When naturalized players cannot be used…
Last weekend, LPBank V.League 2024-2025 kicked off after the national team returned from FIFA Days in September. There is still a topic that continues to be mentioned and analyzed quite a lot: naturalized players, especially at a time when the team is clearly seeing steps back compared to the two leading rivals in the region, Thailand and Indonesia.
In round 1 of V.League 2024-2025, Rafaelson - soon to be Nguyen Xuan Son when he officially takes Vietnamese nationality, did not play for Nam Dinh Blue Steel, the defending champion lost 0-1 on the field of one of the teams that struggled to stay in the league last season, Hong Linh Ha Tinh. Whether or not Nam Dinh has a Brazilian striker in the squad also partly reflects the problem of the national team in recent years, which is that it will have to rely more on external resources.
However, even external factors are being limited. One is that the policy of “Vietnamese sports not using naturalized players/athletes who do not have Vietnamese blood” has not been lifted. Second, the resource of overseas Vietnamese players is also seen as scarce.
In the match Rafaelson was absent, interestingly, the one who shined and brought victory to Hong Linh Ha Tinh was Adou Leygley Minh - a Vietnamese-French player. There were also a few other names mentioned such as Colonna Kyle - a Vietnamese-French center-back of Hanoi FC, Jason Quang Vinh - a left-back of Hanoi Police, but clearly, they will need more time to be truly proven in the V.League environment.
If they prove their ability, clearly, good news will be for coach Kim Sang-sik in the near future. But for now, we will still have to hope, search and salvage hope from the domestic player force.
Initial hope for the process of regaining faith
There are many comments about the performance of the Vietnam National Team in the friendly match with Thailand at the recent FIFA Days as “lacking enthusiasm and desire”. This issue has been mentioned many times by experts after the successful period with coach Park Hang-seo, when many key players achieved success at a very young age, but at the stage when they should be at their most mature and most mature, their desire tends to decline.
Where to find that desire? Maybe from the signals that are shining somewhere on the V.League pitches. That is Van Quyet's goal for Hanoi FC. At 33 years old, he still gives his all on the pitch, his desire may also come from the difficulties in the national team jersey.
That was the goal of Gia Bao, a player who is only 16 years, 8 months and 12 days old, for Hoang Anh Gia Lai. Of course, it is still too early to “jump up the ladder”, but when discovering a rough diamond, how to polish it, help the player practice, keep himself grounded, and nurture the desire to contribute is the job of adults.
That is the reason why coach Hoang Anh Tuan decided not to use foreign strikers at Binh Duong club. Although people understand that when the coach from Khanh Hoa wants to affirm his ability, it is an opportunity for Tien Linh and other domestic strikers to show their ability. It was Tien Linh who scored a double in the comeback match at Dong A Thanh Hoa stadium.
And that could be Cong Phuong's return to Vietnam. The striker from Nghe An returned to Vietnam at the age of 29, after unsuccessful efforts during his adventure in Japan. Putting aside the story of the signing bonus mentioned, it could also rekindle Cong Phuong's desire to return to the national team.
In fact, he has not announced his retirement from international football despite being abandoned under Philippe Troussier. It will take time to answer, but when Cong Phuong is still a high-quality player compared to the average domestic player, there is still hope...
