Why did coach Hoang Anh Tuan choose U20 players to attend ASIAD?

Vietnam Olympic team failed to pass the group stage of men's football at ASIAD 19. The young force is the first factor mentioned when talking about the inferiority of Vietnamese players compared to their opponents in this tournament. The average age of Vietnam Olympic team is only 20.3. The three central defenders Nguyen Duc Anh, Le Nguyen Hoang, Nguyen Manh Hung are all only 18 years old.

However, that was not mentioned as an excuse. The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), coach Hoang Anh Tuan and Mr. Philippe Troussier chose that option and accepted the result, despite knowing in advance that the results might not be good and create a wave of criticism.

Nguyen Thanh Nhan and many teammates were only 20 years old when they participated in ASIAD 19. (Photo: Hoang Anh)

In fact, the plan to send the U20 team as the core force to participate in the men's football event of the 19th ASIAD was determined by the Vietnam Football Federation at the beginning of the year and approved at the Executive Committee meeting in April. This decision was made with the impact of both subjective and objective factors.

First of all, using a squad younger than the maximum age allowed is a major change in the direction of VFF's youth team development. The ASIAD 18 squad of the Vietnam Olympic team only has one player under 20 years old, Doan Van Hau. The entire force that Coach Park Hang Seo brought to Indonesia are all players at the standard to be called up to the national team.

In the same tournament, we saw the Japanese Olympic team participating in the tournament with the U21 squad, in which many players are still from the school football system. That is the orientation of the Japan Football Association (JFA). There are 6 players in the Japanese ASIAD 18 silver medal winning squad participating in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, including the rising star of the Premier League, Kaoru Mitoma.

Similarly, Vietnamese football is in the process of preparing a new generation of players. Players like Le Nguyen Hoang and Nguyen Duc Anh have just participated in the continental tournament for the first time in March this year, in the U20 Vietnam team jersey at the U20 Asian Cup finals. It should be noted that although they did not make it past the group stage, their performance, also led by coach Hoang Anh Tuan, left many good impressions with 2 wins (only being eliminated due to inferior sub-index compared to the 2 very strong top teams). Of course, the U23 level is a completely different standard and the failure at ASIAD 19 shows that.

The second reason why VFF decided to choose the U20 team as the core team to participate in ASIAD 19 is objective. The U23 players have started to have a certain position in the club, maybe not yet "main actors" but are also in the plans of the coaches as in the case of Nguyen Van Viet, Ho Van Cuong (SLNA), Le Van Do (CAHN Club), Luong Duy Cuong, Tran Quang Thinh (Da Nang), Nguyen Ngoc Thang (Ha Tinh).

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan received a lot of criticism, but that was expected.

The 19th ASIAD also happened right before the new season and the clubs also wanted to keep their players. According to VTC News, even when deciding to choose the U20 team, coach Hoang Anh Tuan and the VFF had to convince the clubs to agree to have the best players, but not all.

Recalling these things to see that sending the U20 team to participate in ASIAD 19, accepting the possible defeat (and in fact it happened) is not an irresponsible, hasty decision and disregarding a tournament by the Vietnam Football Federation. This is part of long-term calculations and has careful professional calculations.

This can be considered a "bet" that the professionals of the national teams make. Of course, they understand that failure will lead to a wave of criticism. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan, the players and the VFF cannot avoid that. They will need perseverance and courage to overcome in the coming time and continue to implement the chosen plan. The development of the players and the achievements of the national team, U23 Vietnam in the coming years will answer the question of whether this "bet" wins or loses.

Han Phong

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