the game, did not know when to play fast, put pressure on, and when to slow down, and entice the opponent to push the formation up.
Young Vietnamese players like Dinh Bac (white shirt) need more time.
The lack of coordination in the midfield, the inability of the wings to penetrate, or the lack of coordination between the forwards... are just the surface. The Vietnam team is in the process of shaping a new style and personality of play.
Controlling play requires each player to be very well-coordinated, understanding each other's movements, coordination and playing habits. With many young players being given their first chance, the Vietnamese team has had quite a lot of personnel changes, so the lack of continuity in the playing style is understandable.
Changes of Coach Troussier
The problem for Mr. Troussier and his students is that they need more time to understand the playing style, but also need to adjust flexibly. Practicing more "finishing" moves against opponents such as set pieces and cross-line passes is necessary to resolve deadlocked matches.
Holding the ball a lot but not effectively is a "double-edged sword" because it makes players easily fall into psychological traps and fall into the opponent's counter-attack. The Chinese team only needs simple moves, exploiting the mistakes of the Vietnamese defense to score. That is a lesson for players, because in the top Asian playground, every mistake comes at a very high price.
The situations that opened up opportunities for the Vietnamese team in this match actually came from quick, uncomplicated attacks. Van Toan faced Chinese goalkeeper Yan Juling after a long pass from the defense, Tuan Hai and Hung Dung had the opportunity to finish from situations of winning the ball and organizing quick attacks in the opponent's field.
Viet Hung (white shirt) is tested on the left wing.
Lurking and suddenly launching lightning attacks is still the familiar mindset of many players after 5 years of training under coach Park Hang-seo, as well as when playing in the V-League. How many V-League teams can now play with ball control smoothly, helping players develop skills to serve this style of play as Mr. Troussier desires?
Coach Troussier demands initiative and confidence, which can only be developed through training, competition (and perseverance in defeat). Vietnam will continue to play with control, but need to balance possession with quick attacks as they did against China.
If the Vietnamese team keeps controlling the ball "regularly" like a machine, it will be difficult for them to make a breakthrough.
Source link
Comment (0)