After Rafael Nadal announced his retirement after the Davis Cup finals, and Jannik Sinner defeated Novak Djokovic in two sets in the Shanghai Masters finals, it was understood that the bamboo shoots had grown where the bamboo fell. Djokovic will continue to compete, but his ability to compete with the world's top young players like Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz is almost gone.
On the day Van Quyet - 33 years old, announced his farewell to the national men's football team, young player Bui Vi Hao - 21 years old, scored in a 1-1 draw with the Indian team. Can that be considered "old bamboo, young bamboo grows"?
Perhaps, many people want that. And hope so. Vi Hao is making significant progress, but the Binh Duong club striker alone is unlikely to create a wave strong enough to fill the problems of the previous generation. The "previous generation" will not only be Van Quyet, but also Ngoc Hai, Van Lam, Hung Dung, Quang Hai, then Xuan Truong, Tuan Anh, Hoang Duc...
A generation that once “walked in the bright sky” from a very young age, but now just over or under 30 years old, has declined in a worrying way. Is the decline in performance just a phase? No. Is performance just a personal problem? No. But it is a collective problem, in a very difficult to understand way.
Hoang Duc recently shared with the media that, “wearing the national team jersey is a duty” so the players always “feel passionate and devoted”, there is no such thing as “being satisfied with achievements” and “running out of motivation”. However, as the Vietnam team has shown recently, fans do not see much passion and dedication…
Not all, but ironically, passion and dedication are easily seen in new players - although not very young, like Van Vu and an "old man" like Van Quyet.Young players are also enthusiastic, but as mentioned, the "shoots" are still young, and cannot be confirmed yet.
Therefore, "awakening" the desire and enthusiasm of the players is the task of coach Kim Sang-sik, while waiting for the shoots to grow up...
