Bui Tien Dung's 'comeback'
Bui Tien Dung is one of the members of the "golden generation" of Vietnamese football under coach Park Hang-seo. But under coach Philippe Troussier, this player is no longer valued. He only played in 2 matches of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against the Indonesian team, in a position that is not his forte, which is right center-back.
By the beginning of the Kim Sang-sik era, Tien Dung seemed to have been forgotten. He played in the 3-2 victory over the Philippines but was not called up for the FIFA Days in September and October to play friendly matches against Russia, Thailand and India. At that time, the central defenders selected by the new Vietnam coach were Nguyen Thanh Binh, Que Ngoc Hai and Nguyen Thanh Chung.
Bui Tien Dung is the central defender that coach Kim Sang-sik likes.
PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG
There are many reasons why Tien Dung is no longer a mainstay of the Vietnamese national team before the AFF Cup 2024. A persistent knee injury has prevented him from maintaining his best physical condition. In addition, it is likely that the coaches do not consider him suitable for the football philosophy they are building.
But now, things are different. At the AFF Cup 2024, Tien Dung started 4 out of 5 matches for the Vietnamese team. Having a history of knee injuries, he was rested during the away match at Rizal Memorial Stadium (Philippines), which has an artificial turf pitch. And as soon as he started to feel pain in the first leg of the semi-final against Singapore, the player of The Cong Viettel Club was immediately rested. These things show that Tien Dung is now a pillar of the Vietnamese team.
Why does coach Kim Sang-sik need Bui Tien Dung?
According to Sofascore , except for the first leg of the semi-final against Singapore (playing only 45 minutes), Tien Dung was always rated 7 points or higher. He was always the highest rated player in the Vietnamese team's defense in the 3 group stage matches.
The difference of Tien Dung lies in his ability to pass the ball. His passing accuracy rate in 4 matches is 84%, 91%, 94% and 82% respectively. This number shows that he passes the ball better than other central defenders of the Vietnam team such as Xuan Manh, Thanh Chung or Duy Manh.
Most importantly, Tien Dung has a very good ability to pass long. In the match against Laos, he made a perfect drop-point pass for Hai Long to score, breaking the deadlock for the Vietnamese team. In the remaining matches, Tien Dung always had a very high accuracy rate of long passes: 75%, 83% and 83%. In addition, he can also make quality cross-line passes. The situation in the 20th minute of the match against Singapore is a typical example. Tien Dung passed the ball to Hoang Duc's feet even though there were 2 red shirts in front of him. Then, Hoang Duc passed the ball inside for Xuan Son to jump and make a beautiful hook.
Tien Dung's great pass through the line to Hoang Duc
That is why coach Kim Sang-sik has full trust in Tien Dung. The Korean strategist lets the Vietnamese team attack from the home field, mainly making many short passes. But sometimes, depending on the opponent and the situation, he wants the "Golden Star Warriors" to attack more directly and quickly and asks his students to make long passes behind the opponent's defense for the attacking players to exploit. At this time, Tien Dung has the opportunity to show his strengths.
At this time, when the Vietnamese team has Xuan Son, a striker with speed, technique, good at playing as a wall, ready to receive the ball with his back to the opponent's goal, Tien Dung will have more "room to perform".
Asean Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 is broadcast live and in full on FPT Play, at: http://fptplay.vn
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vu-khi-giup-bui-tien-dung-lay-lai-vi-the-o-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-185241228234649887.htm
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