Serve the team above all
According to forecasts, the Vietnam Volleyball Federation has not considered hiring foreign experts to coach the national volleyball teams. We continue to trust the professional role of domestic coaches (coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet for the women's team, coach Tran Dinh Tien for the men's team).
At the end of phase 2 of the 2024 National Volleyball Championship, the Vietnam Volleyball Federation will immediately begin planning professional preparation for each Vietnamese men's and women's volleyball team.
In 2025, the national volleyball championship will have 16 teams (8 men's teams, 8 women's teams), so organizing the tournament in a way that is suitable for the profession is to serve the purpose of selecting personnel for the national volleyball teams. However, when the number of teams has been reduced to ensure the goal of improving the quality of the tournament, can we find more excellent players? This is the question that professionals are asking. Many teams are still focusing on hiring foreign players, so young players have few opportunities to show themselves in big matches.
Start to calculate
The biggest rival of the Vietnam Women's Volleyball Team is Thailand. They will be the host of the 33rd SEA Games. However, after going through tournaments including the AVC Challenge Cup 2024 and SEA V.League 2024, coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet once analyzed that: "The professional gap between women's teams in Southeast Asia is gradually narrowing. Competing to win is not easy."
Not only Vietnamese women's volleyball or Thai women's volleyball, countries like Indonesia and the Philippines are focusing on investing heavily in the national women's volleyball team. Indonesian or Philippine women's players play very strongly on the field and if they are not focused, Vietnamese women's volleyball or Thai women's volleyball can still lose points.
The Thai women's volleyball team met the Vietnamese women's team in two matches in the SEA V.League 2024, and they won both matches.
“There was a time when the Vietnamese women's volleyball team was close to surpassing the Thai team in points, but it is true that we are still one step behind them. However, we believe that gradually narrowing the gap in expertise between teams will make Southeast Asian women's volleyball more attractive,” said Mr. Le Tri Truong.
We have been familiar with the runner-up position in indoor women's volleyball at the SEA Games for many years. The clearest opportunity for the Vietnamese women's volleyball team to actually win the first Gold Medal was the final at the 31st SEA Games held at home, but we were unsuccessful (losing to Thailand).
SEA Games 33 is being held in Thailand, initial predictions show that the Thai Women's Volleyball Team is the number one candidate for the championship. To create a surprise, we need very careful preparation and a little luck.
Vietnam men's volleyball team has never won a Gold Medal at the SEA Games. We once won against Thailand men's team at the 2007 SEA Games. Vietnam men's volleyball team won against Thailand to qualify for the final (then we lost to Indonesia in the final, receiving a Silver Medal).
A year ago, the Vietnamese men's volleyball team beat the Thai men's team in the Bronze Medal match of the 32nd SEA Games. In theory, the two teams are on equal footing and the player who can decide the crucial moment to score will be successful.
Thai men's volleyball has invested heavily in the past two years to aim for the 33rd SEA Games championship at home as well as to go further in the Asian arena. Vietnamese men's volleyball has not improved much in terms of professional achievements and still has to find better people to replace the aging veterans.
