The Vietnamese team won the ASEAN Championship, bringing an exciting atmosphere as the country entered the new year 2025. However, people still understand that it was a victory in the 2024 tournament, so that in 2025, coach Kim Sang-sik will have new and equally important tasks - developing the next generation for the national team.
There is an interesting detail that the Korean coach shared that, recently, he has not had time to pack his luggage at his apartment. That is because he is always ready to receive the decision... to fire from VFF. That will happen if he cannot bring the "Golden Star Warriors" to the ASEAN Championship final.
He did it, exceeding expectations with the third Southeast Asian championship for the Vietnam Team. He put all his efforts into this tournament, in addition to the appearance of Nguyen Xuan Son, he focused on veteran, experienced players. But because of that, on the recent journey of success, the opportunities and impressions for the young players were not enough.
In 2025, although the national team will play in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, this year, the youth need to be focused, with the 2026 Asian U23 qualifiers and especially the 33rd SEA Games at the end of the year. In the current national team, Mr. Kim Sang-sik has chosen young players such as Van Khang, Vi Hao, Trung Kien, but their performance is not necessarily considered positive (some have not even played yet, such as goalkeeper Trung Kien).
Besides them, Vietnamese youth football also has Thai Son, Van Cuong, Dinh Bac, Quoc Viet, Thanh Nhan... They were once highly regarded by former coach Philippe Troussier, but experts compared his boldness and determination to "forced ripening", so both the national team and the youth team had poor results.
For Mr. Kim Sang-sik now, the first trophy on the S-shaped strip of land has confirmed that he will have more time to do his job, with the next investment and focus on the youth. Somehow, he needs to create a team that recreates the image of the national team, when it cannot be compared in terms of quality, at least in terms of spirit.
If Mr. Kim Sang-sik does well, 2025 will be the foundation, the launching pad for young stars in the following years...
