It's not "lucky"
Nguyen Xuan Son's 7 goals in 5 appearances have unintentionally made many people misunderstand the coaching ability of coach Kim Sang-sik of the Vietnam national team. In addition, different perspectives on long ball play have also caused the Korean coach to be misunderstood about his ability to lead the team.
Anyone in the profession understands that a national team coach has to take on the responsibility of a huge amount of work. Not only the playing style, but also the way of using troops and managing people are what makes a football strategist successful or unsuccessful.
It is no coincidence that 19/21 goals of the Vietnamese team were scored in the second half throughout 8 matches at the ASEAN Cup 2024. That is the calculation of coach Kim Sang-sik and the coaching staff.
The plan to use a defensive-oriented probing formation was arranged in the first half. After the break, Kim continuously brought in offensive and breakthrough players from the bench.
Even in matches without Xuan Son's brilliance, coach Kim Sang-sik still has "trump cards" to surprise opponents. That could be Quang Hai in the two wins against Laos and Indonesia, Ngoc Tan in the draw with the Philippines or Tuan Hai in the second leg of the final at Rajamangala Stadium.
In addition to the clear tactical marking between the two halves, plus reading the game and making reasonable substitutions, coach Kim Sang-sik also knows how to solve internal competitive problems.
Up front, Tien Linh and Xuan Son did not step on each other’s toes as many people predicted before the tournament started. They even created the most dangerous pair in the ASEAN Cup.
In addition, Dinh Trieu and Nguyen Filip were rotated as the main goalkeepers in each match. According to the assessment of a leader of the Vietnam Football Federation, goalkeeper Dinh Trieu can be considered an interesting and subtle discovery of the strategist born in 1972.
Win friends and influence people
In terms of experience, football thinking and coaching philosophy, coach Kim Sang-sik is hard to compare with his two predecessors, Philippe Troussier and Park Hang-seo. However, Mr. Kim helped the Vietnamese team win the 2024 ASEAN Cup with the best record in history (7 wins, 1 draw). Mr. Kim's secret, in addition to professional factors, is how to win the hearts of the team.
The "big brother in the national team" philosophy has been applied by coach Kim Sang-sik since taking over the role of coach in May 2024.
He met Hoang Duc privately at a dinner to encourage the player's fighting spirit. In a few matches, Mr. Kim also gave the captain's armband to the 26-year-old midfielder, even though he was not on the previous executive committee.
In addition, there was a time when the captaincy was rotated continuously, as well as the rotation of 25/26 players on the field each match. Duy Manh, Quang Hai or Tien Linh - who are the captain and vice-captain of the Vietnamese team - were satisfied with coming off the bench to create an explosion after the break.
On the other hand, coach Kim Sang-sik is willing to listen to the opinions of his players and his coaching staff. There have been many arguments about building playing style and tactics, but the common consensus with the viewpoint of "soft ties to tie tight" from Mr. Kim Sang-sik helps the whole team to be more united, connected and always moving forward with higher goals.
