The ship was tilted.
After 3 rounds of V.League 2024-2025, Nam Dinh Steel Club has 4 points after 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss. In fact, this result is not bad - especially at the beginning of the season. But with the most ambitious and strongest team in Vietnam at the moment, no one can be satisfied with what is happening at the Southern team.
Nam Dinh's attack only scored 1 goal thanks to a moment of individual brilliance from foreign player Hendrio. Otherwise, they played deadlocked against two opponents rated lower than them, Hong Linh Ha Tinh and Hoang Anh Gia Lai. Looking closely at Nam Dinh's performance, the image of the defending champion gradually disappeared in each step of Van Toan and his teammates.
It's not that coach Vu Hong Viet hasn't realized this. The 1979-born coach has been cautious in every match and every statement. But that effort seems to have only worked in the AFC Champions League Two - where they fielded many foreign players. At least Nam Dinh did well on one front.
If the problem was simply the strikers' lack of luck or a slight lack of concentration from the defense, there would be no cause for concern. Nam Dinh's performance was unconvincing, the team lacked the necessary cohesion even though there was no significant change in the squad.
Why?
After the match against Hoang Anh Gia Lai in round 3 of V.League 2024-2025, striker Nguyen Van Toan said: "Certainly the match schedule of about 4 days/match greatly affects the performance of Nam Dinh club. In addition to the match, we also have to consider the travel time between locations, so the players' physical strength decreases."
Vietnamese football teams always face big problems when participating in international tournaments. In the past, Hanoi and Binh Duong clubs made a big splash when participating in the AFC Cup (the predecessor of AFC Champions League Two). But corresponding to the international competition period, they have been in a state of rapid decline in the domestic arena.
Most recently, last season, Hanoi played very well in the AFC Champions League but played quite poorly in the V.League, sometimes even falling to the bottom of the table. Remember, Nam Dinh is very strong but cannot be compared to the capital team in terms of bravery and stability. It is easy to understand why when having to share strength in the arenas, they immediately encountered problems.
In addition, the biggest reason that many people recognize in Nam Dinh's instability - comes from the dependence on Rafaelson (Nguyen Xuan Son). As long as this player does not play or does not play at his best, the team from Nam Dinh immediately staggers.
Strangely, Nguyen Xuan Son's performance has been inconsistent since he first became a Vietnamese citizen. Of course, he hasn't been a disaster, but the frequency of the 1997-born striker's mishandling has increased. Not to mention, when facing off directly, opponents also send their best defenders to closely follow Xuan Son. When the most important striker suddenly... disappears, it's hard for Nam Dinh to win as easily as last season.
After the first 3 rounds, Xuan Son was no longer "golden", causing Nam Dinh's performance to decline somewhat. But the Brazilian player cannot be blamed entirely. This year, important playmakers such as Hendrio, Van Toan or Van Vu have not been able to maintain their form. They all had their own problems before the season started.
Overall, Nam Dinh and coach Vu Hong Viet are gradually being figured out. Opponents will not “sit still” so that the defending champion can play like last season. This strategist needs to quickly make comprehensive adjustments to the system and improve the performance of each individual. This is the way for Mr. Viet to pull Nam Dinh out of the crisis.
Because, if the series of unstable matches continues, the Nam Dinh club's leadership will not be able to be patient with failure forever.
