It seems that people are seeing something familiar again. Not a type of hallucinatory memory, but it has happened. The expectation of an effect has quickly returned to harsh reality. That is the expectation of a change in the face of Vietnamese football after the success of the U23 team at the Asian tournament.
8 years ago, the Silver Medal in Changzhou was the reason for the media to set a proposition to create a positive effect for Vietnamese football. But then, the effect did not last too long, with the peak being the national team reaching the 3rd phase of the World Cup qualifiers in Asia. Then there was the crisis, familiar problems in the domestic league, and difficulties in domestic clubs.
Vietnamese football still often looks at phenomena to evaluate, such as considering applying technology to matches in the V.League as development, but in fact it is not. That is only a condition that must be in the flow of world football, not internal strength.
And at this time, when this U23 generation returns from Saudi Arabia with a Bronze medal, there is still an expectation of positive effects. But it seems that the "wave" of this time is lowering faster. Because, as witnessed, the audience is only crowded in the hot match, while even though other teams also have members returning from the U23 team, the stands are still empty. That is the consequence, for a long time, of the V.League and domestic leagues not bringing the right value to fans.
Furthermore, a series of players of the U23 team were injured when returning and then injured, not light but very serious, right during the domestic tournament, not entirely because of lack of rest time but as a consequence of arranging the schedule in a separate way, prioritizing according to their own style, as well as ignoring scientific muscle development for players to protect vulnerable areas.
Finally, the story of Thanh Hoa Club "crying for help", in the true sense, is also the consequence of a dependent, dependent football style that does not build its own identity and sustainable values. It is not to the point of "big fish eat small fish", but it cannot prevent the flights, attracting stars. Therefore, as long as we do not focus on training, developing players and creating cash flow in the transfer market, the waves will still rise and fall...
