Experience and youth
Serving the familiar 3-4-3 formation, coach Kim Sang-sik chose 6 central defenders: Bui Tien Dung (1995), Do Duy Manh (1996), Nguyen Thanh Chung (1997), Bui Hoang Viet Anh (1999), Nguyen Thanh Binh (2000) and Pham Ly Duc (2003).
In which, Ly Duc is the rookie to replace Pham Xuan Manh who did not gather this time and the remaining 5 people have accompanied Mr. Kim in the journey to win the 2024 ASEAN Cup.
It should be added that in that tournament, 3 midfielders born in 1997 and earlier, Duy Manh, Tien Dung, Thanh Chung, were given priority choice. This is a reasonable decision by Mr. Kim, because their age and working age are all better than those of young people like Viet Anh and Thanh Binh.
Tien Dung and Duy Manh have also played for the Vietnam national team for the past 10 years. Therefore, the extensive international experience of these players helped Vietnam conquer the Southeast Asian Championship Cup for the third time in history.
On the other hand, at some points in the ASEAN Cup, coach Kim Sang-sik still gave opportunities to Viet Anh and Thanh Binh. However, in reality, the young central defender duo did not show any solidity in terms of expertise and mentality in the recent tournament.
Vietnam's loss to the Philippines in the third match of the 2024 ASEAN Cup group stage is a clear demonstration. At that time, Thanh Binh, Viet Anh and Van Khang did not coordinate well, opening up space and time for gayoso from the Philippines to score.
Coach Kim Sang-sik's next calculation
In a tournament that Vietnamese fans have high expectations for like the ASEAN Cup, it is not surprising that Mr. Kim Sang-sik - who has only worked for half a year - chose a safe solution.
When entering the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers with a less urgent pace, with a time for 6 matches lasting 1 year, the Korean strategist has a new opportunity to experiment with the group of central defenders.
In the immediate future, Mr. Kim wants to have a parallel competition plan with left-sided central defender Do Duy Manh. Originally from the ASEAN Cup, the 29-year-old captain often only played for 1 half in many matches of the Vietnam team. At that time, Xuan Manh was the chosen name.
At the present time, the two players who can support Duy Manh are Viet Anh and Ly Duc. The central defender of the Hanoi Police club will be better than his junior Ly Duc.
Up to now, Viet Anh has played 6 V.League seasons with a total of 100 matches. At the national team level, the midfielder born in 1999 has also played 21 times (since 2021). Viet Anh's problem lies in stability in competitive mentality and maintaining form for a long time. If coach Kim Sang-sik can solve the above problem, he will have a good central defender in hand.
In addition, Bui Tien Dung is also about to turn 30. He has some problems with his thighs and hips, which makes it difficult to ensure consecutive high-level competition. Mr. Kim is not difficult to recognize Tien Dung's physical limitations. Obviously, when Vietnam only meets Laos (Asian Cup qualifiers) and Cambodia (friendly matches), Thanh Binh will be given the opportunity to try.
He has played 5 V.League seasons with The Cong Viettel and has been a member of the Vietnam national team for the past 4 years. This is the ideal time for Thanh Binh to create a leap forward in his career, after the potential he showed under his two previous coaches Park Hang-seo and Troussier.
Having been a central defender who spent his years playing at the top in Korea, Mr. Kim Sang-sik clearly understands how many central defenders he possesses in the Vietnam national team. Now is the time for this coach to assemble and combine the youth and experience in the defense of the "Golden Star Warriors".
