Minh Vuong said goodbye to Hoang Anh Gia Lai. The sharing lines are gentle, not big, not regretful, not just blamed but "safe". In fact, "safe" can also be a way to describe the end of the first generation of players that the Mountain City team trained. The end of a journey that the team had dreamed of writing a fairy tale with beautiful football.
The generation of talented players nurtured by Mr. Duc was once considered a new symbol of Vietnamese football. They play football like artists, high-tech, and dedicated football. But for a decade, Hoang Anh Gia Lai has been struggling and struggling with relegation. There was a busiest season but it was canceled halfway because of COVID-19. "Spending all your youth to stay in the league", seemingly a joke but as a tragedy, ending a period of innocentness for ideals.
The problem is not entirely the players, but the strategy. As the rest of V.League plays more and more practically and fiercely, Hoang Anh Gia Lai is immersed in the dream of beautiful football. Expressed by the rock to serve the audience, they have created a real fever, but when beauty is not accompanied by achievements, joy gradually depletes.
No one denies the value of beautiful football, but in a competitive environment where every point is priced, beauty needs to be supported by sharp tactics, the courage of the battlefield or a team that is outstanding enough - like Barcelona during the tiki-taka era. As for Hoang Anh Gia Lai, it is just a fragile, fragile beauty.
A dedicated, persistent, and quiet Minh Vuong left at the age of 30, no longer determined to win any title or success. His former teammates are all at this age. Some are successful elsewhere, others still struggle to find themselves. Only Hoang Anh Gia Lai stayed with pressure and limitations.
Only they know if it will change or not. They have also wanted and tried to change, but it seems not enough, to still be dreamy people in the midst of a fierce conflict. "Other generations of youth" are still waiting, but hopefully they will not become a loop of old youth...
