If the pitch is bad, football cannot be developed
In previous years, for many different reasons, Thanh Hoa Stadium was a stadium with poor grass quality. Despite the fact that the Thanh team has been a "champion" at many times, they still cannot renovate the pitch to match the tradition and potential.
In 2021, when Mr. Cao Tien Doan took over the team, repairing the field was a top priority. This businessman has received many advice about the difficulty in ensuring the quality of football play for players if they continue to use old grass and degraded soil. For many years, Thanh Hoa has been famous for playing long balls rather than short ball coordination.
At that time, coach Petrovic had to try to keep the grass in the best condition. This further affects the training when Thanh Hoa does not have a standard training ground.
Taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic, the repair of the stadium surface was immediately carried out.
Thanh Hoa Club agreed to spend more than 1 billion VND to rent a practice ground for a long time to focus on comprehensively renovating the stadium. Within 4 months, Thanh Hoa Stadium had all the grass stripped, renovated from the ground and then replanted high-end Bermuda grass.
Recalling that time, Mr. Cao Hoang Duc - CEO of Thanh Hoa club said: "To be honest, I have studied and lived in Europe for 10 years, and have become accustomed to watching football with high-quality grass. At first, it was difficult for my team to play well because the pitch was bad. The club's president was not satisfied and asked me to plan the repair immediately. Thanks to the support of the locality and some friends, I was able to do it.
As a result, Thanh Hoa Stadium became one of the 6 highest quality stadiums in V.League 2022. The cost that Thanh Hoa team spent to repair the stadium was also at a reasonable level.
According to research, they only spent about 5 billion VND to get the grass they wanted.
"Blood bone" experience
However, in the first 2 home matches in V.League 2023, the Thanh Hoa stadium turf suddenly deteriorated. This surprised many fans.
Before the Lunar New Year 2023, the grass of this stadium was still in good condition, the team could still practice and take care of it. However, the lack of experience in caring for "damaged" European grass has caused problems at Thanh Hoa Stadium.
The weather in the North at that time had many unfavorable changes for grass. conventional care measures cannot save the grass from continuously drying out, causing the roots to die and the yard to be bare.
After 2 home matches, V.League entered the break and Thanh Hoa club started to repair the stadium. All of the team's training sessions take place on the sub-field so that the renovation of the field surface is carried out according to the correct procedure. Finally, the Thanh Hoa pitch has returned to its original shape.
Mr. Duc said: "That was an experience that we could not forget. In fact, taking care of the grass is not too difficult, but just a few days of neglect can cost a lot.
We understand that fans have the right to demand to see beautiful football, on a good quality pitch. As Thanh Hoa gradually moves to a modern way of playing, taking care of the pitch is no less important than playing."
With the appearance of coach Velizar Popov, Thanh Hoa is playing the most attractive football. But only when the training and competition conditions are guaranteed, can they play the way they want. truly simple and minimalist on-field conditions, but how many teams can ensure them?
