Responding to the press recently, the coach of Dong A Thanh Hoa club affirmed that ball control is the style of play that the Vietnamese team should choose.
“For me, that is the only way and the future of modern football,” said the Bulgarian coach. “If you can play intelligently and keep the ball for as long as possible, you can control everything. Passive football will not have that… Vietnam at the moment has a lot of really good technical players, especially young players, your future will be very bright if you follow this philosophy.”
The Vietnamese team failed with this philosophy and coach Philippe Troussier. So, why bring this issue up again? To affirm that the failure with the former French coach does not mean that Vietnamese football cannot choose this path. It is just that at that stage, this stage and the upcoming stage, Vietnamese football is not ready for that philosophy.
But that doesn’t mean there is no preparation. Changing philosophy is a long journey and must have a starting point. Everything starts with a change in the mindset of youth training, along with learning from football backgrounds with similar philosophies. Although everyone emphasizes that physicality is one of the important factors in football, Lionel Messi and many other small players have proven the opposite, with their skills and belief in daring to play football.
Coach Popov says he “doesn’t like players who are so scared that they don’t play.” He doesn’t represent any ideology, but that’s true. Fear doesn’t make you competitive. Fear doesn’t make you play at a high level. Fear doesn’t make you successful.
A 0-5 loss is not as scary as 5 0-1 losses. Because a losing streak can show the extent of your ability when choosing a passive playing style, waiting for counter-attacks or set pieces when facing strong opponents...
Improving breed, body shape, and fitness is a problem for many years, but should we wait until we reach a "milestone" in body shape and fitness before choosing a philosophy that brings initiative!?
