Recently, statistics have shown that the number of Vietnamese-born players aged 32 and over in the current V.League is quite limited - a total of 31 people, meaning an average of 2.2 people/1 club. Some teams even have no one. Looking in a positive direction, V.League is a fairly young league to assess high competitiveness. But from another perspective, it also partly reflects that the professional age of Vietnamese players usually does not last too long, which means that the value of contribution (to both clubs and national teams) is greatly reduced.
In fact, this issue has been seen for quite a long time but not deep enough to create a big enough change. Without comparing with players in Europe, South America or many other regions, Asia currently has many football backgrounds that take advantage of the experience of older players, not like Vietnam, which defaults to turning 30 is already close to retirement.
The irony is that while lacking the value of experience and competitive spirit, Vietnamese football still continuously calls for "giving opportunities to young players". It's like the bridge being "broken" at both ends.
The reason is probably mainly in the environment, in the thinking of doing football and sometimes even the desire of the "veterans". Sports science is now modern enough to have methods and techniques to support players to extend their playing careers, the issue is whether to do it or not.
Life has professions that can be dedicated for a very long time, with knowledge, thinking, and experience being core assets, so that they can continue to create value even when they are old. Meanwhile, for professions related to physical condition, level of danger (sports, heavy labor, firefighters, mines...) if prolonged for too long, efficiency will decrease and risks will increase. Those jobs require a greater trade-off in a shorter period of time.
Therefore, it is not only necessary to find ways to maximize their capabilities in the best and longest possible conditions, but also a transitional strategy to take advantage of their experience in the later stages.
And as with Vietnamese football, "No Country for Old Men" is probably not just the name of a movie.
