Special selection
After three training sessions of the Vietnamese team, coach Kim Sang-sik has created a formula specifically for goalkeeper selection.
Two highly skilled overseas Vietnamese goalkeepers, Dang Van Lam and Nguyen Filip, will compete directly for the starting position. Meanwhile, in each round, Mr. Kim will select two other goalkeepers, based on two priority criteria: low age and good performance in V.League (calculated at the time of the corresponding team gathering).
In June, in addition to Nguyen Filip and Van Lam, the Korean coach chose Quan Van Chuan (23 years old) and Nguyen Dinh Trieu (33 years old). In September, Mr. Kim gave opportunities to Trinh Xuan Hoang (23 years old) and Nguyen Van Viet (22 years old).
During this training session, Tran Trung Kien (21 years old) was called up to the Vietnam national team for the first time, alongside three familiar faces: Van Viet, Van Lam and Nguyen Filip.
Looking at this selection, besides Dinh Trieu who is no longer present in Mr. Kim Sang-sik's plan in the last 2 training sessions, the goalkeepers who are backups for Nguyen Filip and Dang Van Lam are all quite young, ranging from 21 to 23 years old.
But Tran Trung Kien is the only exception. At the age of 21, he is the only goalkeeper who can compete with U22 Vietnam at SEA Games 33.
Start sowing seeds
In fact, in the two previous training sessions, coach Kim Sang-sik did not give much priority to players under 23 years old. The cases of midfielder Van Truong or to some extent Vi Hao, Thai Son, Van Khang are just highlights when the Korean coach focuses on experience. These players are young, but have also played for the national team many times under Mr. Troussier.
It was not until the third training session that Mr. Kim Sang-sik began to shape the strategy and plan for the Vietnam team. Players under the age of 22 were gradually called up to the team. Therefore, Trung Kien, at the age of 21, had his first breath of the national team air.
At Hoang Anh Gia Lai, goalkeeper Trung Kien is maintaining his high form by keeping a clean sheet in 3/4 matches in the V.League. If calculating the long-term roadmap, Trung Kien is considered a "red seed" for the plan towards the 33rd SEA Games of U22 Vietnam, taking place in Thailand at the end of next year.
From now until the Southeast Asian Games, coach Kim Sang-sik still has more than a year. That is long enough for him to prepare a complete plan for U22 Vietnam. In particular, goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien will also gradually assert himself, consolidate his expertise and train his character based on the opportunities given to him by the Vietnam national team.
Trung Kien's advantages are his form, desire to perform, height of 1m91 and daily progress. His ability to compete and block high balls has helped him play well in V.League.
However, the most important thing is that this goalkeeper must maintain stability, always keeping up with the rhythm of the Vietnam team and Hoang Anh Gia Lai. Only then will the opportunity for him to attend the SEA Games, or even be the main goalkeeper for the U22 Vietnam team, be truly bright.
