The 18-year-old player of Vietnamese - Croatian descent said that he will focus on developing his career in Europe and only think about returning to the V.League when he is close to retirement. If Vietnamese football people feel sad about that, it will take a lot of time to improve the quality of the national team. Ignoring emotions, this should be considered a positive sign and received with a new mindset.
Like family psychology, parents always want to see their children nearby to teach, protect, and observe their growth, Vietnamese football once wanted overseas Vietnamese players to play football in the V.League to "follow their performance more closely". That desire is not wrong, but also because of that, after many years, the V.League suddenly became a "control gate" to conclude whether overseas Vietnamese players are of sufficient quality for the national team or not.
The reality is that there are many quality overseas Vietnamese players who return to the V.League but cannot adapt (to many things, not just professionally), then leave and play well in the place where they played before.
There are also people who have adapted to the V.League, but their ability seems to stagnate, even when they are still called up to the national team. From that perspective, it can be seen that maturing in the right pace will be much more valuable. Therefore, a more reasonable approach is not to pull them closer, but to keep them within reach.
Unlike many academic professions, football, according to its characteristics, helps players train and develop everywhere in the world (if appropriate) while still being able to contribute to the country. In the technological age, coaches can completely monitor players' performance closely. Even data has enough details, the necessary thing is to connect and change methods.
More importantly, it creates a feeling that they are not outside the system, even though they are competing in another environment. When the connection is maintained, returning - if any - will be more natural, rather than timely.
In the national team, suitability belongs to the philosophical aspect and the way the coaching staff uses people, not where you are playing football.
