When looking at the starting lineup that coach Kim Sang-sik chose for the Vietnamese team in the match against Russia on the evening of September 5, many people will think that it is a "support" to explain if they accept a defeat with such a big difference right at My Dinh Stadium.
That may be true, as the Russian team is of a higher level, even though they brought many young players to Vietnam. But the loss was not too big. So, what is the intention of the Korean coach?
In addition to the identity of the starting players, experts and fans were also “offside” when predicting the arrangement. Mr. Kim Sang-sik pulled Hoang Duc up to play as the only striker in the 5-4-1 formation. That was what his predecessor Philippe Troussier had done, and failed.
Letting Dinh Thanh Binh, young players Van Truong and Hai Long play in the middle with Hung Dung, Mr. Kim probably wants their ability to move dynamically and be willing to compete to limit the opponent's coordination. Along with that, Thanh Binh is ready to use his speed to change positions and receive the ball from Hoang Duc.
That's the theory, but in the end, it's not hard to see that, when facing highly skilled players, if you don't have superior physique and stamina to play pressing, just running and applying pressure is not enough.
The match further emphasized the importance of basic technique and space control. To avoid mistakes in control or losing too much of the ball, to pass to each other properly, to escape the pressure and to understand what to do when passing the ball back on a slippery pitch and wet ball…
Returning to the question of coach Kim Sang-sik 's arrangement , of course, there must be some intention in choosing. However, experts may not see the effectiveness of any intention.
In the second half, with more quality individuals on the pitch, some chances appeared but by no means clearly expressed any intention, as they were a few individual efforts, a dangerous cross, a long-range shot with most of the cases where the Russian team pushed up.
Is this lineup change experimental (unclear intention) or a “hiding card” before the match against Thailand - an opponent of equal strength and rivalry - so that the Vietnamese team can unleash their full strength? It is entirely possible, because the Korean coach will also have the opportunity to study the Thai team when they face the Russian team on September 7.
But even so, he will have to pay attention because the Thai players are also very technical and have enough fighting spirit, despite the absence of some key players in this LPBank Cup friendly tournament.
And finally, as many foreign coaches have commented on Vietnamese football, a standard pitch is needed for players to demonstrate their skills. If you can’t even control the mound of dirt that makes the ball bounce in the penalty area, it is not worthy of the title “nation”.
